update on the how much list.... hemi $700 supercharger $350 harmonic balancer from 340 $25 timing chain cover $22 cans of lube $20 new oil filter adapter $18 intake flanges $64 valve covers $120 new rod bearings $82 new piston rings 97$ harmonic balancer key $15 bbc adapter for water pump. $55 crank pulley sep. $5 belt tensioner $5 good used pistons and rods $125 new hydrualic lifters $55 new TBS pop off valve $45 $30 worth in paint and paint stripper. for valve covers main bearings from EGGE.com $125 new bbc water pump $47 spark plug tube seals new $32 motor mounts $38 total...$$$$$2075 so far thats all for now.... <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
decided to go out to the garage on my bday and do some fab work on that mopar engine. made good progress and thought i would share. good start? i think so.
Dude, You need to slow down and not just throw crazy money at this thing. take your time and think this thing through and listen to some of the guys on this forum that been through this more than once. Ago
i dont think ive been throwing crazy money at all towards the hemi. this is what i would consider budget hemi. crazy money i would be buying the 871 roots style blower kit for 3500. i would have the machine shop build the engine completely and probably that alone would set me back 5-7 grand. i could do alot worse. my ears are wide open for suggestions and opinions. has been since i bought the hemi. the Hemi Index has been very helpful. the one thing i would like more information about is the transmission area. i would like the use the bellhousing and flywheel i got with the hemi. if i read correctly i think a 833 4spd will bolt right up? looking to go standard. would love to put a 5 or even 6spd behind the hemi but i will also be willing to just go old school 4spd. nothing like more thrilling than slamming gears!
really really confused right now. ive doubled back and read all the cooling threads about the hemi bbc adapatation process. and im just hitting a brick wall. for some reason 1. the adapters i bought was dale wilch do not match up the the holes in the block. they are slightly off and can be fixed by drilling a slightly bigger hole in the adapters. 2. neither bbc or sbc water pumps come close to matching up to the adapters. its like the darn hemi got thrown into a dryer wway to long and it became to narrow. the pump in the picture is the sbc. the bbc goes to the edges of the heads and i dont see how it would fit at all. 3. what am i to do now? my head is telling me to drill and tap my own holes and make it work. weld up the holes i dont need....
Ok...once again. You have a truck block. The adapters you bought only fit a car block. If converting to an aftermarket water pump on a truck block, a sb chevy pump is used. Usually those adapters are part of the aftermarket aluminum timing cover, because things are so close together. (timing cover and water pump outlets) In review. Car and truck blocks are different. They take different timing covers and different water pumps. I explained this once already in post #83 and 87.
Love the thread. I work up at the Ft. during the week. Just may have to pay you and your hemi a visit when it warms up a bit. Dave
damn...my memory sucks. your completely right TR. instead of me lets say...buying more incorrect parts....lol. is it not completely impossible for me to move my water parts farther outwards. drill tap new holes and weld up the old. im not sure how big the water passages are in the block.
my luck....the way its been going....i would do as you say and end up still with the wrong cover/adapter. that being said....im doing this my way now and fixing the problem as i would at my job....FABRICATE SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNIQUE. here is what ive got going so far....ive cleaned the part of the block off i will be working on. i bolted the adapters up to the bbc water pump and held it up the the block. then as im holding it agaisnt the block in the position that looks good to me i traced around the adapters with a permanent marker. after doing this i unbolted the adapter from the water pump and held the adapter up to the traced outline and then marked the bolting holes and water passage. for tomorrow if time permits i will weld up the holes i dont need. center punch the location of the new holes and then drill and tap the new holes. the water passages i will use a hole saw size 1.125" to create new holes with. i used my finger in the existing water passage hole to determine whether or not i had enough "meat" behind the area i will be creating a new water passage and to make sure the cylinder wall was no 2 close for comfort. will all this being done i will not be modifying my timing cover....the one i have is the wrong bolt pattern and i cant seem to find the right one. so i will be plugging all the old holes for the old timing cover and drill new ones for the one ive got. ........ the coolest thing i dont know if you can tell from the photos i took....when i removed all the old paint and oil off the front of the block you could see the factory machine marks where the block was leveled off or something. very cool.
If you are going to drill your block full of holes, why not just use a SB Mopar timing cover and waterpump? By looking at your outlines, the waterpump is not centered. Might want to check that.
that is true about the sb mopar timing cover and waterpump but i dont see why i should go buy another timing cover and waterpump when i got perfectly good ones already. the waterpump is not centered. you are right ...but if i center the water pump it will hang off the flat face of the block and create different issue all together. nothing says a water pump has to be centered on a engine. heck the stock truck pump was above the valley cover. if i did center it also it would make my hole on the left side ontop of the cylinder wall. no no good. im thinking about buying one of your valley covers made out of the 16ga steel. i do believe im going to...just trying to make up my mind.
eh...if not its nothing a cutting torch and welder cant fix! lol. anything can be modified my friend!
I'm not steppin' on your toes at all! But- In your price list,it's not including machine shop services= hot tank,cam bearing install,a ballance perhaps,re-sizing rods, piston install on rods,headwork,......on and on.... Sometimes it's a lil better to listen to those in the know= Gary & Tom. They've been and done. Youv'e got a lot of items ahead of you- but I applaud the effort. I'll keep watchin'.........
o...that list is being added on as i build the engine. i try to update it whenever i spend money on the engine whether its laber ie machine shop or me buying actual parts to bolt on or just supplies to work on the engine. so far is just barely over 2grand. by the time im done its probably be 4k. thats what im expecting right now atleast.
I don't think I would plug and weld my Hemi cast iron block when bolt on items are readily available. I had seven of these engines, now I'm down to 3. 2 of them reside in my 32 Fords. Ago
Whilst I admire your persistance, I do think that you're chasing your tail a bit with the adaptors, as you've still got to clear the timing cover thats going to be in your way. Tom, was that the Rev Engineering cover? I am appreciative of this thread as I've got a similar truck engine, but trust that you'll listen to the recommendations of those with the experience, as I know that I appreciate them sharing there knowledge. Cheers, Drewfus
I really admire your push to not spend money and do some unique adaptations with your Hemi, but I think there is a point where it doesn't make sense. Plug welding a cast iron block simply to make an adaptation for a chevy water pump seems counter-productive. Why not just run the stock water pump if you're not going to just buy the aftermarket timing cover with that adapter built in instead of potentially causing yourself extreme headaches? Welding a cast block is pretty extreme and will also require a post machining process and additional cost. You may also find that moving the ports out farther may be too close to cylinders and/or core shift issues may foil that plan as well. The adapter cover is cheap and readily available and has to be cheaper than the post machining process you'll need. Again though, not trying to be insulting in any way, just throwing those suggestions out there. The best way to build a Hemi CHEAP(er) is to be patient and wait for the RIGHT parts to come your way. What are you going to do for rockers, valves, cam, lifters, push rods, ignition, etc.?? What about the rest of the components? Head work for your blown application? Keep posting...
IMHO... 1. Attempting to weld up such large holes is a very poor decision. 2. The tin cover you bought does not fit because you have a truck block. Once again, for all intents and purposes, You have a 1954 331. It just happens be have a larger bore. 1951-1954 331 did not use a tin cover, it was a one-piece casting that served as the chain cover and pump housing. This one-piece cast housing will bolt directly to your truck block. .
wow...lots of replys while i was at my day job. first i would like to clear up some worries on this welding block deal...i am would some consider a Technical Welder. i specialize in welding uncommon metals. mainly aluminum of several types....my other speciaty is welding cast iron. i use nickel rod usually doing this type of process. preheating before and pingin the metal as it cools. ive personally done a half dozen or so blocks whether its a crack or hole busted in the side. one should never try and weld a hole that big! i will be using the chunk i hole saw out to make the water passage dramatically smaller. the stock truck water pump in my eyes is HUGE and very ugly. thus the reason for not using it. plus $$$$ to find or rebuild. chevy pumps are dime a dozen...heck i bought my bbc aluminum one for $47 NEW! this was thru a autoparts store and not ebay. so that makes sense to me. not insulted at all! just trying to help others that might have a truck block as well as help myself as i do this build. lol the lifters were bought brand new. all bearings were bought already. the heads im holding off on. in a month there will be a swap meet in louisville and there is usually a bunch of hemi guys up there with parts. almost always there is rebuilt heads for sale. my luck there will be nothing this year. im using the stock distributor but im replacing the points with the Pertronix Ignitor Points Eliminator Kit by speedway motors. with all this being said.... this is what i did before i got on here and read all your posts! the engine has been drilled and tapped and holesawed for the water pump. fits nicely. i was very happy. all new holes did not come close to anything critical in my opinion. i installed the crank, 340 balancer, and my 318 pulley off a dodge ram truck. for some reason my crank bolt will not go in all the way. when its tighten all the way the bolt is still sticking out about a half of an inch. not sure way. im going to measure the original harmonic balancer and see if there is a difference. this is a slight difference in the alignment of the pulleys but ive got an idea to fix that. its not bad. the next thing i will be doing in the next couple days is drill and tap holes for the timing cover and get that installed.
Most of the time, a serpentine belt drives the water pump in reverse rotation. I am not sure that I can look at any more of this.
The Jalopy Journal
