Build Threads.

[fabiodriven]

This is my 1985 Mustang GT. I've had it for about 15 years or so, so I acquired it in about 2001 or thereabouts. At that time it was owned by an old man. It had 155,000 miles and next to no modifications. The EGR was deleted and the Motorcraft intake and Holley 4 barrel had been replaced with Edelbrock equipment, but even the factory single exhaust was still unmodified. It had tiny front brakes and the spindly 7.5" one-legger rear with 3.55's. Over the years it's gone through multiple transformations and literally every part of this car has been touched at this point. Probably about two or three years after I got it TecateDan and myself ended up acquiring an 89 GT and swapped in the entire drive train, motor, tranny, and rear end. The motor was far more fresh than mine and obviously had a little bit of cam to it. Dan and I added a Pete Jackson noisy gear drive at that time as well. The transmission was just another T5, albeit one that wasn't blown, and the 8.8 has 3.73's and posi. We also swapped out the front end to upgrade to 87+ brakes and struts, which was a huge improvement. Not long after that the car lost its hood and off it's been for years now.

This was about 2005.



I beat around in it for a very long time like that at roughly 300hp until it got parked for a few years. It takes years off at a time then resurfaces when the time is right. In about 2009 or 2010 I bought a brand new Weiand 174 supercharger for it and a used Tremec TKO 1 tranny for it as well as some other parts to compliment it. Sub frame connectors, trailing arms, torque box reinforcements, I could go on and on. After stock piling "everything I'd need to finish it", it remained untouched for years until this past spring when I finally decided to throw a wrench at it again.

What happened after that was it basically stole my wallet and cleaned me out even though I had already bought "everything I needed" for it. Funny how that happens, isn't it? I got the blower on and the tranny in and was really trying to take my time and do everything right on it. Mind you this is all right before I'm supposed to be getting ready for Trikefest which requires gobs of cash as well, but I was possessed and couldn't stop myself. I encountered a slight hiccup while trying to figure out the throttle linkage and after sleeping on it for a few days I came to the conclusion copper would work perfectly for what I wanted. I had already made a linkage from steel but it looked like something BC Redneck had dreamed up. I was so impressed with the copper that I began using it throughout the engine bay.

As time grew shorter and shorter I cut a corner right before startup that cost me, but everything happens for a reason. Rather than hooking up my MSD BTM (boost timing module) and wide-band air/fuel gauge (which are both absolutely REQUIRED for a blower motor Joe), I decided to " just fire it off" with the factory Duraspark ignition in place. It started and ran fine at first, but what I soon found out was I had blown the head gaskets out of it as soon as I started the engine. Still unaware I continued to button up the rest of the car in anticipation of driving it. Well I was curious why every time I floored it the car was firing coolant out of the reservoir and 10 feet into the air like a geyser (no hood) so upon disassembly I found the head gaskets were obliterated.

So off to the machine shop the heads went and I've since gotten them back but I've not touched the car since the spring. I currently have no plans to mess with it because I just don't have any money right now, although this time I already have "everything I need" to finish it.























This is how it sits right now. I just took these pictures this morning.

[coolpool]

Wow fabio, that thing is going to dance? So were the gaskets deteriorated to start off or was the short cut solely to blame? Your talking above my experience with your mods ;-)

[fabiodriven]

Wow fabio, that thing is going to dance? So were the gaskets deteriorated to start off or was the short cut solely to blame? Your talking above my experience with your mods ;-)

It was a combination of things Pete. This is my first boosted gasoline engine of my own so I'm learning as I go. The head gaskets were old, yes, but this engine is around 9.5:1 compression so it's borderline too much compression to boost. You want a lot less compression with a blower motor, but I'm not doing pistons and such right now. Because of that I'm walking a fine line between power and detonation. In order to control the detonation you need to retard the timing significantly, but then it would run like crap under normal running conditions other than full throttle, so for me that's actually abnormal running conditions. In order for the engine to run correctly throughout the RPM range and rather "safely", you must have an ignition that can adjust for the respective amount of boost you're making. My BTM (boost timing module) has a line that's plumbed in to read the boost then back off the timing. It also has a knob that's wired into the cockpit that allows you to fine tune up to three degrees per pound of boost for varying weather conditions and atmospheric pressures. Because I didn't have that hooked up the timing was far too advanced and it detonated enough to trash the gaskets.

I have since gotten the heads planed and will next procure a set of copper head gaskets.

The other prerequisite is the air/fuel gauge. A blower motor is very susceptible to damage if run lean so it's essential that you have a constant readout on that. I didn't have that hooked up either and the jets in the 750 CFM carb are just whatever it comes with out of the package.

[barnett468]

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ok, I will try to make this short since it should be on a build thread instead of DOHC's thread.


HEAD BOLT TORQUE

In general, the high the cylinder pressure, the higher the head bolt torque should be . The less compressible the gasket is the higher the head bolt torque should be . High cylinder pressure and solid gaskets like steel and copper require the highest torque . This number can be around 85 ft lbs.


HEAD BOLTS VS STUDS

I would not use stock head bolts on any blower engine . On low boost engines of around 6 psi or less, you can typically get away with using bolts instead of studs although studs with fine threads on the head side are the safest bet for ALL apps . There are a few different mfg's for high quality bolts and studs . ARP is the most common.


CYLINDER DISTORTION

The cylinders in some engines distort slightly when the head fasteners are tightened . The higher the fastener torque setting, the more they distort, therefore, to insude the cylinder is as true as possible, it is best to have them bored and honed with torque plates installed using the same torque value you will use when you assemble it . Using torque plates typically adds $60.00 to $80.00 to the bore job but that is cheap insurance to insure the bore is as true as possible.


BLOCK AND HEAD SURFACE FINISH

Use the gasket mfg's recommended finish . If the finish is too rough, the gaskets may not seal properly.


HEAD GASKET OPTIONS FOR BLOWN ENGINES

There are several that will work depending on the amount of boost . Below are a few . Plain copper head gaskets with no sealer and standard head bolts with standard torque settings are a sure recipe for failure.

FEL-PRO - They make a non MLS gasket with a heavy duty fire ring that are good for low boost apps of around 6 psi . I ran them on a 302 Ford engine that I overdrove a NOVI 1200 at 14 psi for a few runs and they worked fine, however, I lowered the boost to round 8 psi after that . They also make an MLS gasket with print o seal around the water ports.

SCE TITAN ICS COPPER - These are copper with an internal cylinder sealing ring and print o seal type silicone around the water ports.

COMETIC MLS - Most popular and most common gasket used for all high perf street cars with or without blowers.

FLATOUT GROUP COPPER


https://www.flatoutgroup.com/default.aspx

http://www.cometic.com/

http://scegaskets.com/



PREVIOUS KAWASAKI INTERNATIONAL R & D PROJECT ENGINEER AND ATV DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

[DohcBikes]

Knappyfeet, your 86 X is super nice.

oldskool83, the first gen X's are a builder's dream. Looking forward to a water cooled thread.

caminofeld, let's see the K5. No, but you can swap each spring side to side and they will level out fairly quickly. Blocks are a bad idea for a short wheelbase spring over axle chevy, axlewrap waiting to happen.

Also, look closely to see if there's a broken spring in the pack.

Always use new axle u-bolts, anytime they are loosened.

[86T3]

Dohc, Id like to have the green done by June next year. The engine is out at the Hall's for a rebuild, I'll probably pick it up in the spring and throw it together. It's going to be a low budget build, Ill probably paint the frame but that's about it. For this winter I think I'm going to concentrate on finishing my mini trike and I want to get this Nova running.


I'm not going crazy on this, I'm putting a power disk brake kit, new file lines and a set of torque thrusts I have. It has a 400 sb and a power glide, not my ideal drive train but I'm going to stick with it. I've had this car for 7 years and haven't touched it, I want to get it going and see if I like it before I do anything major

[danbur55]

Pick one. The cushman with a Polaris 325 engine and tranny or the Bigfoot trike, the 88 blaster survivor, heald hauler, commuter te380 and can't forget the tricart right now the blaster new seals to sell so I can finance the next mess I've gotten myself into

[Scootertrash]

Some nice builds up in here. Just imagine if we all had bottomless wallets..........

I've got 2 Harleys under the knife, a golf cart and a 200ES, then about 2,346,876 "small miscellaneous projects". And I need to build an outbuilding. Sooner than later.

I'll try to post some pics when I get home.

Nice car Fabio. Its also nice to see a real working garage.

[El Camexican]

I will try to make this short

What matters most is that you tried.

[RamsesRibb]

Pick one. The cushman with a Polaris 325 engine and tranny or the Bigfoot trike, the 88 blaster survivor, heald hauler, commuter te380 and can't forget the tricart right now the blaster new seals to sell so I can finance the next mess I've gotten myself into

Oh man been there and done that. I'm trying to acquire an Alsport Trisport to build as I type this. My wants to know will it fit In the garage. Ha, no but I have a spot picked out in the back shed where I used to keep my lawn mower.

[barnett468]

.
Well since people are posting photos of bikes ad cars, the engine photo is of my 1970 R CODE RAM AIR 428 COBRA JET MACH1 that I am doing a partial resto on . The engine compartment was old and very ugly looking so I yanked everything out and rebuilt the engine and got all new Concours correct hardware and date coded hoses and date coded spark plug wires etc so it would judge fairly high at MCA points judged shows . I stripped the engine compartment to bare metal then had it resprayed with catalyzed PPG semi gloss black so it won't easily scratch . I also had most of it repainted to moderately high local show level condition and the exterior has just been color sanded and polished and is currently being assembled after which it will be sold.


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This is a 66 Mustang with a 289, A/C and Pony interior that I bought last week to do some detail work on then resell.

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PREVIOUS KAWASAKI INTERNATIONAL R & D PROJECT ENGINEER AND ATV DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

[DohcBikes]

.This is a 66 Mustang with a 289, A/C and Pony interior that I bought last week to do some detail work on then resell.

Chevy small block should bring the value up substantially.

Very nice work as always Mike.

[barnett468]

Chevy small block should bring the value up substantially.

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[tripledog]

Hope to get to this while I am still strong (and tall) enough to kickstart it...

[Joseph Farrow]

I have this bike finished......just need to make myself do the Build Tread!

Here is a teaser......I have others still coming down the pike.