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"Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

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  • "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

    I am throwing together a motor from spare parts for my 57'. Its a 400sbc, .40 over with an ancient set of TRW forged pistons with a 30cc D shaped dish. Stock crank and rods, 2 bolt block, and a set of 462 double hump heads with 1.94 valves. 327/350hp camshaft, stock 67' 327 iron intake and q-jet, and the large rams horns exhaust manifolds. Compression should be around 8.9:1 I am throwing in the forged pistons since I can get them as old stock for only $50 more than cast pistons.

    I would like to see 350hp out of this dead simple combo and lots of torque. Hopefully it will run on crappy pump gas and be dead reliable too.

    Anyone throw one of these spare parts engines together and get pleasently surprised by how well it runs?

  • #2
    Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

    Built a few. Got a mule motor that was a bunch of parts sitting around, been together for 15 years.

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    • #3
      Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

      I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods, TPI heads, $5 swap meet Torker intake mangled to bolt to the TPI center bolts, $15 headers, PAW cheapy cam. Had $600 in the entire thing (I had it balanced). Made 410 hp.

      Did a used 305 once with angle-milled Vortec heads and a big cam (don't remember specs). It made 400, too.

      Put a blower on a bone-stock junkyard 302 Ford once and made 475.

      There's a lot more.

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      • #4
        Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expe

        Originally posted by Freiburger
        I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods, TPI heads, $5 swap meet Torker intake mangled to bolt to the TPI center bolts, $15 headers, PAW cheapy cam. Had $600 in the entire thing (I had it balanced). Made 410 hp.

        Did a used 305 once with angle-milled Vortec heads and a big cam (don't remember specs). It made 400, too.

        Put a blower on a bone-stock junkyard 302 Ford once and made 475.

        There's a lot more.
        Your cheating!!! We KNOW you have a list of bombs you have thrown together, we have read about many of them! ;D

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        • #5
          Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

          Me lots of times build them light and turn them tight. Bob

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          • #6
            Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

            Originally posted by Freiburger
            I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods, TPI heads, $5 swap meet Torker intake mangled to bolt to the TPI center bolts, $15 headers, PAW cheapy cam. Had $600 in the entire thing (I had it balanced). Made 410 hp.
            Yeah, we know about your penchant for fun stuff like this!

            Did this ever make it into a mag? What were the engines specs since this sounds awefully like the one I am working on. Cam? Compression? Heas specs? Where did you find cast pistons for 5.7" rods? I have been looking for them when I found the forged ones.

            I was even tempted to try and make one of those magazine type articles and submit it to someone - see if I can get the engine to pay for itself ;D

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

              The last 440 that was in my truck cost me the grand total of $300. JC Whitney cast iron rings, (25 years old), all used bearings from old motors, LOTS of silicon, used oil pump, used 25 year old no name headers, OEM old cast pistons, rods, and crank, 10 year old head gaskets from some old forgotten project, swapped an old hydralic cam and lifters for a solid, (friend needed a hydralic).
              It ran [email protected], it was carring the front wheels about 8" off the ground leaving the line. Dave

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              • #8
                Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                My next door neighbor put a 302 together for his son{my buddy} about 10 years ago. It was a stock bottom end with forged pistons stock rods and crank, balenced, squared up deck and a bore and hone. I think it came out to 9:1 compression. He put in a cheapo summit hydraulic cam with somthing like 234/[email protected]. Threw on some 200cc world windsor heads that he cleaned up, port matched, and bowl blended {this guy is not a head porter} topped it off with a victor jr from a swap meet and a regular 650 holley with some 1 5/8" headers. He told me he expected it to run mid 13's in his boys 80 mustang. Well it went 12.17@112 about 8 years ago and its been beaten to death for 10 years. It probably has 600+ runs on it at the track and just as many "unofficial" runs on the interstate. Last summer he finally changed the cam to a solid f/t howard grind that was somthing like 10 degrees shorter on the advertised duration with [email protected] on both sides of the stick. He also threw a 750 mighty demon on it. This little bastard went 11.99@114. This motor is 10 years old and has tons of street miles on it. Its backed by a 5 speed tremec and has a 9" with 4.33's I believe. Sadly Its coming out this winter to be replaced by a 331 but to say the least they got their money out of the indestructable 302.....

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                • #9
                  Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                  Originally posted by Freiburger
                  I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods,
                  paw still sels them i think or keith black.

                  put together my fair share of junk that ran better than it should.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                    Originally posted by RacerRick
                    Originally posted by Freiburger
                    I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods, TPI heads, $5 swap meet Torker intake mangled to bolt to the TPI center bolts, $15 headers, PAW cheapy cam. Had $600 in the entire thing (I had it balanced). Made 410 hp.
                    Yeah, we know about your penchant for fun stuff like this!

                    Did this ever make it into a mag? What were the engines specs since this sounds awefully like the one I am working on. Cam? Compression? Heas specs? Where did you find cast pistons for 5.7" rods? I have been looking for them when I found the forged ones.

                    I was even tempted to try and make one of those magazine type articles and submit it to someone - see if I can get the engine to pay for itself ;D
                    That one was never in the mags. It's in the driveway sitting in the Disco Nova right now. I think Speed Pro had the pistons. They were domed, and I filed down the domes (by hand!) to get like 10.5:1. They were hypers (against better judgement). The head specs were STOCK. Don't know from what. They were iron. I don't remember the cam specs. 235ish at 0.050? It was a hyd flat tappet.

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                    • #11
                      Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                      i threw together a truck 302 mid 70's vintage all stock parts except for a comp cam 220/222 at .050 ( i think ) two barrel carb with spacer and lots of gasket match porting ( took most of the hump out of the floors on the heads ). Put it in a mustang II with a prepped c4 with stock converter, made for a fun ride, i'd rather drive it then my stock 86 RS Mercury Capri

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                      • #12
                        Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                        Is there some other way to build an engine? It's all I've ever done. I keep hearing stories about "After Market Speed Parts" but I have no personal knowledge. Actually, I'm fudging just a bit, as the 'Stang has a load of aftermarket stuff, but when you build weird stuff like I tend to, there's little choice. Find something that might fit, and make it fit. It's a ton of fun.

                        Later
                        Dan

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                          LOL, wacky Dan. It's one way to build an engine.

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                          • #14
                            Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expected

                            Originally posted by Freiburger
                            Originally posted by RacerRick
                            Originally posted by Freiburger
                            I did a .060-over 400 with a 30/30 crank with a knurled snout once. Used cast pistons, 5.7 rods, TPI heads, $5 swap meet Torker intake mangled to bolt to the TPI center bolts, $15 headers, PAW cheapy cam. Had $600 in the entire thing (I had it balanced). Made 410 hp.
                            Yeah, we know about your penchant for fun stuff like this!

                            Did this ever make it into a mag? What were the engines specs since this sounds awefully like the one I am working on. Cam? Compression? Heas specs? Where did you find cast pistons for 5.7" rods? I have been looking for them when I found the forged ones.

                            I was even tempted to try and make one of those magazine type articles and submit it to someone - see if I can get the engine to pay for itself ;D
                            That one was never in the mags. It's in the driveway sitting in the Disco Nova right now. I think Speed Pro had the pistons. They were domed, and I filed down the domes (by hand!) to get like 10.5:1. They were hypers (against better judgement). The head specs were STOCK. Don't know from what. They were iron. I don't remember the cam specs. 235ish at 0.050? It was a hyd flat tappet.
                            Too much compression for this cheapo 87 octane engine, so I guess I will use the short rods and the forged pistons. I am tweaking the 462's I have so I I am hoping to get something like 230-240 cfm out of with a little bowl porting, chamber relieving, and maybe some larger valves.

                            Sounds like a thumber though...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: "Spare parts" engines - who has built them and had them run better then expe

                              Anyone throw one of these spare parts engines together and get pleasently surprised by how well it runs?
                              You bet i have! I've put together quite a few "junk parts" engines over the years. The last one i did over 10 years ago is still in my Camaro. I built it from a standard bore 350 block and 305 crank, rods, and heads all gotten for free. My Dad gave me a set of factory 350 cast pistons he had held on to for years. I ridge reamed and honed the cylinders, polished the crank and had the rods checked and pistons pressed on. I bought new rings, bearings, gasket set, lifters and oil pump. I got a new L82 cam out of the scrap bin at work. Sure surprised the heck out of me how well it runs!

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