Nice looking good!
I am going to be pulling my 408 soon also. I am going to go through it and reseal everything, replace the lifters, and tune it on the dyno. If I ever get this other damn mustang finished!!!
The car you're working on is looking great Kevin!
We learned that
none of the after market STROKER cranks have the rear oil slinger which keeps a majority of the oil away from that vulnerable RMS area. It is becoming more common for Cleveland builders who are "in the know" and somewhat more importantly, those who are the types of builders who don't half ass their work with avoiding to do a somewhat easy machining process. (most charge $100-200) Of course you have to break down the entire engine to do it! Again this is regarding STROKER cranks not the stock ones.
As a building contractor, I build everything to the best of my ability and yes, sometimes projects may be over done or over thought but I can never settle for the alternative. When you hire anyone, for any service, whether it's a mechanic, a building contractor or a doctor you are hiring a person. What is their natural inclination toward being very detailed with the things they do?...that's what I'm looking for when I talk to someone who I may hire. The engine builder who built my 408 had all the credentials but it turned out that he is a total halfasser. Absolutely no attention to detail. No align bore/hone when he spec'd that he did those procedures. No torque plate when honing the cylinders. Evidence of alot of dirt in the engine by major scoring on the bearings. Two freeze plugs leaked. (one blew on my first dyno run- that'll make your heart sink) All in the first 4,000 miles. The engine really ran great and sounded awesome but it leaked from almost every possible place it could leak from. No attention to detail, which is exactly what I clearly asked him for.
We're reusing most parts (pistons, cam etc.) but all bearings are being replaced, align honing done, lifter bushing bores had to be honed to straighten them up after his poor quality work.
The freeze plugs don't really need to be threaded but the boss blocks were and it really isn't that expensive. I wanted them done. Should turn out great this time. I hope.
