quote:Originally posted by eddie:
all main bearings were to the copper, machinist said maybe I got bad bearings, he checked the crank and said it was fine
#4. I have an edlebrock 4v intake on it right now, I noticed the intake ports are smaller than the ports on the heads,I called edelebrock and I was told this was on purpose to increase volume, should I keep this intake or look for a different one? my car has factory (functional) ram air so the intake needs to fit under the hood.
#5. If the crank is bad (cant be turned anymore) I might look into a scat stroker kit, not sure though, the crank was 10/10 and the block is not even 30 over yet, so not sure if I want to bore it if I don't need to (kit comes with 30 over pistons).
"machinist said maybe I got bad bearings" I agree with Bosswrench, most machine shops and engine rebuilders don't have a clue about Clevelands, the machinists statement is testament to that.
"I have an edlebrock 4v intake on it right now, I noticed the intake ports are smaller than the ports on the heads," This is not a stuff up by Edelbrock as so many seem to think,it was done very deliberately from results of intensive dyno research.
The port mismatch is beneficial and should not be enlarged or interfered with in any way.
I have used that manifold and it is very good. It is old now and there may be other new manifolds around that may produce an increase in performance over that manifold but there is certainly nothing wrong with it and if it fits under your hood and that is a primary concern there is no imperative to change.
"If the crank is bad (cant be turned anymore) I might look into a scat stroker kit, not sure though, the crank was 10/10 and the block is not even 30 over yet, so not sure if I want to bore it if I don't need to (kit comes with 30 over pistons)."
This is something that annoys me with machine shops, they bore everything .030" over whether it needs it or not simply because they are lazy and .030" is enough to clean up any block.
They don't want to get through 5 or 6 cylinders on a v8 block and find the .010" overbore they are attempting is not cleaning up a cylinder and then they have to start again with a .020" over bore.
That is really a function of slack workshop practice and inadequate measurement and job planning on their part.
This may be a common problem on soft as butter Chevy blocks but on nickle iron Cleveland blocks i would say that .010" would clean up even high mileage blocks, so boring them larger prematurely simply shortens the life of the block and gives you thinner cylinder walls unnecessarily.
I've seen Clevelands with 275,000 miles, with no oil pressure, timing chain about ready to fall off and only .003" wear in the bores and even with bearings worn down to the copper, no wear on the crank. Admittedly that was not in a race car but still that's not bad going.
That engine in fact got just a hone in the cylinders, new rings, polished the crank (not reground) new bearings and was put back into service.
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