Ideal Engine

Question 1:
How much of the $4K to $5K budget is going to the machine shop for labor & machine work? In other words, how much budget do you have for parts?

Question 2:
What sort of engine do you want out of this? Daily driver thats reliable & has good drivability? Lumpy idling motor? Track motor? Define whats important please.

Question 3:
Why not extend the budget to $6K and purchase a 408 cubic inch Cleveland crate motor from MME Racing, 540 bhp?

cowboy from hell

Thanks George I have a call into MME right now. I saw the post on this board and your post on theirs. I spoke with Heather today. Sounds like a first class operation.

In short I want a solid driver. I want to reuse my heads and block, run pump gas, and have a very strong solid car. I would like a nice lumpy idle.

At your suggestion I am reading the book by Tom Monroe, but as the icon says I am a "novice"

If I was to do it over again I would call MME. They have a great rep on the Cleveland board.
Will

I'll be getting my MME 427 Clevor in about 3 weeks. 600+hp, but the budget was definitely not $6K.

But then again I have the Dart Iron Eagle Race block, Scat Forged Crank, forged rods, forged pistons, Jesel Shaft rockers and mechanical roller lifters, CHI 218 Heads, etc, etc.

To get the most form any motor you will need Pat Mical's headers & a good set of free flowing mufflers, like those sold by PI Motorsports.

You need to upgrade to electronic ignition if you haven't already done so.

Normally I would recommend a set of 2V size closed chamber Australian heads from a 302C motor. Apparently you are set on keeping your big port heads.

Your motor rebuild should include a head rebuild with one piece stainless valves, chrome moly retaners, Ford "pedestal mount" roller rocker arms. Some port & bowl clean up (mild porting) would also be advisable. (are you sure I can't talk you into a set of 302C heads?)

Zero deck the block, align hone, index the bores, etc.

Fordged pistons with dished tops, dishes specified to mimic the shape of the combustion chamber in the cylinder heads, shoot for 9.5:1 compression ratio. Good rod bolts, Romac balancer, RollMaster timing chain; typical parts found in a good rebuild.

A custom ground hydraulic roller cam is my first recommendation in camshafts. A Crane Retro-fit hydraulic roller cam is my second choice in cams. For a flat tappet cam I recommend the Comp Cams XE274.

You can spend $$ on an aftermaket intake & carb, or to keep the motor externally stock, use a 1972 Cobra Jet intake & Autolite 4300D carb.

Anything left in the budget, purchase a Scat stroker crank kit (fordged pistons come with the kit and with the stroker kit installed the oem big port heads aren't as much of a liablility).

Since you want the motor to look stock, I take that to mean alloy heads are out of the question.

cowboy from hell

George,
Thanks for the kind words, just thought I would drop a note to let you know whats-up at MME. We have put many of our Cleveland parts in kit form of multiple levels. For instance, we have a cam lifter, spring, retainer and lock package, Stage 2 adds rockers, studs and guide plates and stage 3 adds valves.
We have also added CNC block and head prep and porting.
Within days we will have " Unassembled Crate Engines" Pricing finalized for the owner who wants a proven engine combination but still wants to be hands on.
We are a full in house machine shop and engine builder. We offer a full line of parts and match pricing with the two big warehouses while offering advice and tech from a builders prospective.
Thanks to all of the Pantera owners who have supported MME and we look forward to helping many more. I hop 2007 is a great year for everyone!

Welcome aboard Mark, you are welcome to keep our members informed what services & parts you offer anytime.

Thanks for stopping by.

George