Mike Rafferty(Mr. P-Body) and I picked up my 440 shortblock from St. Clair Engine this afternoon. Sean Meyers(former Best Machine engine builder)did most of the machine work and ALL of the final assembly. A little more work had to be done than I thought going in...but...I wanted a rock-solid bottom end,and everything equalized(balanced)as much as possible. That's the reason for the aluminum main caps,studs,and h-beam rods.I also purchased a Mancini rear seal holder,to HOPEFULLY quelch any oil leaks from that area! Besides going with stronger bottom end pieces,I had the cylinders honed with a PLATE,and the piston skirts were moly coated,for a .005 skirt/wall clearance.Also, the block was decked for trueness.Only needed a .003 cut. All in all,I feel I can sleep better at night,knowing I won't/SHOULDN'T have a bottom-end issue! I know..there's NEVER any guarantee,but I feel pretty confident with BOTH..the new parts,and Sean's abilities! Again..my GOOD friend Mike Rafferty has ALWAYS been there when I've needed his help! He's one HE** of a GREAT guy..but a LOT of you already knew that,I'm sure! Here are a few pics of the bottom end...and YES,I have more shrink wrap,since I can't start putting it back together for another week or so! Randy

ANOTHER

looks real sweet Randy...

Oh man that looks nice

Excellent Randy!

Sean is a great guy and an Excellent Engine builder.

You change anything else like cam,comp or head work?? Are you hoping to go quicker with the rebuild??

it is good to see progress.bee sure to check the detail\s like cam button,intermediat shaft play to name a few before you get the engine in and avoid some hastle later.

Looks good and solid...........I cringe every time I pass 7000rpm`s w/my stock bottom end and it looks like you`ve got that covered.

My pleasure Randy... I know that Sean took GOOD care
of you... or I should say your engine... thanks for
the lunch
On another subject I was asking Sean about my engine
and he said my cam is ALL WRONG for my set up.. which
I suspected ... he said I have WAY TO MUCH duration
and not enough lift... I knew about the lift part but
I didnt think it was all that bad on duration but my
cranking compression shows it is... so I think I'll
give him one of my 50mm cams to have ground... either
the one in the engine or my spare new un-ground one...
sorry for the side track Randy.. too bad you cant get
that thing back together soon BUT Randy is in the
process of MOVING and he has to be out in about a
week so his time is BOOKED right now packing up all
the house and finding a new house.... good luck with
that buddy... ALSO Randy is talking about having his
engine dynoed when he gets it back together.... BUT
I think his wife might have something to say about
spending more money on that car...LOL

Looks real good Randy. Ron

Looking Good Big R!!! Glad to hear you are happy with Shawn's work. Rest assured, you now have a more durable piece that will give you years of good service. There will always be unplanned expenses, I was told to plan for about 10% and that was about right. The extra expense of the dyno was worth it's weight in gold for me. I just had a conversation with Sean (HardcoreB) about this today. I got a proven piece as well as sorting out the carb and timing. I probably would have chased my tail for the whole season over the carb alone.
As for Raff, he's OK in my book too ! I've been very fortunate to form friendships with both You and Mike. Good luck with the move and if you need anything, please call. Talk to ya real soon.

Randy

Thanks EVERYONE! Bubba..you're right..Sean is a REAL nice guy! He ALWAYS answered any question I had about the build..without a second thought! Clanton..NO cam button!..I run a pretty stout solid flat tappet cam. Dom..I CRINGED on every 6500rpm up-shift!..NOT ANY MORE! BTW...nice shot of the Dart in action! Raff...sounds like it's time to get rid of that "wimpy" 286@.050 race cam! Randy..Thank You VERY MUCH for your referral on Sean..your help with pulling the motor,and ANY help with the ole' car in the future! You mention dyno time is worth it's weight in GOLD..which I agree 100%..but..GOOD friends, like Mike and Yourself,are worth TWICE your weight in GOLD! ..WOW!..that's a LOT of gold!!!..hahahaaaaahh!

Looks good, let's here the details! What rods, caps, crank, cams, etc.?

Awesome Hows the car coming along? I've not visited the race section in a while so probably missed some updates.

Thanks Wade..Bill! Wade,the rods are K-1 Technologies 4340 H-Beams,and the aluminum caps are SD Concepts,out of Troy,Mi.,and owned by a GREAT guy named Jerry! He took over BCR's operations a while back. He also fabricates the old BCR stud girdle sets...and they look VERY NICE...as well as the caps! The crank is a '70' factory forged unit,that has had all the oil holes chamfered,journals polished..and now,because of the piston coating,and new rods..30 grams of mallory added to the front and back throws..for a close-to-perfect balance! Is anything REALLY ever "perfect"???...I think NOT! But,I could be proven wrong,I suppose! The cam is a Comp custom,SQ lobe,solid flat tappet. The specs are .579I/.585E lift...duration is 262I/266E @.050,with a 108 LSA,center-lined at 105*. I was running consistent 11.20's-11'30's @ 118-119mph last season. Should pick up noticeably,now that the heads have been cnc-ported and milled .060...by Jeff@ Modern Cylinder Head. Heads are Edelbrock Performer RPM's......Bill,the car project has basically been put on hold indefinately! We're in the process of packing up our SOLD house...and searching for another one about a half hour to 45 minutes south of where we're at currently! OR...CLOSER TO DETROIT!...but not TOO close! Thanks for the kind words,fellas! Randy B.

Sounds like a nice, low maintenance combo that I'm sure will serve you good for a long time.

That looks really good Randy !

Big to Mr P for helping out


Ron

Looks good to me. Now that you've spent all this $$$ on engine & paint upgrades, your used carb budget must be down to the amount of loose coins you can find underneath the sofa cushions...

Bet your're happy to get it back Randy

Looks great

Quick question since rpm came up here + in one other place where the picture was posted:

Has your car historically ran it's best when shifted higher than peak hp rpm (rather than at peak rpm)?

Just wondered/comparing notes like always

YES,RON! Kudo's to Raff!..once again! He's a true friend! I'd be in a world of hurt,without his help! Thanks,Rich! After the dyno session at Jake's a few yrs. ago,I tried shifting at the peak hp rpm..which was right at 6,000. I normally shifted it at 6500. It slowed down a tenth or 2! I believe,with the heads being ported,the peak hp rpm will increase a bit..maybe 63-6500 rpm,that's just what I'm led to believe,after talking to a few knowledgeable people! If that's the case,I can see raising the shift points to 6800-7,000. That was my main concern with the stock caps and rods! I feel certain I made the "right" decisions on doing what I did! I suppose I could be proven wrong,though! ...Brad...ya got a nice Race Demon I could borrow?..AGAIN!!! I still have a real nice 950HP which belongs to Russ Dudek,in Pa. THANK YOU,Russ!

Looks great,Randy!! I have found that my 64 runs a hair quicker by shifting at 6200-6400 as opposed to 6800...Ol Raff is a good guy...I sure would like to have a beer with you guys someday!!

Thanks, nothing like real testing.

Reason I asked is because I think I found something similar to Ted (seems to be better with slightly lower rpm shifts), but haven't completely proven it yet.

FWIW, my car didn't run any quicker shifting at 6500 than 6200, even though it would pull to 6800+ through the traps. Testing, testing, testing...

RE: loaner Race Demon... I've actually got plans for the one I let Randy test over last summer. It's going to be my baseline carb when the MoPig is running again (whenever the he!! that is ). I've also done some updates to it since getting it back that should -- in theory -- help it run a bit better, too.

looking real good Randy, hope everything works out on the new home and getting the car finished, Norwalk in sept going to be doable this year or is that pushing it.

I shift at 6200 with mine Randy, my motor is similar to yours but i have more comp.
Mick

Awesome work guys Looks bullet proof to me

Thanks everyone! Ted..beers will be on Raff! I hope that happens in the future! Zipster,I'll see what the dyno says,when I get it back together...then do some experimenting at the track! Bill,appreciate it! It's been a task trying to find a decent house in our price range,that doesn't need a LOT of re-do's! A $150,000 house initially...can easily end up a $180,000 money pit!..EASILY!Sorta like a certain green GTX! It's not going to be easy..but,we're not giving up! For as much as my wife LOVES this house..which is VERY nice,she's grown tired of the inconvenience of being 45-60 minutes away from most of our friends and family..and the same amount of time for her to drive to work! We're not getting any younger,that's for sure! WISH US LUCK! As far as getting the car done..I'm shooting for the end of June..mid-July the latest! Rick,I just hope it's as strong as it looks! Thanks,buddy!