I certainly don't advocate "hack jobs" Mine aren't "hacked" at all. I didn't remove 2 grams of material to get clearance. Material removed was on the edge of the rod near the threaded hole. I assure you if you saw it you would NOT be concerned.

RIP

I dont see Cab as the kind of a hack man and i rest ashore that he will make this yet one monster Engine !

My 525(4.5" X 4.310.) motor with a big roller hit the rods when it wasn't degreed. Once it was set no problem with clearance... the lobe juts squeaks past the rod though.

I was asleep at t h e switch on this post

Cab having to clearance a rod or bolt is not unusual at all. It is common practice on many engine combos done by big name race engine shops everyday, it is nothing out of the norm. Guess those names most know are just backyard hacks too I would also suggest especially for the combo you are building to remove all but #1 and degree the cam in and recheck. You may be ok then but maybe not. If you have to clearance the rods a bit it is not a big deal

Maybe that's the reason I'm burning out on the sport after 42 plus years. I rairly pay anyone to do my work and I don't grind on rods, rod bolts, tap oil pans while on the car, or other shortcuts the experts say is common practice. I take it apart and fix the issues.

The piston side of the rod bolt boss on the rod is hitting the top of the cam lobes, I will remove all the rods and pistons except #1 and 2 to degree the cam and hope that fixes it
I'll update what I find themn, probalbly at the end of the week as I have a motor to dyno tomorrow and Thursday

I guess if you buy rods where they come out of the box "stroker clearanced" it's fine....... But if you modify the rod in the same manor yourself its a "hack job".

I'll have to make a note of that.

You don't need to beat around the bush. The fact you do not personally do any of this is fine by me. I really have no issue with it. Just because many others are willing to do things different from your way does not make them wrong either....

Some guys will thinks it's ok to clearance them in the block and don't say ohhh no that would never happen. I've personally watched guy's grind and continue on with their builds like nothing happened. Lol. The masking tape will catch everything

Maybe golf or something might be a better choice, but it looks like after 42 years of racing you have become closed minded and bitter.

Go pull the wings off some flies, legs off ants, set a cat on fire, not everyone does things the same way and that dont make them wrong or bad.

Go grind some rods

Im doing that right now But im almost out of tape.

What some of you guys don't realize or think about is that on a public forum like this We have anyone from a young child wanting to learn to the experienced engine builder. Some of our guys that post often and answer lots of questions are sometimes just "parts buyers" that buy from others and have engine builders that put things together for them. Not everyone should be taking a grinder to their blocks, cranks, rods, and heads as they could do LOTS of unrepairable damage. I've seen a lot over the years and like I said above I've been there done that on my 572 Keith Black build and there was no way in heck was I going to grind when I had so much on the line.

Well, you have a point, and it is valid. Just like a cylinderhead, an untutored person with a grinder can do a lot of harm. I remember a few years ago that a member used a ridge reamer and had to buy oversize pistons as the standard pistons had the top ring getting into the reamed area.

However, if the rods won't clear the camshaft or the block, what do you suggest? Buy a smaller base circle cam? Disassemble the block and send the rotating assembly out to be reground for a new set of 2.200" rods? Grind, new rods, rebalance all cost money. What about the block? If you cannot modify the block to get clearance then the whole thing comes out. What then? Buy a new block? Cut the counterweights in a lathe even though it's a heck of a job with interrupted cuts all over the place? AndyF says it can be done. Then rebalance.

Many times an experienced engine builder will grind a small bit of something to get clearance. This doesn't seem to influence longevity. I don't think they are being irresponsible.

We need to remember that an engine is just a greasy lump of cast iron and doesn't know if what you did to it was the proper method or not.

Peace to you All,
R.

This a little like, "how do you cure polio without using a needle".

Big stroke, big rods, big cams = Big cuts on the rods. No way around it, and done every single day. That's why you can buy rods with cam cuts,and so on.


Ford, and Chevy, OK, we'll try it.

Mopar, no, it was perfect when it was made...

Ran into this mocking up one of the first 427" Stroker 351 Windsor fords in the mid 90's, the combo used a 400M crank offset ground to 4.17" and the rod journals cut for mopar 340 rods. Wound up having the cam reground plus still massaging the shoulders of the bolts just a tad until I had .060" clearance.

A neat trick for mock-up is to wrap the lobe with a medium grade black (outdoor type) electrical "Zip-tie" or "Tie-Wrap" since they are almost exactly .060" thick. I also put in a Pete Jackson gear drive to eliminate the chance of chain stretch related problems down the road.

Patience is the key. It seemed frustrating at the time but I was building the Cobra so I knew fire-up was a long way off so I just "lived and learned". Since it was the first Coast High Performance stroker kit they sold so they comp'ed me some freebies (like fly-cutting my pistons for the new (at the time) Trick flow Windsor Heads, since I basically did most of their R&D for them.

I had known (from the old timers long ago) that a '5/8 Stroker (4.375" or bigger) crank in the Hemi usually wound up getting up in the cam and Paul Savadin (Paul's Crankshafts) and I had a long talk about the merits of the 2.200 BBC journals on the B/RB/hemi's for that reason as well.

Id definitely grind them as needed, if I was in that spot, I'm sure you know the risks and precautions needed to keep trash out of the engine.