New engine combo for the B-cuda

You staying with the glide or going back to a 3 speed?

Currently staying with the glide. Would love to try a Protrans but, a new one is just not in the cards.

Leon

Pretty Cool Leon!! Didn't he have an M & M Tunnel Ram on that thing?

I could listen to that engine all day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVHRwhP3b04&feature=share&list=ULBVHRwhP3b04

Leon, looks good, glad to hear you are getting the car back together.

Donald

Leon glad to hear you are getting it back together. Good luck with it. Looks forward to seeing the progress and results.

I keep thinking air shifted 5spd when you are talking about a motor like that in that little A body! Man that thing should be a blast. What did the old PS Trucks run for transmissions?

Leon,

Glad to see that engine finally found a good home.

Too bad Bob couldn't ever get time to use it himself. I know he's been busy with his shop.

Now I just hope he gets my chassis done sometime this year.

Kenny B.

Pro stock truck ran Liberty's and a couple G force trannies.

No way I would air shift. Too much money spent not to enjoy shifting.

I would gladly take a donated Liberty, Browel bell and double or triple clutch set up.

Or even a Pro trans.

Hey buddy, good to see you getting back at it. Remember if you need help, ask. I may be able to get out to help.

Anthony

Still fitting everything around the R5P7 combo. Here is a pic from underneath been making the exhaust work with what I had.

Leon

looks good, you get the headers in the deal?

Yes, Bob had built headers for his duster. They did not quite fit my car and where tri-Y. Had change a couple tubes to make them work. Plus sense they were Tri-y the primary tubes did not have to be perfectly parallel to slide a 4/1 collector on the primaries. I bought the 4/1 collectors and had to make them fit. Along with some big alterations to make them work with my current exhaust.

This is probably going to be louder than what I wanted but, it is what I already had. If it does not work out I will get another set of collectors and do a X style exhaust. Just don't want to sink a lot of money into the small style exhaust when I plan to build a larger engine with larger exhaust later on.

Leon

Nice purchase. I did not know Bob was officially selling the old motor, it really made some good power and his latest changes look real promising. Have some fun with it now.

Should be pulling it and the transmission out this afternoon. Going to take advantage of an extra hole my bellhousing has up top that torqueflites do not. Already marked just need to drill and tap the adapter plate. Also got to profile mill the adapter a little around the transmission to help clear my firewall tunnel area.

Pretty sure what Valvesprings and retainers I want to run. Will know for sure this week. I may be using a different piston that is nitrous freindly. Have not made the decision for that part of it yet.

Leon

Several months later and still finding gremlins.

Was not satisfied with the adapter plate. I had to redo my firewall and tranny tunnel to accomodate it. Looked into other options like custom flywheel and plug and redrill a bell. Nothing happened there. Drilled and tapped the twelve O'clock hole as the JW bell has it. Took the 3/8 to 1/4 reducers out at 11 and 1 O'clock and machined the adapter for 3/8 sockethead screws. Will leave the bolts out of those postions on the bell as I am using the 12 O'clock bolt. Drilled the hole out for the 7/16" on the PS which had previously been left small. Still looking for a better way to handle the 7/16" on the starter side. May just stay with Bob's design with the 5/16. The dowels to go into the bell were a shallow into the adapter to clear the dowels from the block. So I am drilling and countersinking 1/4" bolts to secure them from the engine side. That should really help the adapter.

Upon going through the engine noticed 1,3,5,&7 rod bearing wear. Upon looking further noticed .010" thrust clearance. For a new build with one pass this was not good. Found some rod bearings and Bob sent a brand new main bearing set to replace the thrust. HE GETS THE NICE GUY AWARD FOR THAT. He knew another guy running an identical tranny that burnt the thrust on a crank. So something was going on there.

Was really having trouble with the rocker arms and thought it was the longer valves. Later found that was not the case. Shimmed the stands and bought longer pushrods. And then found out that the rockers previously run were different lengths. Why T&D can not mark their rocker arms better is beyond me. The stands called for 1.850" rocker length and a few were 1.750". So after going through all the extra parts I ended up with 1.9 ratio intakes and 1.75 exhaust with the 1.850" length. Got quite a few rockers that are 1.75" long if anyone needs any. Then while switching things around stripped a hole in the head for the rocker stand. Guess what, the stand bolts were too short. T&D says torque to 65ft lbs. If I had, all the bolt hole would be stripped. I torqued to 45 during mock up and stripped one hole. Ole Helicoil fixed it right up. Got the proper bolts off a guy on Ebay and away we go.

I bought this engine over others for the heads and extras that Bob had come up with. I figured on some things I would want to change. Turns out they were things that had to be fixed. This is kind of normal for buying another guys stuff. Really looking forward to getting this thing in the car. Still looking for some different ratio rockers and a little shorter pushrod for the intake and a little longer for the exhaust. They are steadily showing up on Ebay. So that should come in time. Or if Ritter will call me back he problably has everything I need. T&D rockers have become scarce on Ebay for these engines.

All in all months down the road I would still have bought the engine. Maybe haggled a little but would have still bought it.

Hoping to get it running and make some noise. Would be nice if it has street maners enough for dragweek. Registration is coming soon.

Leon

You have more patience than me Leon. Sounds like you are building a Pink Elephant.

Good luck and I cant wait to see what it runs

It takes patience, knowledge and imagination, time, money...bla bla blaa.....lol. Trust me... Wana see a real pink elephant...!!!! Lol

Ran it today first time out.

After several days of thrashing. Had to cut pistons for some plug clearance. OOOOPPPSS
Make a transmission tunnel and new exhaust system as the old one sounded horrible.

First pass 6.73@106. Shifted at 8K. Was ready to make a phone call and give the previous owner what for.

Then poked around and found number one plug needed to be indexed cause it was gapped -.002" LOL.

Second pass 6.4@114. Still pretty weak. Car spinning through low gear with horrible 60fts. I can work on that but 114MPH is no where near the HP the dyno sheet showed.

Third pass 6.22@115 shifting 8,500. Freind watched and said car was spinning pretty hard through first gear. Still no explanation for the pitiful MPH.

Fourth pass picked the timing up 4 degrees to account for the domed pistons that were not in it when it was previously dynoed. Left off the line car picked the front up and proceeded left. Carried it through the 60ft which was still terrible but the little engine was wanting to go.

Came back to do some adjusting sense the car had broke the link to the antiroll some time ago and had been fixed without setting up again. Was crawling around on the ground to make a quick adjustment when the track called it a day.

My converter is no where near as loose as what Bob had and I am running a glide. That said still hard to beleive this engine went 5.8 shifting at 6600. This engine does not seem to pull at all until it gets to 7,800. I thought my W8 hated low RPM, wrong.

Got a few things to do. Don't want to give up the performance but the 6.17 gear is not street freindly at all. I want to street this engine. SO a gear change has gotta happen. The owner of the track asked how the track was. I said it has to be fine the car goes down it on antique tires front first. I then reminded him how I got the tires back in 2008 and raced them most of the season in 2010. So gears, tires, some adjusting, and some more tuning and this little screamer should easily run the 5.95 index in bad air. That is all I am after at this time. And of course enough streetability for dragweek in september.

I have another carb to try, some spacers, rocker arms. I am running about .065 more lift sense I have springs on the heads to handle it. The engine may run better with less lift. Time will tell.

Main thing didn't break anything. The oil and water is still were it is supposed to be. And I am dead tired as I have not had this playtoy toghether sent this time 2011.

Leon

Way to go Leon!! Glad to see you get some seat time.

Rod

Seat time

.028 light first run

.177 light second, just missed it, must have been star gazing

.015 third

-.003 last hit

getting right back into the tree

Glad to see you finally made it out Leon. I'm sure with some more tuning and seat time you will get it in the 5's. Maybe Bob forgot to tell you he had a 200 shot of no2 when he went 5.85 shifting at 6600, or maybe his tach was a bit off or he ment 9600??? Good luck and keep us posted.

There is a Utube video of his pass. I think someone posted the link in one of the early post in this thread.

I have no doubt the car ran the number as it is clear in the video. I was always suspicious of the shiftpoint after watching the video. With a 904 tranny and 8K stall I'm sure the engine will jump on out there especially running Q16. I am not planning on running Q16. Just too expensive and stinks up everything. Just going to have to sacrifice that 30HP.

Watching that video and after running the engine. If I had not been told any different I would have suspected he shifted at 8,600. A lot was going on he made that first pass then came back. The engine broke a valve in the staging lanes. Later they discovered the playback only went to 6,600. Anything is possible but, my guess is for some reason either a reset or fluke the playback just did not represent that run.

I know several people who ran W8 Comp motors with this HP in heavier cars that ran 5.4-5.5's with Proflite trannies. It is possible that my converter and tranny just kills engines like this one. I never ran to full potential with my 421 W8. But, it would run 5.95 bad plugs tons of timing pulled in low gear and shifting at 8K. By it's third pass when it was new it ran a 5.69@120. So I am a little dissapointed at the moment but, this engine has not been given a real chance yet. Another test and tune session and it should come right around.

Leon

Leon my R5p7 motor has me going crazy,
I just ordered a 7"converter to stall at about
8500,going to try some 557gears, I use a 275/60
Radial, not tall at all, I'm hoping its enough. I drove
Car on street already ,will do exhaust when I have car
On lift doing converter n gears, I have no patients, but
I did get some seat time n data for new converter. I will
Run the number I want soon. Keep it going you will get
There.
By the way thanks for answering my nagging questions,
This motor has been an education.

Car is too heavy for that motor and a 2 speed tranny.

If you want to go fast get a gear jammer in the car with 4 or 5 gears. Need to keep the R's up

How much fun would that be

1027 Gough Rd.
Rustburg, VA 24588

A Browell aluminum bell for R5 with a Ford 8 bolt flywheel. All the best cross shaft designs please. A Liberty 5 spd face plated gears for street use.

Let me know when I can expect this as I will take car apart the weekend before.

Thanks a bunch in advance.

Leon

Great minds think alike Just what I was thinkin.