Ritter Blocks

Well it's time for an update. My block was being machined and my crankshaft was being built the last 12 weeks.

I picked both of them up from the L.A. area last Friday.

I bought a Bryant Crankshaft, it was a great decision.

The Ritter Block -
I took it to a top notch machine shop (QMP) because they had worked on a Ritter Block in the past, one that had a lot of problems, so I wanted them to see one of the newer Ritter Blocks. They are one of the best machine shops on the West Coast. Mike and Brad at QMP are real easy guys to work with. NO BS straight shooters that will tell you nothing but the truth, even if it hurts your feelings.

They machined it up and told me they had no issues with the block.
I had the cam tunnel opened up to 60mm (roller bearing). A screw in rear cam plug (total bitchin)
Lifter bores bushed
Decked to 9.580"
Line honed
Bored to 4.185"
Diamond honed
It was pressure tested and passed with flying colors.

A couple more pics.

Look beautiful.

Glad the Ritter block has overcome its issues.

Looks great! How much mallory is in the crank?

Weight in the crank, Not sure.

Bryant just ask for a bobweight and they do the balance.

What’s the ballpark “out the door” price for buying the block + machining to get it to the “ready to assemble” point?

That crank looks sick!

That is really good news, thanks for keeping us updated

Around $3000.00 for the block.

Bore, hone $300.00

line hone $150.00

deck $150.00

All machine shops have different rates so it's hard to say what the out the door price is. I can tell you I spent quit a bit to have the cam tunnel and lifter bore bushings done but I beleave it's well worth the money for what I'm trying to do.
If you have a shop that can diamond hone your block it's not cheep but there is a difference on what you get.

I can tell you this, the people at Bryant Crankshafts were awesome to deal with. I talked to Jim most of the time on the phone (awesome guy). When I got there Friday, I was waiting for Jim and Sonny Bryant approached me and introduced himself to me. Super nice guy, talked racing for a bit, asked about my project and was just a genuine race car guy.

After getting all the paper work done Jim was kind enough to take me for a tour of the shop. I know now why it takes so long to get one of these one off crankshafts.

Anyways I'm extremely happy with Bryant Crankshafts!

Good news about the block. The crankshaft is beautiful!

Thanks for the update.I'm following the exact same path. I'm waiting for the block to leave Ritters. Then it's going to QMP. I'm using a Molnar crank though.
Did QMP drill drain holes in the cam tunnel ?

Yep a work of art.

No I didn't ask them to do that.
My Uncle was kind enough to help with that, we have to decide where and how big (hole size).

White Dart has been kind enough to share what he did with his block so I'm following the leader so to speak.

I'm going to do some other things to the block to make sure we have good oil return.

How pretty is that crank? If Margot Robbie was a crankshaft, she'd look like that one.

So this is a 48 degree W style race head block?
Has anyone use the P7 head block?
Is one available?
It's nice that he got all the bugs out.
IMO 3000.00 is a very good price.
Matt

Glad to see another Ritter block being done, I had mine also machined by QMP curtiousy of whitedarts recommendation. These block are awesome, still building mine mostly done set up for a twin turbo, street/strip. Mike is a awesome guy, only dealt with him for my block, but those guys at QMP are awesome.

I am Extremely happy that the blocks are improving.. the guys over at QMP.. Have Been instrumental in getting these things to work.. I too have heard from them directly that the blocks are getting better.. your guys engines look amazing.. keep up the good work.. looks like I will need to pull mine out and make it faster

Love that beautiful gear drive.

Thanks, it's a nice piece.

It's good to see things coming around for blocks in the Mopar world.

Any idea what that block weighs?

Thanks for the update, very interesting.

I have a used Bryant crank and have also worked with Jim, he has always been very helpful.

I just picked up a used Winberg crank and they have been very good to work with as well.

Good luck and please keep us posted!

Bill

On Hughes engines web site it says they weight 215lbs. I'll look for my invoice and see if I can find it.

So you had the cam journals and lifters bushed, was that "needed" or could they have been used "as is" for a lesser build? Same with the bores (cylinder and crank), could they have been sucessfuly as is or did they need work?

Well the bore' s are a rough bore, I got the 3.99 and opened mine up, if you run a hydraulic lifter you might be okay, the cost isn't all that much to get them bushed and it's just extra insurance. The lifter galley is raised slightly from the center of the lifter. The cam bearing area can be opened to regular cam and bearings, I went roller and 50mm. It's well worth it for these blocks.

Plus depending on the heads you want to use, you'll need to need to have the coolant passages drilled. I'm using magnum heads and drilled 10 holes each side, but you can do it or have the shop do it. And if you go with standard bearings a oiling passage will need to be drilled in the rear journal as stated on the website as well. Roller bearing it's not needed due to the drain back and splash will be enough as Mike at QMP told me.

On mine the block came ready for 50mm roller bearings, ruff bored to 4.120", and the mains were bored but needed to be line honed. The lifter bores looked great and would work with the 50mm cam.The deck was ruff machined.

So bottom line you would need the block to be decked, line honed and the bores honed to 4.125". Not a lot of work if you ask me.

Did you ask your machinist how he determined the bore centerline on your rough bored block? Just curious. Not trying to stir the pot.

Nice, I may end up with one and I'm not even a drag racer. Just a regular guy.

I wonder what would be involved in building a big inch P7 aluminum monster. I believe the aluminum block is 1k more but not sure if same improvements have been made as iron block. Does anyone know of a current aluminum block build?

The blocks are not the same for p7 heads. Im not sure if any of the xrII blocks are working in builds. You can buy an Ernie Elliot aluminum block for p7 heads that can go to 440 inches.

I believe on a CNC Rottler

These block can be made to except P5 heads

Now that might be well worth the extra effort.

P7 Head I don't believe would be any better than a W8 or W9

69lawndart on here did a aluminum 420cid Ritter block build,I think that was the size, he helped with some improvments on things he found on his.

Sorry I was wrong it was a RMC v30 Block CNC Machine.

So with news getting out that the Ritter blocks are getting better will that news deture Darts interest in getting into the small block Mopar market. Hmmmmmmm.

he will fixture the block off of the mains and use a CNC boring machine. The same thing for the hone.QMP is not your average machine shop..

Reason I ask, is, if the rough bore is done with the same precision. I wonder how close the two machine centers were, and how close to blueprint, people actually end up with.

Basically he will cut the whole wherever it needs to be.. they do a lot of file core blocks also

This I understand. But, what about inaccurate initial boring, on a block with core shift?

If anyone want to see what they have, go to their website and you can see all the machines they have, it's an amazing place. It is worth the drive if you live here in Cali to see their shop.

Why are you so concerned?
Both White Dart and myself told you QMP enough said.

If you’re looking to build one of these let us know and we will get to the right people.
If you are just looking to pick at something go elsewhere.

Very well said. Ritter is making a product no one else would even consider. On a limited budget. He has worked his way through his teething issues. THANK YOU to all who worked with Kent Ritter and moved this project along.

As always happens, the cheap asses, whiny Chrysler guys instead of supporting this guy spend most of their time [censored] on them.

Leigh, they sonic every block, trust me you send a Ritter block to them, it's in very excellent hands. They really are a one stop shop for anything.

Thank you for being polite. I was not questioning the engine shop, just inquiring on the technology they use. When my rough bored 1994 R1 block was bored, Tesar Race Engines had to aquire an indexing fixture from Arrington, that was made to print specs. I see the Rmc V3 probes and compares to print. As far as sonic checking, yes, I'm sure they do. Good luck with what sounds like a good, solid platform.

I can see your where you are coming from, trust me I was worried too about core shifts. But this blocks due seem to be minor if not at all. Maybe not all blocks will go to the 4.220 bore they are suppose to but these blocks are solid, thick in areas that much needed it. If you or anyone has questions feel free to ask those of us that have them.

I will say this, Chrysler is well over due for blocks (big and small)glad to see this.

We are pushing for four digits.. out of an N/A.. we have gotten close.. but not there yet the motor is back apart looking for a few more HP.. my block is still leaking water through some porosity into the crankcase.. going to try to seal that up with epoxy.. keeping the water out of the oil on this block has been a challenge.. Granite this is second generation I know Bob's block is a 3rd generation.. which I am told is a nice piece..

Very cool Shilo i know you will find that extra hp somewhere. I going for 4 digits as well with pump and race fuel.
Bob what's your goal for your build?

Where is the porosity? I'm not all that familiar with cast iron casting and what cast iron those blocks are (I'm doubting they are CGI because they'd be more expensive) but I'm told the pour is too cold when you get porosity.

I believe the R series and R1 blocks were machined with factory style tooling and fixturing, which wasn't as accurate as much of the aftermarket CNC machined stuff now.

Well if I'm going to help Shiloh against Chevy and Ford I need to be in the same ballpark (4 digits). I might have to go to the next head program to get what Shiloh is after. I have a few things I'm going to try before more head work but I'll bet the heads need to go back to Brett before we reach 4 digits.

You guys need to understand that Brett, Shiloh and a few others are getting ridiculous numbers out of these small blocks. I'll see what I can do to make sure I'm not way behind once I get my deal going.

I here you on that, not sure if I'll be the first to force induction these block but we shall see, nice thing with turbo there are easy in the internals. And I'll take mine out to local events to also help you and Shilo take on them. Though mine is also a street car. Will be fun either way.

There is a place that my buddy knows that fix this. Its a new process they do on porosity blocks. I well get the number for you

Chris Adams at Metaplastics
11 Sherman St West Hartford CT 860 953 3492
He is super busy
This fixes porous blocks
**This will not fix Cracked Blocks**

Thank i will look at it

Matt.... was your block prepped for 59 degree? If so did it come that way from Ritter, or did QMP do that. Guess I’m just “assuming” looking at the machine work on the block.

It came that way from Ritter, QMP just inserted the sleeves and made them a little bigger to .937

Hang tight and in a little Dart will have a quality block with no worries about its quality..
Top builders are providing info on weak spots from earlier designs that needed attention.

Yeah there have been issues that were addressed, molds revised and new casts. My only issue was I ordered 340 main and Hughes site says all blocks take a 360 pan, well if you order 340 main you get a rear pan seal cut for a 340 pan. Had to have mine recut, no charge just shipping.

Most R3 blocks were for a 360 oil pan, regardless of the main size. Which is why I believe the Ritter blocks are like this. Did they make you a new rear main cap to suit the 340 oil pan?

They did the opposite due to I bought a 360 pan, so they cut down the rear cap for a 360 pan seal.