Reconditioning the Bottom End Building a motor on a budget requires a lot of do-it-yourself
work. After all, much of the cost in building a new motor
is in machine work and labor. For this build-up the only
trip we made to a machine shop was to have our piston
and rod assemblies hot tanked. We honed the bores, cleaned
up the deck, and performed all assembly in our garage
with standard tools.
We decided to give the stock 4.36" bores a
quick hone using a three-stoned, drill mounted cylinder
hone. Move the drill at a relatively slow speed
evenly up and down the bore. Each cylinder only
requires 30-45 seconds.
The medium grit stones serve to break the glaze
and put a slight cross hatch on the cylinder walls.
This will promote good ring seal. The far cylinders
in this photo show the new finish, while the near
cylinder shows the condition before honing.
Another expense avoided is machining the deck surface.
Our block showed no evidence of head gasket sealing
problems or warpage. We cleaned up the surface using
fine grit sand paper and a Scotch-Brite pad.
A critical step is to wash the block to eliminate
dirt, grease and other contaminants inside the oil
galleys and on machined surfaces. Engine degreaser
and laundry soap work well for a home cleaning.
Use rifle brushes to scrub the oil passages as shown.
They are also usefull for cleaning out threaded
holes such as those for the main and head bolts.
Use a tap to chase any rust or otherwise gunked
up threads. This is critical to achieve proper fastener
torque readings on head and main studs or bolts.
Don't be in a rush
to remove and replace the factory oil galley plugs.
Unlike standard hardware store plugs these have
a tapered back side which allows for some oil flow.
Not only does it look pretty, but painting the exterior
of the block will help ward off rust and keep fluids
from soaking into the iron.
Prior to assembly of the main bearings check for
any rough edges between the bearing caps and saddle
mating surfaces. If needed, make a light pass with
a flat file to smooth them down.
We're setting one side of
the two-piece rear main seal into position. Lightly
coat the seal with oil to ease installation. Allow
1/4" to 3/8" of the seal to protrude on
one side. Detailed
info.
The remaining main bearings
are set into place. We are Clevite 77 standard
sized bearings.
New bearings are a cheap investment and will ensure
good oil pressure and crank life.
Our crankshaft received similar
cleaning as the block. After coating the crank-side
of the bearings with moly assembly lube we carefully
set the crankshaft into place.
Rather than reuse the stock
main bolts we opted for ARP studs (see side bar).
The studs are installed finger tight, using a little
of the supplied moly on the threads.
The main caps are fitted with bearing shells and
placed over the studs. A light smack with a hammer
is usually neccesary to seat the cap square in the
saddle.
We chose to use main studs
rather than bolts to help strengthen the two-bolt
main 460 block. When using bolts to secure your main
caps the fastener is actually being twisted while
it is being torqued to proper reading. The bolt is
then reacting to two different forces simultaneously.
Main studs are installed in a relaxed mode. Studs
should only be installed finger tight. Once you install
the cap and torque the nut, the stud will stretch
on the vertical axis for a more accurate torque reading.
Automotive
Racing Products 1863
Eastman Avenue
Ventura, CA 93003 www.arp-bolts.com
We decided to give the stock 4.36" bores a
quick hone using a three-stoned, drill mounted cylinder
hone. Move the drill at a relatively slow speed
evenly up and down the bore. Each cylinder only
requires 30-45 seconds.
The medium grit stones serve to break the glaze
and put a slight cross hatch on the cylinder walls.
This will promote good ring seal. The far cylinders
in this photo show the new finish, while the near
cylinder shows the condition before honing.
Another expense avoided is machining the deck surface.
Our block showed no evidence of head gasket sealing
problems or warpage. We cleaned up the surface using
fine grit sand paper and a Scotch-Brite pad.
A critical step is to wash the block to eliminate
dirt, grease and other contaminants inside the oil
galleys and on machined surfaces. Engine degreaser
and laundry soap work well for a home cleaning.
Use rifle brushes to scrub the oil passages as shown.
They are also usefull for cleaning out threaded
holes such as those for the main and head bolts.
Use a tap to chase any rust or otherwise gunked
up threads. This is critical to achieve proper fastener
torque readings on head and main studs or bolts.
Not only does it look pretty, but painting the exterior
of the block will help ward off rust and keep fluids
from soaking into the iron. 
Prior to assembly of the main bearings check for
any rough edges between the bearing caps and saddle
mating surfaces. If needed, make a light pass with
a flat file to smooth them down.
The main caps are fitted with bearing shells and
placed over the studs. A light smack with a hammer
is usually neccesary to seat the cap square in the
saddle.
