I pulled the pan to confirm the problem, then put it back on to keep it from dripping oil all over the floor. The gas has been drained from the tank and carb with the lines blown out. Current status is garage art!! 

Had to get the house ready to sell and now we are in the process of moving. Maybe another month and I can do something with it. I do have another block in the garage that should be usable. Ms. Bolted doesn't like the fact that a 50 year old crank broke in a 50 year old block and would like to see both of them new when it goes back together.

For used side oiler blocks, I've seen anywhere from $1500 and up depending on what they needed and current bore. Bear Block Motors sells a new cast iron 427 side oiler block. The website shows $3800 and out of stock!! From others that have bought them, it would need some final machining before assemble started with a 4.25 bore.

My motor that broke was a .60 over 410 displacing about 422 CI. If I go with that BBM block and the same stroke I had, 3.98, it makes a 451 CI motor. With a 4.125 stroke crank, its 467 CI. and a 4.25 stroke gets to be a 482 CI monster. All it cost is money, right!! If I keep the same stroke, then I can reuse 6 of the 8 rods. Going to the 4.125 and longer will require a new set of rods. I haven't dug enough or asked questions about my cam becoming too small with the additional CI. In true fashion for me, I started a spread sheet to cover cost for different options, but haven't had time to finish it.

I would like to go for a ride I a 428 car too.

 

Use the same train of thought  that gets tossed around here.... for just a “bit” more than a standard rebuild, you can have a stroker!!!

My rods as singles are $95 each. The rod for a longer stroke are BB brand X for less than $500 a set. Cranks are about the same cost and I gotta have pistons anyway!! The top end is in good shape already.  I will be “bench driving” instead of bench racing!!

Spelling....

Last edited by Bolted to Floor (10/16/2019 7:56 PM)

One very important thing I forgot to mention was rod ratio.  Not necessarily for performance but for longevity, go with the longest rod you can. Rod ratio is a whole other subject that I don't want to get into other than the fact that higher ratio is better.
 If you are getting new pistons anyway they can be had to accomodate the longer rods.

GPatrick wrote:

I just finished building the FE stroker for my truck.  I started with a pick and pull 360/390 block.  It was a 73 block which has some improved webs and iron, as I found out later.  The block was magnafluxed and the bores were sonic tested.  It had been bored 30 over in a previous rebuild and the sonic testing showed that 40 over would not be an issue.  There are some advantages with a seasoned block and the FE blocks are pretty stout to begin with.  The sideoilers were great for extended high RPM racing but for spirited street use the standard blocks are pretty reliable.  The block was cleaned, the appropriate oiling modifications were performed, etc..  The only real issue was that when it was rebuilt the decks were machined.  Great, except they were not square and true to the crank.  So, a little more had to be shaved off the decks.

The combo we went with is a Scat 4.25" crank, Scat 6.7" rods (BB Chevy), and Mahle pistons.  The cost of refurbishing old stuff and new pistons, etc., for a rebuild ends up almost being a wash compared to the stroker components.  The pistons, being .040 over were a bit of a hit on the budget.  Nice pistons with low tension rings.  The rotating assembly was balance with some Mallory Metal as the ultimate combination of components needed a bit more weight.

I found a set of Bear Block (BBM) heads at a swap meet that saved me about $700 so my little 447 could breathe a little better.  Where I went of the rails was with the cam.  Originally I was going to use a flat tappet hydraulic cam but I convinced myself that I needed to go roller.  The roller cam is a steel billet and I have to get a special steel gear to get it to work and provide longevity instead of bronze.  With the fancy T&D rockers and other components I probably added $2000 to the build.  Other components include a blueprinted oil pump and a windage tray.

The Scat crank was  nearly perfect.  The snout is about 0.001" bigger than stock so we had to do a little work on the crank timing sprocket.  The main and rod clearances were spot on and I am happy with it.  My engine guy has had the best success with Scat and the final machining work they do.

I am trying to complete the swap in a few weeks.  It is going into a 1970 F-250 that I intend to use for towing a reasonably sized travel trailer.  The cam is setup for mostly torque and the valve train is good for about 5300 RPM.  The cam is 218/226 at .050" with 0.597 lift and 112 lsa to keep the Holley Sniper happy.  I topped it with an Edelbrock Streetmaster intake that I opened on the inlet flange and conservatively smoothed at the flange. 

For now I will be running the new motor through the 4R70W I installed almost two years ago.  I am pushing the torque limits of the 4R70W but I have a rebuildable 4R100 in the garage if necessary that will bolt right up.

Rob at Blue Oval Engineering  builds a number of BBM cast iron block motors and just had one delivered a few weeks ago.  Could be that they are not readily available at BBM but you could possibly get one from several engine builders.  They are pretty good out of the box but with any aftermarket parts these days, I would want someone to go over it just to be sure everything is in spec.  Honestly, for what I think you intend to do, a 390 based stroker would save some money and if the money is burning a hole in your pocket you could play around with head modifications, cams, etc.  In your case it seems like the crank took out your block and not the other way around.  A properly prepared used block from someone that knows FE's should work very well.

Sorry about the long-windedness.  Send me a message if you want any more details on my build - I have every page of the multi-page invoice for part numbers and costs.

Sounds like a good recipe for success!
 

Since I live in Colorado I'll first have to drag the mountains over to Texas first!  This is a fun engine to build.  All I got from the shop was a bare block and a lot of boxes.  Can't wait to get it running.  With a forced "retirement" a month ago I have plenty of time to work on it when not travelling 36 weeks a year that I have done for the last few decades.

 

Nice build GPatrick. Thank for sharing.

That truck should be a blast to drive and I hope your swap goes easy. What headers are you running?? Most of the truck header ports don’t always line up well with the CJ style exhaust ports across the bottom of each cylinder. It can be a thin overlap of the two for sealing, like less than 3/16”. It tends to cause the header gaskets to blow out.
 
Did you use the valve cover spacers to clear the T&D stuff? I hear that is some of the better parts for a FE valve train and its kinds pricey too.  
 
Is that single plane intake gonna do OK down low in the RPM range? The cam may run out of oomph at 5300, but your valve train should be good for more.
 
I like that you have an overdrive auto. If I have another car with an FE, it will be an automatic. I would be interested in see the invoice if you don’t mind sharing.
 
 
You are probable right on the block, I shouldn’t need one…...but it sure would be neat. I have one of those early 70’s block with the extra webbing like you. Just have to find out what kind of condition it is in. I like the Scat stuff and will likely go that route for a crank, no matter the stroke. I like that the crank measured that good. The new one will still go through the machine shop for checking. Trust, but verify!!
 
I have the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, Felony heads from Survival, with a roller cam, and I bought that same $60 gear for the distributor. I don’t remember the duration, but the lift was like .579. I used Morel roller lifters, Precision Oil Pumps (POPS) end stands, and the heavy-duty rocker shafts from Rockauto with some factory adjustable rocker arms and new adjusting bolts. Smith Brothers made the pushrods. I still use the springs between the rockers and took the time to make sure the rockers were centered over the valve stems with the spacers from POPS. If I get a little more comfortable with my measuring of push rods, I may go back to the factory style non-adjustable rockers to knock some weight off the valve train. May gain a few RPM’s too!! I can be goo with a 6K red line.  I w Decisions, decisions!!  
 
With 6600 miles on the odometer, a lot of these same parts will go in the next motor if they check out good.
 

Last edited by Bolted to Floor (10/17/2019 7:30 AM)

GPatrick wrote:

Since I live in Colorado I'll first have to drag the mountains over to Texas first!  This is a fun engine to build.  All I got from the shop was a bare block and a lot of boxes.  Can't wait to get it running.  With a forced "retirement" a month ago I have plenty of time to work on it when not travelling 36 weeks a year that I have done for the last few decades.

 

ooops.........thought you was one of them TEXAS crowd.
 

Stopped by the engine shop when I was getting the truck aligned today.

If you do want to go with the Bear Block, the blocks have been coming in very good.  The decks are "high" and require machining to the pistons that are being used.  The bores are .005" under to allow for finish hone also to match the pistons.  That plus checking all dimensions and some mild deburring runs about $500 to $600.  He got his last block about 2 months ago and is not aware of supply limitation.  He would be happy to prep the block, match it to your rotating components and get it balanced for you but he also thinks you can build a heck of a stroker based on a 390 or 428 block.

A shop that he knows in another part of the country bought an iron block from a different company and spent considerable time and money getting it to work.  The cam bore was off as in not straight and the crank journals were also out and apparently not parallel to the cam.  They were able to get it sorted out but the next block they got was from Bear Block and it was a piece of cake.

He and other builders tend to avoid the aluminum blocks from all the suppliers including Shelby.  Casting porosity is a big problem and they all tend to leak unless fully sealed.

And, my rods were just long enough to connect to the pistons (not that I had a choice).
 

It was a blessing.  Got the "call" while waiting to fly to Germany for a River Cruise.  Bad timing but I was happy that the uncertainty was over.  Figuring out quickly that with spare time and hobbies the money flows fast. The T&D's were about $1200 but they should last without issues.

I was doing some reading on maximum lift with the stock non-adjustable rockers.  Opinions are all over the place but the conservative value is .500".  Lift is generally shown for 1.76 rockers  (the adjustable type) and the non-adjustable are 1.73 so actual lift is slightly lower with the non-adjustable which gives some flexibility but your cam is a bit over.  Of course there are those that say they run .6 with no problems..  An in-between alternative is a Harland Sharp non-adjustable arm from Lykins.  It uses a 5/16" ball end so you can go to less expensive pushrods.  Let us know how the block checks out.  Having a shop nearby that actually knows FE's is a good thing.  http://www.lykinsmotorsports.com/rockers.html