motor build... alum pistons? heads? cam?

[1trickedpony]

Ok so I am planning on building a motor for my car is it is starting to burn oil and its all over the ass end of the car... I want to put together either a 306 which I have found a block with freeze plugs, cam bearings, crank, rods, pistons & rings. Remanufactured from good cores that are disassembled, then steel shot blasted clean. cast aluminum pistons & cast rings. 50-oz cranks are precision ground to recommended specs & micro-polished. Accepts any roller cam. for $700

I am a bit uncertain about the aluminum pistons thought... are they good to go for an everyday driver? I dont take it to the track. Also I want to add Edelbrock or Trick Flow Heads... prob 170 cc and 1.6 RR.

I already have a 75 mm T-body and in the works for a bigger MAF for 24# injectors. And a trick flow street heat intake. I dont need some some advice on where to go with this...

should I purchase the shortblock or should I pull mine and take it to the machine shop? any tips or points would be great!

thanks

 

[dsblk93gt]

That sounds like the one from LRS. It's a decent replacement shortblock I have not heard any complaints. The pistons are the same as the 93 up 5.0, and will hold up fine NA and I know alot of people that have boosted them with no issues. But they are not forgiving of detonation.

Really, you could get yours looked at and maybe rebuilt locally. It may only need minor work. The nice thing about getting another motor is you can have it ready to drop in.

As far as heads, the best deal right now are the 170cc TFS but I'm not sure how long the sale is for but they were $995 or so.

 

[AdirondackFox08]

I would check around and see what the prices would be to get it rebuilt, maybe you won't need to get it bored over, just a rebuild. If you have to get new pistons because it has to get bored over, you might want to get the short block from LRS....

The TFS 170cc heads that are on sale at summitracing.com are on until 11/30, which is today. So if you wanted to get those, I'd hurry up and order them now.

 

[1trickedpony]

well I am kind of looking towards another motor so I can drop it in when its ready to go. I could always try to find another 302 engine and get that one worked over. I was just unsure about the forged alum pistons but if they will work it seems like a pretty good option for what I need.

just curious but how much do you think the machine work would cost if I were to get another block and want to get it rebuilt?

 

[AdirondackFox08]

well I am kind of looking towards another motor so I can drop it in when its ready to go. I could always try to find another 302 engine and get that one worked over. I was just unsure about the forged alum pistons but if they will work it seems like a pretty good option for what I need.

just curious but how much do you think the machine work would cost if I were to get another block and want to get it rebuilt?

Yeah I would go with the forged pistons, that way if you ever plan on going forced induction you will be all set as long as your cr is ok. If you can find a 86-92 mustang short block they already have the forged pistons, and if you need it just get rebuilt you don't have to buy new pistons.

I am not sure how much the machine work will be, it depends on the condition of the block.. Like if it needs to get bored, or if the deck needs to be milled flat again. It would be cheaper if it just needed rings, bearings, freeze plugs, and so on.

 

[1trickedpony]

yeah I have all winter to figure it out so its not a huge rush... its not like the other motor has shit the bed or anything its just burning some oil.... well I think so I know the oil pan needs a new gasket too but that would not explain why its all over the back of the car really.

SO about the CR what should I shoot for just incase I tack on a blower down the road? 9ish? It is a real possibility that I will put on on it within a few years.

 

[1990_LX]

Not to hijack but I am also looking to slowly build my 5.0. What about speed pro hyper pistons? I may do my motor .030 over so if I ever want to do a 347 that block is ready....

 

[AdirondackFox08]

yeah I have all winter to figure it out so its not a huge rush... its not like the other motor has shit the bed or anything its just burning some oil.... well I think so I know the oil pan needs a new gasket too but that would not explain why its all over the back of the car really.

SO about the CR what should I shoot for just incase I tack on a blower down the road? 9ish? It is a real possibility that I will put on on it within a few years.

I have the same problem with my 5.0, burning some oil too, nothing terrible, but I too want to rebuild my short block next year... The cr around 9 should be fine, the stock 5.0 cr is 9.0:1. I'm not sure how high you can go with the cr for boost applications though, probably not much more than 9.5:1 unless you want to run high octane gas. I'm sure someone else can chime in about this.
I'm not sure if you have upgraded your fuel pump yet, but if you haven't you may want to. IMO, I would go with the 255 lph if you plan on a using a s/c. The price difference between that one and a 195 lph one isn't that much.

 

[AdirondackFox08]

Not to hijack but I am also looking to slowly build my 5.0. What about speed pro hyper pistons? I may do my motor .030 over so if I ever want to do a 347 that block is ready....

Lol, sorry man but I haven't heard of speed pro so I couldn't tell you one way or the other. I know you keep asking this question, but I have no idea. Hyper pistons will be better than the cast ones, the higher the silicon content (around 12 percent I believe) the stronger the pistons are.

 

[1trickedpony]

nope still have the stock fuel pump right now. i want to build a well performing everyday street car so i figure a fresh 306 with good heads will do alright. and a low c.r will work for down the road blower installation purposes.

now I am curious what pistons I should get for lower cr also... domed, flat, or dished?

and I am looking at 170 cc heads with 1.6 RR and a trick flow stage 1 cam.... will this work as a good combo to the new block and street heat intake?

its starting to finally feel like I am figuring it out!!!!!

 

[AdirondackFox08]

The Trickflow stuff should all work together fine. If you have seen the top end kits for TFS, that is what they have.
As far as pistons go, I believe the dished ones would be the ones to get. I'm not sure what ones to get as far as keeping 9.0:1 cr ratio though. These might work Trick Flow Specialties TFS-51404111 - Trick Flow® Forged Pistons - Overview - SummitRacing.com I would call them or talk to someone and see what ones to get though. It will depend on a few things like the head combustion chamber volume and compressed gasket thickness.

 

[dsblk93gt]

My car had a 331 Fox Lake stroker, 8.5:1 compression, TFS heads (ported), TFS Stage 1 cam, Holley Systemax intake, 1.6 FRPP rockers, 42lbers, etc. The Stage 1 cam is a decent little cam I liked it.

Personally I like 9:1 or 9.5:1 compression and not as much boost. The lower compression made the 331 a little lazy out of boost. It does get rid of the change of getting detonation but I never have had issues with SC's and stock bottom ends even with 11lbs of boost. The block is the real limiting factor, if the tune is done right even the hyper pistons will last fine. I'd prefer forged though.

 

[dsblk93gt]

I'm not a huge fan of the TFS intakes, I like Edelbrock or Holley better even the Cobra/Explorer/GT 40. A Cobra intake with a ported lower will support 500rwhp+ enough to split the block.

 

[1trickedpony]

well I really am only looking for around 300-350 hp range because it is my everyday summer car. I'll give the trick flow guys a buzz and see what the situation is on the pistons and pretty soon... ill have fun building!