Big cubic inch question....
12-03-2003, 07:41 AM
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Big cubic inch question....
This might be a silly question but, can someone explain to me how do people make big cubic inch motors? Do you bore out a 454 block? Do you use a bigger block? Example: I have seen numerous listings of 509 and 540 cubic inch motors.
12-03-2003, 08:01 AM
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Very large engines use blocks like the Merlin special tall decks along with large bore and long stroke. (I was at a friends yesterday and he has 6- 611 cubic inch engines. 2 supercharged + 2 spare supercharged + 2 naturally aspirated)
12-03-2003, 08:04 AM
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Ok,, next question then,,,
Why does it cost so much to have big power?
I am the IT guy for a large sales and service facility. We have block work, head work and all kinds of machine work performed daily and there is not that much cost involved.. Where does the cost come from?
I can understand the billet stuff,,, but where does the cost come in when you use OEM equipment,, and just fine tune it?
I am the IT guy for a large sales and service facility. We have block work, head work and all kinds of machine work performed daily and there is not that much cost involved.. Where does the cost come from?
I can understand the billet stuff,,, but where does the cost come in when you use OEM equipment,, and just fine tune it?
Last edited by SinkorSwim; 12-03-2003 at 08:07 AM.
12-03-2003, 08:23 AM
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Speed costs money. how fast do you want to go?
OEM stuff isn't going to put you in the 800 horsepower bracket, and for the regular guy that has to pay to get quality high-performance machine work (the operative word here is quality) done, as well as trial-assembly and final assembly, this is a substantial cost.
Then there's the cost of superchargers, intercoolers, fuel injection, aftermarket heads,,,,,,the list goes on.
I'm not saying that people aren't having any success with OEM engines and parts. It all depends on how much power you want to make and how fat your wallet is. My wallet ain't very fat so I'm usually at the back end of the pack on the COPS runs.
OEM stuff isn't going to put you in the 800 horsepower bracket, and for the regular guy that has to pay to get quality high-performance machine work (the operative word here is quality) done, as well as trial-assembly and final assembly, this is a substantial cost.
Then there's the cost of superchargers, intercoolers, fuel injection, aftermarket heads,,,,,,the list goes on.
I'm not saying that people aren't having any success with OEM engines and parts. It all depends on how much power you want to make and how fat your wallet is. My wallet ain't very fat so I'm usually at the back end of the pack on the COPS runs.
12-03-2003, 08:35 AM
#6
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how big is big???you can buy an Eagle assembly to make a 540 out of a 502 for $2k.....
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12-03-2003, 08:45 AM
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454 blocks won't give you a "big" motor.
502 block is good for 540 motor.
572 and larger need to use a tallblock, but the GM Truck tallblock can't be bored big enough so you gotta go aftermarket.
Generic stuff you'd find in a rebuild shop can be used with an inexpensive crank to make a 496, and you can expect to pull 600 horses out of it.
Bigger and more power than that gets into expensive aftermarket parts. It's just a matter of production components not having enough metal there to support the large bores, and standard deck blocks not having enough room for large cranks and long rods. This doesn't even take into account the beefier block webbing and reengineered cooling passages, etc..
502 block is good for 540 motor.
572 and larger need to use a tallblock, but the GM Truck tallblock can't be bored big enough so you gotta go aftermarket.
Generic stuff you'd find in a rebuild shop can be used with an inexpensive crank to make a 496, and you can expect to pull 600 horses out of it.
Bigger and more power than that gets into expensive aftermarket parts. It's just a matter of production components not having enough metal there to support the large bores, and standard deck blocks not having enough room for large cranks and long rods. This doesn't even take into account the beefier block webbing and reengineered cooling passages, etc..
Thats why I enjoy this board,,,
12-03-2003, 09:23 AM
#10
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Yes,
Eagle-san has nice Amellican-looking bird logo but is made by barefoot unwashed refugee child feeding raw forgings into CNC crank grinder on dirt floor. Grinder runs off of bundles of extension cords a quarter mile long where power is being stolen from local hospital. Refugee gets paid in soured leftover rice. If he does good job, they only rape his sister every half hour.
Their quality control is less than optimal.
There are good value priced American cranks for only a few bucks more.
(and I'd rather pay a little more and give an American supplier a $50 profit for a quality piece than to save a few bucks and pay a Chinese slave driver a $300 profit for a questionable component).
Eagle-san has nice Amellican-looking bird logo but is made by barefoot unwashed refugee child feeding raw forgings into CNC crank grinder on dirt floor. Grinder runs off of bundles of extension cords a quarter mile long where power is being stolen from local hospital. Refugee gets paid in soured leftover rice. If he does good job, they only rape his sister every half hour.
Their quality control is less than optimal.
There are good value priced American cranks for only a few bucks more.
(and I'd rather pay a little more and give an American supplier a $50 profit for a quality piece than to save a few bucks and pay a Chinese slave driver a $300 profit for a questionable component).
