Prepping my bare BBC 496 BLOCK for forsed induction and jet

[Boostedballs]

I'm building a BBC 496 that will eventually get turbos or a centrifugal blower.
The block is bare right now and ready for work to be done. Here's my plan:
*It's a 2 bolt so I'm gunna get ARP studs and align hone it.
* polish or paint lifter valley with rustoleum.
* fill the bottom of the block
* port and polish rear main cap.
* drill and tap lifter valley for splash tray
What else can be done to hold this thing together under boost? I think the stock oil passages can handle a couple of turbos. I'll run a scatt crank and H beam rods with SRP pistons. Unsure about heads right now. I'm gunna run it for a while with the stock ovals until I decide on what setup to use, blower or turbos or maybe even a big ol' shot of juice. I'm shooting for 7.5:1 compression. solid roller cam.
Also what is the best paint to use? I was going to powdercoat it but I already have the machine work done and I don't want to heat the block to 700F.

[HONDOG]

At this stage of the game I would be looking to pick up some aftermarket splayed main caps. Your bottom end would be stronger than if you had started with a factory 4 bolt. Not only better caps but the main webs are supposed to be thicker on the 2 bolt block. Good deal all the way around.
Just 1 dum country boy's opinion.

[sanger rat]

Check out the main stud girdles for BBC's. Powder coat bakes at 350 not 700.

[BOOGEYMAN]

[QUOTE=HONDOG;2814729]At this stage of the game I would be looking to pick up some aftermarket splayed main caps. Your bottom end would be stronger than if you had started with a factory 4 bolt. Not only better caps but the main webs are supposed to be thicker on the 2 bolt block. Good deal all the way around.
QUOTE]
Thats a great Idea!
You dont need to put any fill in the block, You plan on making 1200hp+ or something? You would be suprised what that block will handle...... We are running a SBC chevy with a pair of GN turbos in a street car, 2 bolt main, CAST crank, rods AND pistons(no joke) and its making 1,000 at the crank and has been for 3 years now(25psi and a 50 shot)!! He drives it to work every day, the car is in the new Car Craft mag if you get it.
At only 7.5 to 1 you are really going to have to boost the hell out of it to see any kind of power that would hurt that block.
As far as paint goes, You can go with eithor single stage or a base clear, Eithor one will hold up just fine. I personally spray PPG DBC on all my engines with the concept clear.
Travis

[Liberator TJ1984]

Polish the oil passage under the oil pump and de-burr /polish , remove all the casting flash you can from inside the block . Dont forget the heads , enlarge and de-burr all the oil return galleys and remove casting residue from them also, you may also want to deburr all the water passages casting residue to ?One feller around here did not remove the casting flash from the lifter valley holes and a piece came loose and locked up his oil pump , its easy to get that stuff outta there now ;)

[SmokinLowriderSS]

the main webs are supposed to be thicker on the 2 bolt block.
I don't know if things changed on the Gen-5/6 blocks, but this was NOT true on the old Mk-4 blocks. The only difference in the block was the skipped machining opperation that drilled them for 4-bolts instead of 2 (and the slightly different shaped caps).
All the blocks had the bosses the outer main bolts went into, just not all got bored.

[steelcomp]

For anything but an all out race deal, two bolt mains will be fine. Studs are a good idea, and have the mains honed after the studs are installed. This is important! As said earlier, de-burr the block, and grind off all casting flash, inside and out. If you use a carbide burr, go back over and blend the area with a cartridge roll. Ther should be NO sharp corners or edges anywhere. When I'm done with a bock, I can run my hans anywhere through the entire block and never get a scratch. Main webs, especially. De-burr the lifter galley and return holes as said above, but I would not paint the inside of the block. I know many do, but I don't like the idea of paint inside the engine. You can look and see where oil flows, and clean up those areas and polish if you like. In the heads, the same thing. Remove all casting flash, deburr all sharp edges, and clean up the areas where oil will flow.

[Boostedballs]

Thanks a ton for the info guys!
This started out as just a simple lake boat that seats 5 with a sound system and an olds 455. Now I'm getting carried away like I always do. I have a dual carb, intercooled twin turbo setup with 2 stage nitrous from a dragster and I don't have the self control to not install it in my boat. I don't plan on racing in any sanctioned events but I do want to see what 1000HP feels like. And I want to soak the cars on the bridges with my rooster tail.
My powdercoater told me they bake at 700F with Dupont. He said the 350F stuff is not as good but it can be done in your own oven. My wife would have a fit if she walked in on me trying to get an engine block into her oven!
I don't like the idea of paint in my engine either.
I'm gunna go to town on this block with my die grinder. Will I need to grind it to make the 4.250 crank and H beam rods go in?
I've used a lot of the automotive PPG urethane paint on custom jobs but I didn't know it would handle the heat of an engine block. I was thinking about using some kind of brush-on industrial enamel like the stuff they use on tractor engines. I know PPG make a huge line of industrial paint, just need to dig a little deeper. I just need black.
Ok, so no block filler? Besides stiffening up the bottom end- I thought it would help me drain the engine if I filled it up just to the drain plugs. It freezes here and I don't want any water left in my engine over the winter. My sandrail engine cracked on me just because I couldn't drain it completely.

[steelcomp]

My wife would have a fit if she walked in on me trying to get an engine block into her oven! I was going to, but I just can't...:eek: :D

[BOOGEYMAN]

Thanks a ton for the info guys!
Ok, so no block filler? Besides stiffening up the bottom end- I thought it would help me drain the engine if I filled it up just to the drain plugs. It freezes here and I don't want any water left in my engine over the winter. My sandrail engine cracked on me just because I couldn't drain it completely.
Pull block drains, pour antifreeze through the engine, store for winter, done. :) Thats what I do every off season and it gets below zero here and never had a problem.
Travis

[Boostedballs]

I was going to, but I just can't...:eek: :D
I stick one head in there all the time but never a block!

[steelcomp]

I stick one head in there all the time but never a block!
Doh!
:jawdrop:

[Jim W]

If you can get by with plain old gloss black, Mercruiser makes a spray can paint called Phantom black. Any marina should have it or can get it. $4.50 a can???
It must be a high build paint cause even cast heads and blocks come out looking like porcelin.
Try it. You will like it!!!
Be good, Jim

[Liberator TJ1984]

I cant remember the dang name of the stuff , I painted the insides of my block and water passages of my Alum. heads with the Reddish Orange paint they use in Electric motors on the windings and internals and its held up very well ..
Damn Alzhimers !!!:mad: :D

[Oldsquirt]

Liberator, you're probably thinking of "glyptal". It's a GE product.

[Jim W]

The stuff I am talking about would be outside use only, To pretty things up.I I have never used it inside.
The smooth glossy look is really nice.
Be good, Jim

[SmokinLowriderSS]

Yep, Glyptal is supposed to be the hot ticket interior coating for oil drainage. Pretty frail to use outside (and a quite attractive RUST color).
A LOT of electrical connections on aircraft are coated in glyptal after they are made, from solders to ground studs to power conections. I use it all the time.

[SmokinLowriderSS]

Pull block drains, pour antifreeze through the engine, store for winter, done. :) Thats what I do every off season and it gets below zero here and never had a problem.
Travis
Yep. 29 years and not a cracked block, below 0, in unheated conditions.
4 gal. of Prop. Glycol, $11 @ Wal-Mart.

[BOOGEYMAN]

Yep. 29 years and not a cracked block, below 0, in unheated conditions.
4 gal. of Prop. Glycol, $11 @ Wal-Mart.
Thats it!!! :D Very cheap insurance!
Travis

[steelcomp]

I cant remember the dang name of the stuff , I painted the insides of my block and water passages of my Alum. heads with the Reddish Orange paint they use in Electric motors on the windings and internals and its held up very well ..
Damn Alzhimers !!!:mad: :D These guys are right, it's glyptol, but I still wouldn't use it inside my engine.

[rlemn8r]

Any brand of automotive base coat/ clear coat paint system will work. PPG paint system would be the easist to use. Make sure the block is bare ( no old paint ) Use a product called DP-40. It is a catalized epoxy primer that will stick to the block. Then use a DBC base coat color and then clear over it. It is plenty durable enough to with stand heat from an engine block. I had an old camaro that the motor was painted. It was 6 yrs. old and no problems. I also paint cars for a living, so I know it will work. hope this helps..

[steelcomp]

Rustoleum primer on a clean block, let dry for 24 hrs, then follow with Krylon black. I've won shows with this recipe. Thing is, it's all in the prep, not the paint. Try not to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

[GofastRacer]

I painted the inside of the block for a long time without ever giving it a thought and never had a problem, until I got this brand new block and it was surgically clean when I painted it, for some reason there was something in the casting that didn't agree with paint and it started to wash off, fortunately I caught it in time when I decided to change manifolds and I saw it in the valley chamber, not too much longer and I could have been in for some spun bearings!. NEVER again will I paint a block on the inside... Now on the outside, good ole heavy duty Rustoleum is great, even the hot tank has a hard time getting that off!...

[steelcomp]

One other thing I thought I'd mention is deck preperation on a block. Check with the mfgr of whatever head gasket you're going to use (I'd recomend Cometics) and see what finish they recommend for the deck surface. Cometics want as smooth as possible, but I think Felpro's want a little surface on their finish. Heads too, for that matter. Also make sure the decks are parallel to the crank CL and 90* from eachother. Hopefully your machine shop has a BHJ block true fixture, or something similar. Since you're not trying to build extra compression, I wouldn't do any more than a clean up on the decks, or whatever minimum it takes to square things up, but I think a fresh machined surface is mandatory for this build.

[GofastRacer]

Since you're not trying to build extra compression, I wouldn't do any more than a clean up on the decks.
Yeah but he's looking for 7.5 comp, still need to measure everything up before decking to know how much to remove to achieve the 7.5 ratio!. But you already know that right!..:D
BTW, you going to the 300???..:)

[steelcomp]

Yeah but he's looking for 7.5 comp, still need to measure everything up before decking to know how much to remove to achieve the 7.5 ratio!. But you already know that right!..:D
BTW, you going to the 300???..:) My thought is the engine wouldn't care if it was 7.3, or 7.8. 7.5 is just a general target number. With a blower, static ratio isn't near as critical as NA. I'd leave as much deck on it as possible, and live with what I get. Chances are he's going to be above 7.5 anyway. Just want it as low as possible.
Not going to make it to the 300...working 6 days right now, but I'll be at Ming next Sat. If you're there. I'll come by and say hi.

[GofastRacer]

My thought is the engine wouldn't care if it was 7.3, or 7.8. 7.5 is just a general target number. With a blower, static ratio isn't near as critical as NA. I'd leave as much deck on it as possible, and live with what I get. Chances are he's going to be above 7.5 anyway. Just want it as low as possible.
Not going to make it to the 300...working 6 days right now, but I'll be at Ming next Sat. If you're there. I'll come by and say hi.
Very true unless he's picky and want to be right on????..
Too bad you can't make it, unfortunately I won't be at Ming but I'll be at Parker Thanksgiving if you decide to come out!...

[Boostedballs]

Wow, lots of good info!
I will be checking all the critcal points with this build. I am not set on 7.5:1, in fact anything up to 8.5 will be just fine. I just like the way my 7.5:1 Subaru perrs, then comes to life up to 20psi. I know, it's a much different animal. I just want this 496 to run like silk and be able to breathe as much as possible when I'm wide open.
I'm going with the Cometic gaskets with this one.
No paint is going INSIDE this engine, I'll just make sure everything is clean and maybe polished.