Small Block Chevy 3. Stroker Kit Big Cube Mouse Motor Assembly. Heres some musclecar math to think about a little bit of grease on the hands some quality time spent in the garage savings of more than a little dough, and the satisfaction of a job well done to go with it. While this formula can apply to just about any automotive repair job, nowhere is it truer than with a ground up engine build. With this theme in mind, weve been detailing the assembly of a budget minded homegrown stroker mouse motor in the last two issues. In case you missed the previous segments, our short block was based around a four bolt 3. Powerhouse Engine Components Shoestring Stroker, June 2. We went on to add parts like as cast 1. Powerhouse heads, a hydraulic Elgin cam, and Milodon oil system components to finish our 1. July issue. Doing all of the assembly labor ourselves has saved us a good amount of funds, and at the close of business last time, wed spent right about 3,3. How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' title='How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' />Avid readers looking for tons of torque with limited funds have likely been anxiously awaiting this engines completion. Would we deliver on our promise of big power on a minimal investment, or would we be left to offer Chevy enthusiasts little more than a subpar power quote and an equally unimpressive apology As youll see below, our power prayers have been answered but before getting to that, its time to put the finishing touches on our mill. Some of the Milodon engine covers we picked up for this build include a PN 6. PN 8. 55. 00. These valve covers are baffled and include breather grommets. Whyd we choose a gold timing cover, you ask Well, its a couple bucks cheaper than chromeTechnical Help from the Solid Axle Corvette Club. To submit a technical question regarding a 1953 to 1962 Corvette, simply email sacctechsolidaxle. Shop from the worlds largest selection and best deals for Car Truck Crankshafts Parts. Shop with confidence on eBay Professional Engine Rebuilding, Buildups and Modifications. Decoding Kohler Engine Model, Specification and Serial Identification Numbers. Rpm How To Install Package Ac. How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' title='How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' />We also picked up Milodons 4. PN 8. 52. 60 timing cover bolt set and 9. PN 8. 53. 75 valve cover stud kit neither shown. After installing our crank seal into the timing cover, we put our timing cover loosely in place on the block both the gasket and seal were included in our Powerhouse gasket set. Before the timing cover bolts are installed, it helps to press the harmonic balancer into place, a process that requires a harmonic balancer installer tool a standard item for most home garages, and readily available. Doing so helps better align the timing cover to the block. Dont forget to use some oil on the seal. With the balancer in place, our Milodon timing cover bolts are installed and torqued to 2. Milodon also hooked us up with its PN 3. Low Profile oil pan as well as PN 3. Impala/HB4814.jpg' alt='How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' title='How To Install A Harmonic Balancer Chevy 327 Heads' />These items retail for 2. Since this tray affixes to the block and not the pan, we also grabbed a windage tray installation kit PN 8. Milodons windage tray uses a double nut design one above, one below as its mounting system, which allows the tray height to be adjusted. This lets you ensure proper clearance between it and the spinning rods. After some visual measurements, the nuts receive the specified torque, and the crank is spun to ensure no interference. After carefully setting all oil pan gaskets in place and applying RTV at all the right spots, the Milodon pan goes on. For 6. 3. 7, we got a set of the companys PN 8. Its time to flip the engine over and move to the topside. There are seemingly endless choices on the market when it comes to intake manifolds, and a decision here can make a huge difference when it comes to both power and the wallet. A smart choice on both fronts is Weiands dual plane Stealth. This manifold line has been newly redesigned using the latest in computational fluid dynamics to help deliver optimal flow for large displacement motors like our stroker. Carrying PN 8. 15. To secure our intake manifold, we got a set of intake bolts from ARP. This PN, 1. 35 2. Chevys. ARP recommended them, as they are somewhat longer than small block versions and work with a greater variety of manifolds some manifolds are thicker than others, you see. Youll just need to be careful, as some SBC pushrods can be contacted if the intake bolts are too long. Also pictured are a water pump bolt kit PN 1. PN 1. 30 1. 60. 2, 7. PN 1. 30 3. 30. 2, 5. After cleaning the head surfaces, we set our Powerhouse included gaskets on the heads and apply RTV around the coolant jackets. In addition, were using a bead of RTV along the front and rear edges of the block in lieu of any prone to squeeze out gaskets. We also check and discover that two of our ARP intake bolts are indeed too long theyll hit the number 4 and 5 exhaust pushrods, so well just substitute shorter bolts at these locations. Our intake is laid in place and the bolts torqued to a final 2. The Stealths dual plane design is said to nearly match the horsepower of a single plane manifold but with a much fatter torque curve and after all, torque is what strokers are all about. Were about ready to prime our oil system, but before doing so, well need to install the fuel pump. Our mechanical pump is a Holley PN 1. Featuring heavy duty construction designed for high rpm, its fuel body can be rotated to fit your plumbing needs, which a nice feature. With all oil passages sealed off take note of the temporary brass plug in the oil pressure sensor port at the top rear of the block, we can start dumping our SAE 3. We also add some break in concentrate, which is important for a flat tappet cam. While the oil drips in, we take a moment to install our thermostat and water neck also acquired locally onto the front of our manifold, and also use Weiands provided plug set to stop off all unneeded vacuum and coolant ports in the manifold. Priming your oil system is fairly critical, as it prevents the possibility of oil starvation to any part of the engine during initial startup. A special tool is needed to turn the oil pump driveshaft normally spun by a SBCs distributor, of course, and we sourced Powerhouse Products COMPs tool division for one of their PN POW1. Oil Pump Primers. It goes for 2. 2. Powerhouse Products priming tool is inserted into our distributor hole until it seats onto the oil pump driveshaft. A drill is used to spin the priming tool clockwise. Advice on how much to prime the engine differs, but this author feels its best to run the primer all the way until you can see oil coming out of the top of every pushrod. You can see some beginning to pool beneath the valvesprings if you look closely here. To finish off our strokers cooling system, we source a water pump from Milodon. The company sells this PN 1. To save a few bucks, were using a steel water pump in lieu of aluminum while theres a weight difference, it isnt as significant as if we were talking about iron cylinder heads. Our water pump bolts up front using the provided gaskets and our ARP water pump bolt kit. Also while up here, we turn the crank over so that the timing mark on our balancer shows the firing position for cylinder number one watch the valves move to ensure you are not at the top of the exhaust stroke instead. Were ready to bolt our valve covers on. The best way to go is not actually to bolt, but to stud. Valve cover studs like our Milodon units are inexpensive and make installing the valve covers far simpler theyll line up the covers and help prevent the gaskets from slipping out of place. Just be sure to use some threadlocker to prevent them from backing out should you ever need to take the valve covers off. After torquing the covers down dont overtighten or youll squeeze the gaskets out of place, we pop on our locally sourced breathers not shown. We grabbed a set of MSD PN 3. Heli Core wires for 6.