How To Build A Cheap, Street, $650 Small-Block

Assembling a good engine is less about high-dollar parts and more about taking the time to measure everything and accurately bolting together the parts the right way.

Assembling a good engine is less about high-dollar parts and more about taking the time to

If the engine is still in the vehicle, look for one with as few miles as possible. Finding one with less than 100,000 miles may be difficult but not impossible. We own a 350 engine in a 1/2-ton pickup with 100,000 miles that uses very little oil and has acceptable fuel mileage that would make a perfect budget rebuilder.

Last month, we showed you how to diagnose a used engine. It's best to dig a little deeper to pull the heads and check out cylinder wear. If any cylinder exhibits a deep ridge at the top of the ring travel where maximum bore wear occurs, avoid this engine. The ridge indicates excessive cylinder bore taper that will not seal well with just new rings. The fingernail test is a good way to check for bore wear, but be sure what you are feeling isn't just mild carbon buildup. Scrub the carbon from the top of the cylinder and you may find minimal wear. Also look for excessive sludge in the lifter valley and valve covers. Excessive sludge usually indicates that the engine was not well cared for and means you need to keep looking.

Used engines are where you find them. We ran across this small-block at the junkyard. The rust in the No. 3 cylinder was very mild. This engine had very little detectable taper, so the rust should come out with a hone.
Used engines are where you find them. We ran across this small-block at the junkyard. The
Use your fingernail to check for bore taper. If you notice excessive bore wear at the top of the ring travel, keep looking for a better engine. You can also measure the cylinder wall taper with a simple dial caliper that will tell you if it has been overbored. Don't discount a 0.030-over engine-it may have fewer miles.
Use your fingernail to check for bore taper. If you notice excessive bore wear at the top
Be on the lookout for one-piece (shown here) versus two-piece rear main seal engines. Chevy changed the crank seal in '86-and-later engines, which is a major improvement. Be aware that this will require a different flywheel/flexplate due to a smaller bolt pattern. Most one-piece seal engines came with provisions for a roller cam. However, a flat-tappet cam will still work in a roller block. One minor negative to one-piece blocks is that the gasket sets are more expensive.
Be on the lookout for one-piece (shown here) versus two-piece rear main seal engines. Chev

If you're really serious, yank the pan and look for excessive wear on the rods and mains. Pulling the No. 1 main cap will tell the tale, since it's the farthest from the oil pump. You don't want an engine that looks like this unless you have a spare crank. Pass on any engine that exhibits a blue or black ring to the main or rod caps. This indicates excessive heat.
If you're really serious, yank the pan and look for excessive wear on the rods and mains.

The Jerk And Clean
Before you take anything apart, the best plan is to mark all the rods and caps. The factory usually marks the main caps, but if not, indicate one through five and also note the orientation of the cap to the front of the engine. This is usually marked with an arrow, but if not, you'll need to create something, since this is critically important. Disassemble the engine slowly so you can eyeball any potential problem areas. The smart move is to completely disassemble the engine and have it professionally cleaned by a local machine shop. The only issue here is that this adds cost not just for cleaning but also to install new cam bearings. In our search to minimize cost, we're going to clean the engine ourselves and leave the old cam bearings in place.

We removed the plugs from both ends of the oil gallery to hit this area behind the cam bearings with a long brush. Spend some time here to get this as clean as possible. We used lots of spray carb cleaner. If possible, collect the drippings in a drain pan so they don't stain the concrete or eat your asphalt driveway.
We removed the plugs from both ends of the oil gallery to hit this area behind the cam bea
Mark the rod and caps on the outboard side. If you don't have a numbers punch set, borrow one. The center punch idea will work, but it's crude, and eight punches on the last rod will be hard to read.
Mark the rod and caps on the outboard side. If you don't have a numbers punch set, borrow
Once the engine is disassembled, it is time to hit the cylinder walls with a deglazing hone. These are sometimes called dingleball hones, since the ends of the brushes use small abrasive balls to remove the glazing on the cylinder walls.
Once the engine is disassembled, it is time to hit the cylinder walls with a deglazing hon

Remove the oil gallery plug from the driver side deck surface and use a rifle bore brush to clean this vertical oil passage that connects to one of the main oil galleries. We also spent some time running a tap through all the head boltholes. An old, loose tap is better, since we want to clean the threads and not remove metal.
Remove the oil gallery plug from the driver side deck surface and use a rifle bore brush t
Sanitize the block, heads, crank, rods, and pistons as much as possible. The cleaner the engine is, the better the chance of minimizing bearing damage during initial start-up. Laundry soap works very well to remove grease and oil. This is our final cleaning process with this engine, having already painted the block and installed the brass freeze plugs.
Sanitize the block, heads, crank, rods, and pistons as much as possible. The cleaner the e

Start the assembly with the small oil plugs such as the front and rear main oil gallery plugs that are sometimes overlooked. Also make sure the plug under the rear main cap is in place as well as the plug below the driver side block deck surface.

Start the assembly with the small oil plugs such as the front and rear main oil gallery pl

Short-Block Assembly
Most budget engine buildup stories bypass the important measuring stage or just use a Plastigauge. We've tested Plastigauge and found it less than reliable. It does serve a purpose to indicate excessively tight or loose clearances, but as a reliable indicator of specific clearances, we think it falls short. We prefer to measure everything with a micrometer and dial bore gauge. These are not items a budget car crafter will have in his toolbox, so you must either borrow them or-if you intend to build more than one or two engines in your life-consider purchasing the quality tools to invest in your engine-building skills. We prefer to check all the rod and main bearings for clearance as well as crankshaft endplay and rod side clearance. If you are reusing all the pistons and connecting rods, the rod side clearance should not be an issue, but it's worth checking just to make sure. We won't detail this part of the story-instead refer to the accompanying How-to References chart that lists the specific addresses on CarCraft.com with more details on how to perform these tasks.

It's best to install the crank gear before installing the crank in the engine. We used a 12-inch length of 21/2-inch-diameter thick-wall aluminum tube tool and a hammer. Insert the main bearing shells in the crank saddles and gently drop the crank in place with a small amount of engine assembly lube on the bearings. With the thrust bearing in place, install the rear main cap. Lightly tap the crank rearward and then forward with a rubber mallet to align the thrust surfaces. Now tighten the rear main cap bolts to roughly 10 ft-lb.
It's best to install the crank gear before installing the crank in the engine. We used a 1
Assembly tip: Clean the cylinder walls with brake cleaner and then either ATF or Marvel Mystery Oil using white paper towels. Keep cleaning the cylinders until there is no dirt on the towel. Use a dial indicator on a magnetic base to check the crankshaft thrust clearance. Refer to the engine Spec Chart for the proper clearances. Now torque all the main cap bolts.
Assembly tip: Clean the cylinder walls with brake cleaner and then either ATF or Marvel My
Installing rings is not difficult, especially with 5/16-inch ring pistons. Start with the oil ring expander, making sure the ends don't overlap. Then install the top stainless ring, followed by the lower ring. Most compression rings are marked with top or a dot to indicate that the ring should be installed with this mark up. The Summit top ring in our set had no indicators, which means they can be installed either way.
Installing rings is not difficult, especially with 5/16-inch ring pistons. Start with the

Install the rod bearings and coat them with engine assembly lube. Cover the rod bolts with rubber boots to protect the crankshaft and then position the piston and rod assembly in the cylinder.
Install the rod bearings and coat them with engine assembly lube. Cover the rod bolts with
Most pistons will indicate the front of the engine with a mark. If the piston is not indicated, make sure the radius side of the big end of the connecting rod is facing the crank cheek. The tapered ring compressors are the easiest to use, but if you're using a universal-style compressor, make sure the tool is perpendicular to the block. Drive in the piston with a hammer handle.
Most pistons will indicate the front of the engine with a mark. If the piston is not indic
We prefer to install all the pistons first and lightly tighten the rod bolts. We then turn the engine upside down and stretch or torque all the rod bolts at the same time. Next, we go back over each rod bolt a second time to ensure we didn't miss one. Now is also a good time to double-check the rod side clearance.
We prefer to install all the pistons first and lightly tighten the rod bolts. We then turn

Next we installed the Lunati Bare Bones camshaft. Make sure to lube those flat-tappet lobes with the supplied cam lube.
Next we installed the Lunati Bare Bones camshaft. Make sure to lube those flat-tappet lobe
Position the dot on the crank gear pointing straight up. Now install the cam gear and chain, positioning the cam gear with the dot so it lines up vertically with the dot on the crank gear. We've included a link on how to learn to degree a cam in the How-To References chart at the end of the story. Add a little green Loctite to the cam bolts and torque them in place.
Position the dot on the crank gear pointing straight up. Now install the cam gear and chai
After installing the rear one-piece main seal in the rear cover and the gasket between the cover and the block, coat the crank flange with oil and bolt the seal cover in place. On the front of the engine, glue the front timing chain cover gasket in place on the block and install the cover.
After installing the rear one-piece main seal in the rear cover and the gasket between the

Attach the original oil pump driveshaft to the pump and bolt the whole mess in place. You can tack-weld the pickup to the pump to prevent it from coming loose, although we've never seen that happen on a street-driven engine.
Attach the original oil pump driveshaft to the pump and bolt the whole mess in place. You
Assembly tip: Make sure to include a short, 3/8-inch bolt in the upper hole in the right (passenger) front side of the block just above the fuel pump boss. This hole is drilled into the passageway for the fuel pump pushrod and will leak oil if left open. One of the best things about late-model, one-piece rear main seal blocks is the one-piece oil pan gasket. Just place the gasket on the pan rail and bolt down the pan without RTV. This is reason enough to build a later-model small-block.
Assembly tip: Make sure to include a short, 3/8-inch bolt in the upper hole in the right (

Another advantage of late-model heads is they are already machined for positive-style seals. Earlier heads will have to be machined, but you can purchase a simple tool that will cut for positive-style seals. After lapping the valves, we cleaned the heads and installed the new Viton seals for the intake valves that come in the Fel-Pro gasket set.

Another advantage of late-model heads is they are already machined for positive-style seal

Heads Up
Our long-block included a set of center-bolt iron heads fitted with the different intake bolt angle for the center four intake manifold bolts. These heads are the typical 76cc chambers that will produce barely more than an 8.0:1 compression ratio when used with dished pistons. Our engine should make around 8.5:1 compression with its flat-top pistons, 0.42-inch head gasket, and 0.020-inch deck height. We could improve compression by milling the heads, but that unfortunately drives up the cost. One trick to increase compression is using a stamped tin set of head gaskets rather than the composition gaskets used in the Fel-Pro kit. The Fel-Pro shim gasket part number is 7733SH1 and measures only 0.015 inch thick. This will increase the compression on a typical small-block by not quite 0.40 point compared with the composition gasket.

The first thing to check on used heads is intake and exhaust valve-to-guide clearance. Up to 0.002 inch on the intake and 0.003 inch on the exhaust is less than ideal, but it will work. You can expect the engine to use more oil because of these loose guides since the valveguide seal will not last as long. We checked the clearance with a dial indicator on the valve stem, which gives us a rough idea of the actual clearance. Our heads measured roughly 0.0035 inch for the exhaust and 0.0020 inch for the intakes.
The first thing to check on used heads is intake and exhaust valve-to-guide clearance. Up
We checked for leakage by pouring solvent into the intake and exhaust ports. This is an inexpensive way to check for valve seat sealing. We had a couple of seats that leaked, so we decided to hand-lap the valves and seats to improve the seal. You can buy the tool at most repair places or from Summit.
We checked for leakage by pouring solvent into the intake and exhaust ports. This is an in
We also decided to install new valvesprings to keep up with the Lunati cam. Summit's kit includes springs, retainers, keepers, and positive valveguide seals. The new retainers allowed us to trash the clunky exhaust valve rotators. However, that did require adding roughly 0.060 to 0.070 inch valvespring shims to compensate for the deeper exhaust spring seats and maintain a 1.800-inch installed height.
We also decided to install new valvesprings to keep up with the Lunati cam. Summit's kit i

The small-block Chevy drills the head boltholes into the water jacket, so you will need to apply thread sealer to the bottom four to six threads of each head bolt to prevent seepage. Torque the head bolts in a circular pattern in three steps from 35 to 45 to 65 ft-lb. Make sure to use engine oil under all the bolt heads to ensure a decent clamp load.

The small-block Chevy drills the head boltholes into the water jacket, so you will need to

Long-Block Assembly
The final assembly is the easiest part with heads, valvetrain, intake, distributor, and the rest of the accessories. Original equipment head bolts offer superior thread engagement over budget high-performance bolts because the cheap bolts use a looser thread that will pull threads out of the block. We also splurged a little with a new Summit intake.

We applied the cam lube to the bottom of the new Lunati lifters and slid them in place with engine oil around the lifter body. We reused the old pushrods after a good cleaning, but a couple of rockers were worn, so we replaced them with some used pieces we had. GM Performance Parts offers a complete set of these rockers that are very affordable. The guides on the rocker tip position the rocker over the valve tip, eliminating the need for guideplates.
We applied the cam lube to the bottom of the new Lunati lifters and slid them in place wit
Once all the rockers are in place, the valves must be adjusted. The easiest technique is what we call the EO/IC or exhaust opening/intake closing method. Again the technique is listed in our How-To sidebar on CarCraft.com.
Once all the rockers are in place, the valves must be adjusted. The easiest technique is w
After gluing the intake gasket with good-quality sealer (don't use RTV on an intake gasket because gas will dissolve it), lay a bead of RTV on each end of the block to seal the ends. Use the RTV instead of the end gaskets because they can easily push out, causing a massive leak. We used Summit's inexpensive dual-plane intake that uses adapters for the more vertical four center boltholes.
After gluing the intake gasket with good-quality sealer (don't use RTV on an intake gasket

It's a good idea to pressure-lube the engine before installing the distributor. We made our own pressure lube tool by cutting off the top of an old distributor shaft and had a friend turn the shaft top down in his lathe to fit our drill motor. Use an oil pressure gauge and turn the crank slowly until you see oil filling all the rocker arms.
It's a good idea to pressure-lube the engine before installing the distributor. We made ou
To install the distributor, turn the engine until the No. 1 piston is at TDC on the compression stroke by putting your finger over the spark plug hole. When you feel cylinder pressure pushing on your finger, turn the engine clockwise until the timing mark lines up with 10 degrees before top dead center (BTDC).
To install the distributor, turn the engine until the No. 1 piston is at TDC on the compre
Drop in the distributor so the rotor points to the plug wire on the cap you want for No. 1. Generally, this is roughly where the rotor is pointing. However, you can place No. 1 anywhere as long as the firing order is maintained at 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.
Drop in the distributor so the rotor points to the plug wire on the cap you want for No. 1

We completed the engine with a water pump and a used HEI distributor with a set of Summit plug wires along with a budget 600-cfm Holley carburetor we already had from a previous project. Now we're ready to bolt it into that engine compartment and make some noise.
We completed the engine with a water pump and a used HEI distributor with a set of Summit

Cam Specs
The camshaft we chose was the Lunati Bare Bones flat-tappet cam and lifter kit. Lunati offers two different cams in this budget series. We chose the smaller of the two cams since this is a daily driver-style engine. Both cam and lifter packages are priced the same at less than $100 from Summit.

CAMSHAFT	DURATION	DURATION	LIFT	LOBE
	(ADV.)	(0.050)	(INCHES)	SEPARATION
Lunati 10000 LK, intake	270	204	0.420	112
Flat tappet, exhaust	280	214	0.443
Lunati 10001 LK, intake	280	214	0.443	112
Flat tappet, exhaust	290	224	0.465

Small-Block Chevy Spec Chart
The accompanying chart lists both recommended clearances and torque specs for a small-block Chevy. The ranges for some clearances are slightly wider since we are not blueprinting this engine. Factory specs list much tighter acceptable bearing clearances, but we prefer ours. Torque specs were taken from a '60s Chevrolet service manual and may be different for your engine based on the specific components used. This is especially true for aftermarket rod bolts.

COMPONENT	CLEARANCE (INCHES)
Main bearing	0.002-0.0030
Rod bearing	0.002-0.0030
Connecting rod side	0.009-or more
Crankshaft endplay	0.005-0.010
Retainer to seal	0.050 minimum
Valvespring coil bind	0.050 minimum

FASTENER	TORQUE SPEC (LB-FT)
Main cap	80
Connecting rod	45 (3/8-inch bolt)
Oil pump	65
Cylinder head	65
Camshaft sprocket	20
Harmonic balancer	60

Chevrolet's published main bearing clearance range for a '66 283 is an amazing 0.0003 to 0.0034 inch.

PARTS LIST
DESCRIPTION	PN	SOURCE	PRICE
Long-block	NA	Friend	$100.00
Summit main bearings	173000	Summit Racing	12.95
Summit rod bearings	172000	Summit Racing	12.95
Summit piston rings, 4.00	133-139-00	Summit Racing	25.95
Fel-Pro gasket set, 1 piece rear main	KS-2666	Summit Racing	99.95
Summit valvespring kit	174001	Summit Racing	63.95
Summit oil pump	121155SV	Summit Racing	16.95
Melling oil pump pickup	55-S1	Summit Racing	6.95
Summit intake manifold	PC22001	Summit Racing	99.50
Lunati cam and lifter package	10000LK	Summit Racing	89.95
Summit carb cleaner, four cans	SP1503	Summit Racing	23.80
Summit Chevy orange paint	SP1005	Summit Racing	5.95
Brass freeze plug kit	G1581	Summit Racing	13.95
Summit nonroller timing set	G6501	Summit Racing	13.95
Summit assembly lube	LUBE	Summit Racing	1.95
Summit spark plug wires	868836	Summit Racing	29.95
Autolite spark plugs	FRM-25	Summit Racing	12.00
GM HEI distributor	Used	Swap meet	5.00
Engine oil	10W-30	Local auto parts	10.00
Oil filter, Wix	51069	Local auto parts	6.75
TOTAL			$652.40
GMPP rail-style 1.5 rocker arms	12495490	Summit Racing	59.95

How-to References
Measuring bearing clearance: carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0805_high_performance_engines_bearing_clearance/index.html
How to measure rod bolt stretch: carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0609_using_rod_bolt_stretch_tool/index.html
Plastigauge vs. micrometer: carcraft.com/techfaq/116_0701_plastigage_vs_micrometer/index.html
How to degree a camshaft: carcraft.com/howto/116_0701_how_to_degree_a_camshaft/index.html
How to set valve lash: carcraft.com/howto/ccrp_0702_camshaft/index.html
How to start a new engine: carcraft.com/howto/ccrp_0903_how_to_start_a_new_engine/index.html

SOURCES
Lunati 11126 Willow Ridge Drive Olive Branch MS 38654 662-892-1500 www.lunatipower.com	GM Performance Parts P.O. Box 33170 Detroit MI 48232 800-577-6888 www.gmperformanceparts.com
Federal Mogul/Fel-Pro/Speed-Pro 800-560-1400 www.federal-mogul.com	Summit Racing 800-230-3030 http://www.summitracing.com
Autolite 39 Old Ridgebury Road Danbury CT 06810 800-890-2075 www.autolite.com