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Episode Transcript

(Narrator)>> We built a small block Chevy called "Re-Rev". It made 484 horsepower on the dyno but we want more. Today on Engine Power "Re-Rev 2.0" comes alive. We're giving it a budget friendly rebuild and a thorough interrogation in the cell block. Plus to keep your engine cool sometimes it's best to hold the h-two-o. ♪ ♪

(Mike)>> Welcome to Engine Power. Today's show is gonna be a little bit of a 50/50 mix. The first half is gonna be a super budget friendly refresh on this small block Chevy block. The other half is gonna be a stout top end that's gonna make big power back on our Superflow dyno. Now this Engine was the original bullet in our '62 Nova a few seasons ago we called "Project Pro Street or No Street". We're gonna redub it this time "Re-Rev 2.0".

(Pat)>> And we're not following many rules on this build. We're gonna do it our way. From the crazy color that we're gonna paint the block, to all the parts involved. Even a power adder, and we are gonna push this stock block to its limits to see what it'll do. Now sit back and follow along, take some notes if you want, but definitely have some fun with us.

(Mike)>> After determining our cylinders are straight and round we're diving right into the budget refresh. A drill, can of WD 40, and a ball hone you can get at any auto parts store will allow us to refresh the hone job on the cylinder for the fresh ring pack to achieve a good break in.

(Pat)>> The first thing to do is spray the cylinder and the hone. You have to use a lubricant when performing this job, and speed of the ball hone is also important. Don't go above 800 r-p-m. The ideal speed is between 600 and 800. Insert the ball hone into the lubricated cylinder with it rotating. Now increase the speed while vigorously moving it up and down in the bore for approximately 20 to 60 strokes depending on the bore's condition, and never allow the hone to stop spinning.

(Mike)>> Using a piece of rectangular tube and 220 grit sand paper we're going to address the decks. This is to make sure the head gasket has an adequate sealing surface. Full sweeps along the deck in a diagonal pattern will create a clean surface and give the gasket a nice finish to bite into.

(Pat)>> After that process a wash is necessary. ♪ ♪

(Mike)>> Now it's time to paint the block. Common colors like black and orange just aren't going to cut it for this build. So we chose a color that will get some laughs, some people may like it, and aliens are going to fall head over heels for it. "Grabber Green" is the color and it's available in Dupli-Color's engine enamel with ceramic line of paints.

(Pat)>> First we will prime the block to give it a good base for the Grabber Green to show its vibrance. Using tape and an old timing cover on the areas we don't want primer or paint on it makes it easy to get a block paint prepped for assembly. When applying the paint use a light first coat. This will help prevent any runs from forming on the block's surface. Following up two more coats are added to give the block a full coverage of paint.

(Mike)>> We tapped the oil galleries to install pipe plugs instead of the press in. The threaded ones give a little extra insurance. Every engine assembly must have the bearing clearances checked. We record every journal on the rods and mains. Our range for the mains is between 25 and 28 ten thousandths. For the rods it's between 23 and 25 ten thousandths. Now the upper half of the rear main seal is installed. With the bearings lubed the Eagle crankshaft can gently be laid into place. The caps go on and the ARP main bolts are torqued to 70 pound feet with ARP's ultra-torque lube. The crankshaft's end play is at four thousandths. The same cam went back in and it's installed at 107.5 degrees. A new Comp Cams billet double roller was also installed. Here are the specs from the first go around. ♪ ♪ The rings were file fit and the top ring gap is set at 24 thousandths. The second ring gap is also at 24. Now this larger gap is because we will be running nitrous. The calculated compression ratio with these pistons and the smaller chamber in the cylinder head is 10.92 to one.

(Pat)>> The bottom end will be finished out with a fully blue printed oil pump that we did in house. It does have a new pick up tig welded on due to a change with the oil pan. It's a Canton pan with six trap door baffles and a crank scraper. It also has a bolt in slosh baffle and built in windage tray. A seven inch deep, 15 inch wide sump gives it an eight quarter oil capacity. The half inch n-p-t will allow us to monitor oil temperature on the dyno. The zinc finish resists corrosion, and it will clear a three-750 stroke crankshaft.

(Narrator)>> Up next the Re-Rev rebirth continues with new cylinder heads, a free flowing intake manifold, and even a shot of nitrous.

(Mike)>> We're back and so is our 383 Re-Rev 2.0 build. Now it's time for the top end, starting with the gaskets and cylinder heads. These gaskets are Cometic multi-layer steel with a 27 thousandths compressed thickness. They have a four-100 bore size as well.

(Pat)>> For this version of Re-Rev 2.0 we are gonna be switching out the cylinder heads. We'll be bolting on a set of Brodix Dragon Slayer series 23 degrees. Now these feature a 225cc intake port and their valves measure two-zero-80 on the intake and one-600 on the exhaust, and they're housed in a fully c-n-c'ed 64cc combustion chamber. We ordered them setup for a solid roller cam shaft so we have the proper spring pressure, and the nice part about these is they are compatible with all stock small block Chevy style valvetrain.

(Mike)>> We reused our solid roller lifters that are a tie bar design and the factory diameter of 842 thousandths. ♪ ♪ The head bolt holes in this block go directly into the water jackets. So thread sealant must be used to prevent water seepage. ARP lube is still used between the washer and the bolt head. ♪ ♪ [ drill spinning ] ♪ ♪

(Mike)>> The push rods can also be reused because of the existing cam and rocker setup. One more item that saves us money. We increased the rocker ratio from one point five to one point six, but used the same type of Summit Racing's gold series rocker arms. They have needle bearing roller trunnions and tips, and are made from extruded aluminum. Then the rocker girdle is dropped on. ♪ ♪ The cold lash is set at 10 thousandths on the intake and 12 thousandths on the exhaust with the girdle in place. If it goes on afterwards it will affect the lash setting.

(Pat)>> Since we upgraded the cylinder head we went ahead and upgraded the intake manifold as well. This is an Edelbrock Super Victor Two, and it's one of the best manifolds you can get for a 23 degree small block Chevy. With its large cross sectional area and raised pad height this will make power between 4,000 and 8,000 r-p-m, and its sheer plenum volume will reduce intake manifold vacuum at wide open throttle, which means more air flow and in our case means more power. And just for fun we went ahead and gave it a slick paint job and added some Earl's hoses and fittings on the crossover to aid in cooling.

(Mike)>> It will seal to the heads via a set of Cometic intake gaskets and Permatex Right Stuff silicone. ♪ ♪ ARP fasteners will secure it to the heads. ♪ ♪ The manifold is being crowned with a big stack. A NOS nitrous plate, a two inch aluminum spacer, and our 950 c-f-m Quick Fuel dyno proven carburetor. That thing looks awesome.

(Pat)>> I like doing this old school stuff.

(Mike)>> Alright now here's the question. Did you order the most important thing?

(Pat)>> What's that?

(Mike)>> An eight inch cowl hood.

(Pat)>> It's gonna need it for sure.

(Mike)>> Absolutely! Cast aluminum valve covers from a previous project are being used. Aside from a couple of coats of Dupli-Color paint for a new look there was no other cost involved.

(Narrator)>> Coming up, low pressure plus high boiling point equals one great engine coolant, and our little green gremlin gets down to business. [ engine revving ]

(Mike)>> We have a guest in the shop today. It's Mike Tourville who is the marketing director at Evans Waterless Coolant. Now today he's gonna tell us a little bit about the science behind it. A lot of people think because it's waterless that it's not a liquid. Mike fill us in. (Mike T.)>> Yeah you're right. Waterless does not mean liquidless. As you can see it is a liquid okay, but it does have different characteristics than water or water based coolant. First of all it stops a lot of water caused problems like corrosion and electrolysis, and that's really important especially for collectors and museums where cars sit for long periods of time.

(Pat)>> Now people associate pressure with temperature all the time. That's not the case with Evans. (Mike T.)>> You're right, it's very different and the reason is its high boiling point of 375 degrees means that Evans is not gonna form vapor, it's not gonna build pressure, and it's certainly not gonna boil over. Think about the lower pressure. Evans will operate at about two to three p-s-i versus 15 in a normal operating car, or 30 in racing applications, even sometimes up to 100 p-s-i. It's a lot safer to run at three p-s-i than at those high dangerous levels that could certainly cause your coolant to blow out.

(Pat)>> Now one thing we really like is it's made right here in the USA. (Mike T.)>> You're right, it's blended right here in Pennsylvania.

(Mike)>> Now Mike cost, let's talk about that. (Mike T.)>> Sure, this is certainly more expensive than normal water based coolant. Now remember that contains half water. So certainly the cost is less to produce, but this is just under $50 dollars a gallon. But we think about this as sometimes inexpensive insurance. Insurance against corrosion, electrolysis, and prolonging the life of your cooling system components, mostly your radiator. I've had a lot of people come up and say, gee, I just had to replace my radiator because of electrolysis and the metals were pitted, but this coolant, it's a little expensive. I said you know, had you had this coolant to begin with you might have had to have bought that radiator.

(Pat)>> And that brings up a good point that this is actually reusable. (Mike T.)>> It is reusable. So if you have to do any kind of repairs or maintenance and you have to drain your coolant out you can reuse it. You want to filter it just to make sure that it's clean but I would definitely save it and reuse it.

(Mike)>> So Mike talking about racing this stuff is NHRA certified. (Mike T.)>> It is. In fact Evans is an NHRA contingency sponsor. This July will be two years, and since then we've signed up hundreds of racers that are using Evans on the track. In fact Steve Williams won the national championship using Evans coolant last year.

(Pat)>> Well the purpose of coolant is to get radiant heat out of the engine. So tell me about how Evans works better than a water based coolant. (Mike T.)>> Okay you know that brings up a real interesting point. Water loses 96 percent of its ability to transfer heat when it turns to vapor. That's bad! So with Evans it remains a liquid at the high temperature so you always have liquid to metal contact. Metal temperatures are under control even if the liquid coolant Evans is getting warmer cause it acts like a sponge pulling heat away. The metal temperatures are under control and you avoid those hot spots and those metal temperature spikes.

(Pat)>> Well Mike I want to thank you for coming by and explaining more about Evans coolant to us, and hope to see you at the track. (Mike T.)>> Yeah it's good to be here again. Thanks for having me.

(Narrator)>> Up next!

(Pat)>> I don't believe what I just saw.

(Pat)>> With the engine on our Superflow docking cart we can bolt up a set of our dyno headers. These are Hooker Super Comps with a one and three quarter inch primary size. The thick mounting flange resists warpage and creates a great sealing surface. The collector is three inches in diameter, and we are running evacs that attach to the valve covers.

(Mike)>> Hot Shot Secret's Adrenaline Racing Oil is exactly that. Intended for excellent protection for nitrous and supercharged engines where high output is combined with abuse of high r-p-m's. This makes it a great choice for naturally aspirated racing engines as well. It provides an excellent bearing oil film thickness for larger bearing clearanced engines. It's compatible with all types of racing fuels as well.

(Pat)>> It's infused with FRThree nano technology. It reduces friction, improves horsepower, and has improved aeration control. It's intended for off road use only. So it cannot be used with e-g-r systems, catalytic converters, or d-p-f systems. We are just gonna go for it and make some pulls from 4,500 to 6,800 at 32 degrees of timing. So let her rip there. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> Did it break 500?

(Mike)>> I think so.

(Pat)>> It broke 500? Woo, look at that!

(Mike)>> First drag we got 531 on power, 470 on torque. Everything else looks good, fuel. Let's cool it back down a little bit. We've got a little heat in the oil now and make another rip, the same r-p-m?

(Pat)>> Yep the same r-p-m. [ engine revving ]

(Mike)>> I think I saw a decent number out of that one.

(Pat)>> Again rings breaking in, all kinds of crazy stuff. Whoa, look at that!

(Mike)>> 61.

(Pat)>> 61!

(Mike)>> 491 pound feet.

(Pat)>> Again when your engine's at operating temperature and the oil is thinner, that actually, it takes more. It's called pumping loss. So the easier it is to pump the less parasitic loss it has, the more power it makes. That is unbelievable for a budget rebuild. I mean we did put a set of heads on it right.

(Mike)>> Yeah, yeah, nitrous.

(Pat)>> Now nitrous. ♪ ♪

(Mike)>> The nitrous system we're using is a sniper kit from NOS. Now this kit is a wet system that introduces fuel and nitrous into the spray bar that's mounted under the carburetor. Both of the solenoids are triggered by a micro switch that's mounted on the passenger side of the carburetor. Now this kit is adjustable from 100 to 150 horsepower in 25 horsepower increments. The kit comes with everything you need to bolt it onto your car and go out to the track and have some fun. The bottle does not come filled with any nitrous. So you'll have to take that to a local speed shop or air gas company and get it filled.

(Pat)>> Alright the oil is heated back up. The only change we have made is we have added a plate kit that has 100 horse of nitrous. Now we're not doing anything to the carburetor. If the carburetor is right we are introducing fuel and nitrous. So I think it'll be okay. I'm arming it, are you ready?

(Mike)>> Alright here we go.

(Pat)>> Let her rip, oh my god! [ engine revving ]

(Mike)>> I saw some good numbers down there on the gauges.

(Pat)>> Nitrous kills me.

(Mike)>> 672, 669.

(Pat)>> This thing will handle more nitrous than we can put to it. The only limitation we really have is the block.

(Mike)>> Well I know how you are. Sometimes you like to just go all in and sometimes you like to be a little conservative. So are you gonna jump to the 125 or the 150?

(Pat)>> 150, why even mess around, why even mess around? 672!

(Mike)>> Increasing the horsepower is as easy as changing the jets. Just make sure to follow the chart on the nitrous instructions. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> I don't believe what I just saw. ♪ ♪ 720 and 704 pound feet of torque. You know I bag on nitrous a lot but there's no denying what it will do when it's used correctly. What people do is they abuse this. It's like anything else. They'll abuse it and put it on stuff that won't take the power. This actually will take the power.

(Mike)>> Now this kit's under $500 dollars.

(Pat)>> Yes, that's incredible. We have a very, very economically friendly 720 horse engine. What do you think?

(Mike)>> I love it! I think it's a good one. Another one bites the dust right?

(Pat)>> For more information on any of the crazy stuff that you've see on today's show visit Powernation TV dot com. ♪ ♪

(Mike)>> Designing a fuel system for an aftermarket vehicle has become somewhat of a science. Aftermarket pumps require and return style regulators, pre and aft filters, and the size of the line that's used in the system is also critical. Some pumps are pulse width modulated and some require a relay so the vehicle's electrical system can handle the extra amperage. Something else that's very important is how the system is routed. If your components are too close to heat sources or moving parts you can put your system at risk.

(Pat)>> Automotive based fuel systems also have other applications and that's what we're gonna talk about today. Our dyno cell received a new fuel system to supply the engines that we test, and when we were designing this we wanted to lay it out so it'd test either carbureted or fuel injection systems without having to be swapped over or unhooked. The fuel pump we run on all our engines is this one point five horsepower 230 volt Weldon. It's the only thing being reused in the entire fuel system. It's controlled by a speed controller, which allows us to increase or decrease the volume of fuel through the regulators. For the rest of the system we called upon long time Powernation partner and a leader in the automotive aftermarket, Holley Performance Products. Now we used a mix of Holley and Earl's plumbing to get the job done because we knew that quality cannot be sacrificed in a dyno cell like this.

(Mike)>> After the pump is a Holley 460 gallon per hour VR series billet fuel filter. It's designed for hot street and race applications. It is a post filter. So it has a 10 micron element. The inlet and outlet use dash 12 O-ring fittings, and the filter is black anodized. From there the feed line goes through the wall of the dyno cell. Sealing it is an Earl's Seals-It firewall grommet. The other line we will get to in just a few minutes. When that line enters the dyno room it comes up to this Y-block. From there it splits to two Earl's ball valves, and that's what feeds both of our regulators. The top regulator is for fuel injection. The bottom is for carburetion. Now this line that joins the two actually sends the signal to our pressure sensor to tell us what kind of fuel pressure we have out at the console. Now both regulators have a return line. The return lines go down the wall to another Y-block and feet back out to the fuel cell. From the regulators we go to another Y-block. That one's setup with dry brake connections. A single line then comes up to our fuel flow meter. This is what tells us how much fuel the engine is actually consuming when it's running. Finally another Y-block and those two lines feed the carburetor or the fuel injection.

(Pat)>> We'd like to thank Holley Performance Products for getting us up and running. Now if you have an application for a fuel system, whether it be for your hot rod, a test stand, or even your own dyno room, give them a call and they'll get you fixed up.
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