Stock main bolts?

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Bigblockbryan1982

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Okay I have a 440 that's balanced scat h beam rods with new cam I should be looking at 500-560 according to Hughes with my cam depending on what heads I use should I upgrade the bolts on mains ?it's mainly a street car that will see strip a couple times a year
 
I don't see them failing...but whats the cost of rebuilding it again vs new main bolts?

My 340, same main bolts, 3 builds.
I have the experience to chime in.
 
My 383 has been in 2 cars with a ton of run time on stock main bolts, but a set of arp main bolts is fairly inexpensive and is always good insurance
 
Just remember if you go with studs instead of bolts you “should” have the mains align honed
 
Studs provide the ability to obtain much more accurate torque values because they don’t twist during tightening as bolts do. Because studs remain stationary during nut tightening, they stretch in one axis alone, providing much more even and accurate clamping forces. You do not need to align bore when going from main bolts to studs, but I would say you definitely need an align hone.
Swapping in some ARP main studs without getting an align hone can give you problems. Torque the main cap bolts to spec and check the main bearing bore with a bore gauge. Then replace the bolts with mains studs and repeat ... The main bearing bore will probably be out of round with the studs and no align hone. Spun bearings are nobodies friend.
 
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I’m a budget racer so I try to keep costs down. Not saying it’s the right thing to do but I’ve never had to have a block align honed after switching to main studs and I do it to every engine I and my son race. If I put it together and it spins as smooth as butter it’s good to go. And I’ve never had one that didn’t. Money in my pocket feels better.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I’m a budget racer so I try to keep costs down. Not saying it’s the right thing to do but I’ve never had to have a block align honed after switching to main studs and I do it to every engine I and my son race. If I put it together and it spins as smooth as butter it’s good to go. And I’ve never had one that didn’t. Money in my pocket feels better.
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If that's the case I agree, you're good to go. If you torque the studs, and the measurements dont jive, do what ya gotta do. When is your first track day?
 
fratzog lover said:
If that's the case I agree, you're good to go. If you torque the studs, and the measurements dont jive, do what ya gotta do. When is your first track day?
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I usually don’t wait till the last minute for things like this. If it’s something I control I may drag my feet. Luckily my local machine shop gets my stuff out in 3-4 days at the longest.
 
I would have put studs in it at the block machining stage given the power expectations. BB Mopar caps have a tendency to walk, and it's easy to see on the parting line of the caps. So unless it's a mild build, I upgrade the fasteners to studs.
 
I've never had any machine work done either when using studs. Never had a problem with it either. I've built three motors with studs. All three ran 10 sec 1/4 miles. One was a 400 base motor. Two were 440 .
 
I'm not sure if that reference was to me not having any machine work done using studs or not. But for clarification I have every block I do align honed, and if installing studs I would never advise someone that it was ok to not align hone. I don't know how many I've done now - but the first one my machinist told me I had to, and then he and I measured the distortion to prove his point. In a couple later cases the studs didn't locate the cap properly.
 
moper said:
I'm not sure if that reference was to me not having any machine work done using studs or not. But for clarification I have every block I do align honed, and if installing studs I would never advise someone that it was ok to not align hone. I don't know how many I've done now - but the first one my machinist told me I had to, and then he and I measured the distortion to prove his point. In a couple later cases the studs didn't locate the cap properly.
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I’m betting stud to cap interference was the reason. There’s ways around that
 
oldkimmer said:
But then isn’t that defeating the purpose of the studs if u modify the cap. Or am I thinking wrong. Kim
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If the main bores are still w/in specs , and u cant feel "any" ridge in the parting lines when torqued w/ no bearings, what would it hurt to not line hone , providing that the sidea re still lined up !~??
 
famous bob said:
If the main bores are still w/in specs , and u cant feel "any" ridge in the parting lines when torqued w/ no bearings, what would it hurt to not line hone , providing that the sidea re still lined up !~??
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Im just not in on maching something that's not neccary. I've just never had money to spend on fixing something that is not broke. Now if it is broke and needs maching. Then I save up my money and I get it machined. I dang sure am not going to put the engine together knowing I have a problem. If I had money to burn then I'm getting the full meal deal on my block then lol !!
 
The way I feel about it is I’ve never had one line bored except for a 440 stocker that I put 440source main caps on. That’s a lot of engines over 44 plus years and a lot of saved money. My time is free so if I put the crank in and it spins freely it’s going together. Another can of worms you open with line boring is timing chain issues.
 
pittsburghracer said:
The way I feel about it is I’ve never had one line bored except for a 440 stocker that I put 440source main caps on. That’s a lot of engines over 44 plus years and a lot of saved money. My time is free so if I put the crank in and it spins freely it’s going together. Another can of worms you open with line boring is timing chain issues.
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I have always used a .005 tite timing chain that took care of that.
 
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