It all depends on the application for the engine, street use, be in the ballpark. COMPETITION Racing, get it right! Bracket racing (it’s a number on the windshield) closer than street.
The importance of a torque plate
- Thread starter Max1196
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MOPAROFFICIAL
Oogliboogli
Everyone here building an engine should have a dial bore gauge to check not only the cylinders...but the mains n rods as well. You can get them cheap.
All the main caps on a 360 I had done ...i had to stake to fit right & measure right cap vs saddle. I was pissed but determined. It worked out great. I even re honed the cylinders to the finish I wanted. That motor was a beast and smooth as silk. Every thing was as close to perf as I could get it 'after the initial build and machine work' Wish I knew why no.5 piston evaporated....suspected it was the cylinder wall may have had porosity 'water jacket side' and cracked. Every other piston was fine...It was a 78 block @.040 pumping near 200 psi a hole with a 4" arm..so it would be unheard of. That motor was initially torqued plate honed and ended up minutely scuffing 3 cylinders. I re honed it with a dingle ball.
All the main caps on a 360 I had done ...i had to stake to fit right & measure right cap vs saddle. I was pissed but determined. It worked out great. I even re honed the cylinders to the finish I wanted. That motor was a beast and smooth as silk. Every thing was as close to perf as I could get it 'after the initial build and machine work' Wish I knew why no.5 piston evaporated....suspected it was the cylinder wall may have had porosity 'water jacket side' and cracked. Every other piston was fine...It was a 78 block @.040 pumping near 200 psi a hole with a 4" arm..so it would be unheard of. That motor was initially torqued plate honed and ended up minutely scuffing 3 cylinders. I re honed it with a dingle ball.
Now after a year of machining, 100% torque plates yep. Some blocks show hardly any difference between torque plates or no torque plates.
It does depend on how close the head bolts are relative to the cylinder though.
It does depend on how close the head bolts are relative to the cylinder though.
OMFG, this is not what I think you're saying? Garden shed construction or aligning Froot Loops boxes on a shelf at Wall Mart can fall into this category, BUT, 2.9425 to 2.9430 IS the main housing size. NOTHING MORE and nothing less.
Bakerlite
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BINGO!!!!! heat up those blocks, with heads installed and then start measuring things!
Look at the allowable tolerances in a service manual. BUT the main bore saddles should be right, but like I said, depends on what you’re building.
MopaR&D
Nerd Member
Wow it was that long ago I had my 440 block machined? Didn't realize it had been that long. All I've managed to do is get the main bearings, rear main seal and crank installed. But that's because I ran out of money when the inflation+gas prices hit. Maybe I'll get the pistons and rods installed if I don't get a job offer soon (means I have to move).
I'm betting the shop didn't use a torque plate since I told them it was going to be a tow engine and rarely see over 5000 rpm. Still curious though. I'm likely moving to a state closer to sea level so the 360 in the truck now might have the cojones to do the job, then what do I do with this 440 lol... hmmm
I'm betting the shop didn't use a torque plate since I told them it was going to be a tow engine and rarely see over 5000 rpm. Still curious though. I'm likely moving to a state closer to sea level so the 360 in the truck now might have the cojones to do the job, then what do I do with this 440 lol... hmmm
Just curious, do you think the deck thickness has a bearing? I would think so.
Yeah sure, deck thickness, water jacket location, distance of head bolts, I did a LS block recently & man do those suckers hone out nice, i was asking my boss why it didn't have any distortion after I pulled the plates. He just pointed to the bolts and water jackets. They have a nice thick deck too.
Big block Mopar on the other hand 100% need torque plates, it is a long cylinder. They're actually a ***** to machine unless a guy has newer machines lol
If you want to hear any stories and ET’s from guys that don’t use torque plates on big and small block Mopars let me know.
I want to hear how you did it with an egg shaped bore.
I want to hear how you did it with an egg shaped bore.
Well the real bad 408 with egg shaped bores that I rebuilt for the third time and wore out two sets of stones went 9.70’s. My egg shaped .055 over 440 went 8.60’s@155mph.
I wonder how much heat, cylinder pressures, and the stress of a piston being driven into the cylinder wall affects things. Asking for a friend.
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