Porting Bits Arrived...

[cgrey8]

Check'em out:




Ignore the cat hairs I got in the pics.

They are all 6" shanks. I didn't see the need in buying both 6" and 2" bits. One of the guys I talk to says he only uses 6" bits and just always ports with a leather glove. The leather lets him hold the spinning shank and control the tool while it cuts since it has a bit of a mechanical advantage being further from the die grinder as compared to a shorter shank bit.

[Dave]

Get with it, times a wasting! You going to do the new heads also so you end up with a brand new motor so you can just pull one and drop the other?
Dave

[cgrey8]

Yep. That's the plan. Build the new engine while I'm driving the one that's in the truck. Then when I get to a point where I'm calling the build done and ready to install, I can just swap them. The fewer things I have to take off the old engine and put on the new, the better. Although I really don't see a good reason to go buying another alternator and AC compressor since both of mine are working...particularly since I don't have a core alternator to turn back in. So the accessories and wiring harness I'm using now will stay.

If I don't do anything with the gashed-n-peeling upper on the new engine, I'll probably keep the one in the truck now since it is in pristine condition. The only part I'm porting is the lower intake. The upper is cast pretty well as-is and doesn't need much attention. There are things that can be improved, but they are the kinds of things you do to touch 400hp. The Explorer upper in stock form is good to 350hp. It's the lower that needs all the work. In fact before I can port the #1 and #5 port, I need to find someone with a welder that can weld on aluminum. To straighten those ports, the backside knees need to be filled in. Tom Moss told me that way back when, and a number of other experienced porters have stated the same thing. But I can hit all the other ports in the meantime.

And I'm in no big hurry to get it all done. The most expensive part of the job is the stroker kit. The machine work will not be cheap either. I won't have the money for either of those for quite a few months unless the damn house sells between now and then. And I still have RRs, springs, injectors, and cam to get. It's not going to be a cheap, fast-paced, build. But it will be done right...as right as I know how anyway assuming I don't screw up something.