I need Engine

[gasserx]

Just hooked up with a sponsor wich will help me with enginebuilding/machining! He has a full machine shop, and is a very talented guy. He can do about all thats needed regarding machining. So we are going to build from scratch - thats gonna be fun!

What would be a period correct type of engine? (late 60's) Crank, heads, cam, rods? What should we start with regarding c:r?
I see from the Jr Fuel association rules, that is says "all iron engine" - i assume that means no alu heads also?
We are going to use a stock sbc 4-bolt 350 block as a base. Thats about all for now. Im waiting for the block to be finished before we proceed to buy the other parts.
Hilborn injection and methanol for fuel.

Also going for a filled block, is there anything special to think about regarding that? Thats kind of new to us..

[George]

I have a professionally built .030 over 350. Built by Mullvain Motorsports in East Peoria Illinois. We ran Dart 230 Iron heads and ran with the SWJFA once. The engine was on the dyno and made 640+ hp. I also have a Hilborn stack system ( 2 7/16") and Waterman pump.

I am running a Blown combination now and have other parts for sale. Thanks George (I am in 62563.)

[gasserx]

How much block filler do i need for an 350 SBC?
Its hard to find someone that have this in stock here in Norway, but seems i finally found one that have the Morroso block filler, but they could not tell me how much i need.

[dusterdave173]

Most here will pour a 400 block but the 350's don't seem to need it--we have always run with no fill--if you do-- a short fill is what most use--do one side at a time--fill about half way up----use a little more water than they call for--too thick and you will make a mess--The Moroso works well--a gallon will do --it comes in gallon jugs--just add water /mix/and pour
You can skip this and still have a great engine
The iron head deal is just for Nostalgia sake here in Jr Fuel ( which is dying anyway)  We run aluminum heads --easy to repair and light weight--nothing wrong with iron heads just no big reason to use unless rules dictate Like Jr Fuel
If you do a good little 350 you should run 9.00 in 1/4 Minimum and most are much faster--for starters that is a heck of a ride!!! Build a monster in a few years--a crisp 350  on alky will make anyone happy--That car of yours is so nice and sorted you will fly with whatever you put in there.

[dreracecar]

I have seen people use regular tile grout to fill their blocks. Available at most big building supply stores, and there is no preference on which color works the best.

[ricardo1967]

I filled my SBC 400 production block, 30 over. A lot of prep work to do it right (included muriatic acid etching in my case). Next time I'd just go with an aftermarket block, like Dart SHP, not filled. I like the idea of not HardBlok filling the coolant galleries, making the engine block as sort of a radiator.

[gasserx]

Tile grout? Sounds like something i could test if i had several engines, but not sure if thats something i`ll do right now.

So an unfilled block is okey? Any more votes for that?

I would love to buy the best parts like a new aftermarket block, but i cant afford that at the moment. More important is to have an engine that works and to learn to get used to the car the first season.

[ricardo1967]

...
So an unfilled block is okey? Any more votes for that?

I would love to buy the best parts like a new aftermarket block, but i cant afford that at the moment. More important is to have an engine that works and to learn to get used to the car the first season.

To fill it or not basically depends on:
a. Thickness and integrity of cylinder walls.
b. You HP goals.

You could also opt to not fill it in your first season and do it later. I think having full water jackets adds some safety margin to bad tuning or abuse of running an uncooled engine for too long.

Entry level aftermarket blocks start at $1.5K, not as bad as they in the past. A fully race prepped factory block will not be too far from that.

[gasserx]

We already have a stock 010 350 block, so we will use that. $1500 is better to spend on the other parts at the moment.
Not sure what to say about hp goals, but i think we can live with a 5-600hp engine as a starter? Im actually not sure - as i dont have anything to compare with. Never drove a dragster before 
Fastest i have done on the 1/4 is a 13.5 sec with a 1953 floorpan beetle with somethig between 170-190hp. And that car was probably heavier than my FED.
I just want to learn, have fun and meet with other people with the same interests. Im only 36, so i hope i have plenty of time/years to build wilder stuff later on.
Might be worth to mention, is that we will possible not be able to make more than a maximum of 5-6 race weekends in a summer. Short season and few races within reasonable distance. In worst case we can end up with just a couple of weekends - rain is unfortunatly a huge partykiller over here.

[George]

We ran a production 350 4 bolt block for several years. It made 650 dyno hp . We ran it dry and water filled. I preferred the block and heads water filled because I could preheat the engine with freeze plug heaters. The car weighted 1480 wet ,with driver and ran a best of 5.05 138 1/8 mile. I still have the complete short block .

[JrFuel Hayden]

I agree with George, we run water in our iron SBC JrFueler. For one reason we use freeze plug heaters to pre-heat the block, another is water keeps the block/ head temp more even, and we saw more dyno HP because the water keeps the cylinder walls from harmonics, and round for better ring seal. Also block filler might weigh more than water. One time we ran it dry, and it got hot enough to torch the block between the center cylinders and the matching spot on the heads. I had to weld the iron block and heads.   
BTW, I know of some very fast JF cars that run BowTie blocks, mostly light race cars with small ci motors, ie. under 400 ci. Don Enriquez just won the 2014 NHRA  Hot Rod Reunion running 7.17, 185 mph with McKray Performance non RR 23° all iron SBC.

Jon

[gasserx]

When you run it with water, do you mean without a pump? If so, how much and how about water pressure when its getting real hot?
Im not going to run with a radiator etc..

[JrFuel Hayden]

Yes,  no water pump, don't need it with alky, matter-a-fact your motor will make more power with higher engine temps, 180-200°, with water in the block & heads. Another reason to run water is you can get the motor hotter = more HP.
All the iron JrFuelers warm-up just before towing to the staging lanes, and allot of teams put a blanket over the motor to tow to the staging lanes. Keep-in-mind you will need to lean your barrel valve to build heat. Some teams have the driver pull the fuel shut-off abit to lean it down while backing up from burn-out. This takes some practice in the pits or you can kill the motor.
As far as controlling the water pressure, we just use a fuel injection high-speed lean-out valve and adjust it to 8-15 # to bleed the expansion into a puke tank. We have found it's best to plumb the water hoses from each side into a "T" then into the pressure valve, to keep the pressure equal on each side. Some teams fab a radiator cap and manifold, we like our way because it's cleaner looking, and we can fine adjust it with a shim or two. KISS.
Included picture shows the high-speed valve and puke tank, the fitting on the right is for our vacuum pump/ crank case puke hose.
Feel free to call with any questions, 805-444-4489

Jon

[gasserx]

Thanks Jon (great name by the way, as i have it myself Jon M...) 
This gave me some ideas to think about. Very good information.