R37... Time for my 4.0 build

[r37ribution]

Well I finally decided to go ahead with the 4.0 OHV build. Some of you may recall my thread where I was Debating a 4.0L SOHC/5.0L motor swap. All of the comments were considered and despite what a lot of you were recommending, I stuck with my block. My engine was lacking some serious power and about this time last year I started scouting for parts to build it since I needed to pull it anyways to complete the IFS gear box install. Well the gear box is pretty much done and I need something to haul my boat and do some off roading with. I have been working on this for a while and just got around to finally getting a thread together.

Well as you all know how things go, one power adder lead to another and it went from a relatively inexpensive basic head swap with a cam to rebuilding the bottom end. This will most likely include Tom Morana's stroker kit despite Doug's recommendations, hopefully he doesn't get to say "I told you so".

I will be super charging it so the OHV seemed more appealing over the SOHC due to its compression ratio. Then again, with as much as I'm doing, I could have changed the compression ratio in the cylinders and heads during the engine build.

I know, I know some of you may ask "What are you thinking? you have a 302 donor!" but I ran the numbers before I got this involved with the build and to buy a 4406 t-case and mod the mounts and then I would be building a strong 302 (cuz i couldn't just install the stock one lol) which means a built trans and the ECU and the list goes on. It seems its going on and on anyways with this engine but hey, I'll be different.


Anyways, here is my parts list so far. Some of which I picked up in April last year so prices are vague:
[updated 1/26/2010]
Comp Cam 49-422-8 .500" lift ~$230
Dual valve springs from comp cams 988-12 ~$???
Alabama fully dressed heads ~$400
deltacams rocker bare arms ~$100
smith bros push rods 5.525" ~$???
Crane Spring retainers #99947-16 ~$30 (thank you little x!)
BBK headers - $130
machining the crappy primaries on the BBK headers - $60
lower intake P&P - $100
ARP head studs ~$420
ARP rod bolts ~$120
reman lifters ~$100
custom stainless valves 8mm - $25/valve
Port & Polish, broze sleeved, oversized valves - $640
stock locks/seals new < $4

To go:
head gaskets w/ built in o-ring (custom copper from SCE) - ~$200
stud girdle (steel vs. the sohc aluminum) - $180
ARP main studs - $220
stroker kit - $2300
professional rebuild (bored .030" over most likely) - $500-$1000
BBK 66mm TB - $210

 

[r37ribution]

Current issue at hand - heads

The OHV heads just suck! Someone should have made a new casting. My guy had to do major porting to get them to have any kinda smooth intake ports and the angle the exhaust takes is huge.

While my p&p guy was working on my heads we noticed that the size of the stock head's valves were extremely small in compairison with that of an engine with a similar cylinder displacement - a chevy 350. The stock valves on these heads are I- 1.707", E- 1.356" and a 350 has I- >2.00" E- >1.80". So this was definately an area I would like to improve on before I put it all back together. We cut a 98TM scrap head down to the water port inbetween the two valves to see how much room we had before there was less than a safe .100" of metal between the water port and the valve seat. There is about .150" before you hit water so my P&P guy said we could safely go .100" over on the valves. There is about .166" between the two valves before they touch.

The problem is the strange stem diameter of the valves I-.3163+, E-.31525+ - no one has blanks. We don't want to go larger than 8mm since this would add more weight to the valve train and require some serious changes. I can have the guides bored and bronze sleeves installed to get us down to a more common 8mm stem size.

So we started looking for another 8mm valve long enough that we could chop and re-groove going to a single groove on both the intake and exhaust, the stock exhaust valve is a multi groove. I found that the Volkswagen type IV on Manley's site are almost perfect candidate if you were to use lash caps. They are 48mm (1.88") and 38mm (1.49"), small enough to be machined down to a desired size of around 1.800" and 1.450". They are also long 4.606" with a tip length of .170" which could easily be chopped off with enough room to re-groove down to the stock o/a length of ~4.092". The stem diameter drops to .3130" and is only .003" less than stock so the stock locks should still do the job.

I called Manley and they said they could make some custom stinless for $25 each. They are questioning if the locks will be too sloppy and are suggesting going with LS-1 style radius locks. My P&P guy doesn't think going only .003 under will keep the locks from doing their job. We don't know if the LS-1 locks will fit in the Crane retainers but Manley said when I call him back tomorrow with the part number he can verify that. Then the question becomes will the Chevy locks maintain the stock installed hight? Or will they be higher or lower than stock. If it changes that opens up another can of worms and it would be easier just to use stock locks, perhaps machining them to fit if they don't fit in the groove right.

 

[r37ribution]

Finally got my valves in...

The new ones are in the front and the stocks in the back. I can't wait to hear it run! Waiting on chevy style locks for the exhaust valves and new valve seals from Ford.

 

[chayes627]

keep the info coming. nice to see some one do something wild with the ohv engine.

 

[Justin Klare]

if i recall right you can get the throttle body from jegs.

 

[r37ribution]

My porter is doing the final assembly on the heads. I picked up new valve seals, since the Alabama ones were mucked up a lil bit from removing the valves, and retainers for the new single groove exhaust side.

I will be picking up some copper head gaskets from SCE. They gave me references from www.team-orbit.com (Ranger Prerunning), Kenny Duttweiler Performance (1500-1600 hp racing engines), Racer Walsh (racerwalsh.zoovy.com) who builds a 4.3L Chevy v6 and had another car with 9sec using 24psi centrifugal blower on these gaskets.

SCE has the copper ICS (Integrated Combustion Seal) Titan Self Sealing head gaskets. The nice thing about these gaskets is that they have a built in O-ring so you don't have to machine your heads/block and insert a steel one. These are the same gaskets as the ones used on Team Orbits 4.0L SOHC prerunner. Orbit's engine builder Corey has built 4.0Ls with 4.080" bore and a 3.650" stroke! The block had "a lot of mods" heh. Corey had even talked to the guy who converted the 4.0L OHV into the DOHC Cosworth engine - Sven Pruett. I guess Sven was the origional designer of the 410 and 422 cam. He says that "I have tried many versions of the 4.0" bore and the results are always the same.......ain't worth it. The biggest problem is the way the head bolt bosses attach to the cylinder in the casting. They really distort the crap out of the very top of the bore when you get larger than 3.980". " So I'll prolly be sticking with a .020" or .030" rebuild.

Anyways, since the SOHC is so close to the OHV, SCE said it should be easy to map the water ports. I've order a set of stock head gaskets to ship to them along with my used ones so they can match the water ports and clear up any restrictions the stocks might cause.

 

[Rick]

This sounds like a great build! Best of luck seeing through.

Is your porter going to flow the heads? I would be interested in seeing the numbers. I never realized the valves were so small. No wonder they can't make decent power with the stock valves...

 

[r37ribution]

if i recall right you can get the throttle body from jegs.

Thanks for the tip. Looks like Summit has some too for $209.99. I'm gonna order one tomorrow when I get paid.

This sounds like a great build! Best of luck seeing through.

Is your porter going to flow the heads? I would be interested in seeing the numbers. I never realized the valves were so small. No wonder they can't make decent power with the stock valves...

Yeah we're going to flow test them afterwards, I'll be sure to post the numbers.

 

[IAmTodd]

Anxious to see how this all turns out. I may be using some of this for a future build of mine, just not as extreme. Keep up the good work!

 

[jd4242]

Anyways, since the SOHC is so close to the OHV, SCE said it should be easy to map the water ports. I've order a set of stock head gaskets to ship to them along with my used ones so they can match the water ports and clear up any restrictions the stocks might cause.

what do you mean by this?

 

[jd4242]

also how much did the new valves,and related parts and just the machine work to fit the valves end up costing you?i really want to go with bigger valves in my heads but would like to use the stock guides,retainers and locks.to cut down on machining cost!!i take it you never found any that would work like that?

 

[jd4242]

any updates

 

[r37ribution]

Flow Numbers

Flow Bench
Intake Exhaust E/I Ratio
Lift Stock Ported Stock Ported Stock Ported
.500 164 184 136 149 82.93 80.98
.400 152 172 130 139 85.53 80.81
.300 125 152 105 127 84.00 83.55
.200 83 115 70 99 84.34 86.09
.100 50 59 31 50 62.00 84.75


Valves
Stock Oversized
Dia Stem Length Dia Stem Length
Intake 1.707 .3163+ 4.092 1.800 .3149 4.100
Exhaust 1.356 .31525 4.088+ 1.450 .3149 4.100

We ended up going with standard 8mm stainless valves from Manley, bronze valve guides, Comp Cam dual springs, Crane retainers, stock locks and stock seals.

Total Labor cost $640.

 

[Turdle]

Quite an improvement on the heads!!
This is going to be good!!

 

[410Fortune]

dang looks great, how much are you going to be into this 4.0L for?????

 

[jd4242]

so looks like its around a 15% increase in flow.was the valves made for a ex or a different truck or were they custom?did you have the intake done also?man i wish i had my heads flow tested now,looks good,that thing should really run and sound good

 

[jtmx101]

dand, sounds like a good project, i want to know how it runs when its all put back togeather

 

[jrowe6]

what kind of hp are you expecting to see out of this? are you still planning on the super charger?

 

[r37ribution]

Thanks for the comments. Appologies for the crappy pictures, I took them with my camera phone - I don't have a digi cam at the moment.

@410, How much am I going to be into this for? Hmm well if you mean cost... haha I'll try to keep track in the first post but man it is expensive. I'm debating on what kind of crank I want to go with now. I can get a new nitrided stock regrind for around $1k or I can go completely billit for $3k. I'm not sure how strong the stock will be but the nitride should stiffen it up quite a bit. I also can get hardened bearings from Clevite for about $50 more than stock ones.

@jd4242, The new valves were completely custom SS with hardened tips built for the 4.0s stock locks. They were $25 ea. from Manley. Total machine/porting/flow testing was $640 thru a very rebutable guy out of his garage. He spent a lot of time on these as he had never done any for a 4.0L before so he had no base program to work from.

@jtmx101, Me too! Hopefully well!

@jrowe6, To be honest, I'm not expecting any finite number. I haven't seen a dyno from a build like mine. I have certain things I want to do to the block/heads and I'll see where it takes me. I will be keeping the compression ratio low (around 8 - 8.5) for a blower and will most likely be breaking it in NA and then going SC later so initial power will probably be disappointing until I get the super charger installed.

 

[jrowe6]

http://www.superchargersonline.com/hp_calculator.asp