I am about to assemble my first bottom end (396), any tips,tricks,or pittfalls that I should be aware of ??


PS
This forum is the best thing ever.....
Thanx
Scott

wow...another 396 love this sight.....im a big fan of those mighty small big blocks heheheh.......everytime i build one it get me going......isnt that sad ...lol

well....make sure block is very clean....i use alot of dawn soap...clean clean clean....then i blow it off......and spray it down with wd 40..........i wipe the cylinder walls out with a lint free rag then coat them with 30 weight oil.........i spin the motor over and make sure everything is wiped down good and i look for any sharp edges in the bearing saddle or little nicks that might make the bearings not sit correctly..........if everything looks good then i put the bearing tops in.......DO NOT OIL THEM YET.......put them in dry.....and make sure you inspect every bearing half shell sometimes they come nicked......then put in the rear main seal half........... please dont put in backwards the lip shoot inward to the crank........put alittle oil on the lip so the crank wont sit on it dry.......its time for the crank make sure it is very clean too......need to run some small brushes thru the oiling holes to get them clean out use plenty of soap it helps release gunk thats in there.....when done i wipe down with the same lint free rag.....then put the crank in gently......on dry bearings.......


break..........tell the wife how much i love her........do the happy dance back out to the garage.....


i use plastigage .....you are kinda stuck with what ever clearence is there unless you tear down and take it back......so if your in the ballpark you will be good to go....i put the bearings into the caps dry and have my plastigage layed down the length of the motor and go for all of them at once ........i pull them off and check them if all is a go then i clean the plastigage off everything and put some oil on the crank and give it a few turns so there is oil on the bearings that are in the block....i wipe the bearing cap surface of the block off i really dont care to have an oil film between my caps and the block......then i put my rear main seal in the rear cap and put just a dab of silcon on the ends to help promote seal against the other half..................i put the cap on and i just snug it not alot......put the other caps on..........then i set the rear brearing i smack the crank forward then i smack it back to the rear of the block ..........(i run 30 weight oil on the bolts i just dip them in the bottle of oil and set them in there new home..........spin the crank after each main that gets torqued)

boy i could right a book i know you asked for tips but you might find some tips in there....pistons and rods tomorrow hehehehehe

Dennis,
The correct procedure for "setting" the thrust bearing is that the final "push" or hit if you like, should be towards the front of the engine. You want the back side of the bearing halves to be aligned so that when the crank pushes forward, it hits both upper and lower halves of the bearing.
Scott,
The best investment you can make is to go buy the book "rebuilding your Big Block Chevy Engine" and read it from cover to cover before you put the engine back together.
Just my opinion,

yep your right you cought that, i even had to re-read what i wrote..........and it is foward that it needs to sit at on final smack.......its an old habbit to break......on my last motor i used a pry bar 18" to move the crank back and forth.....and seat them.....but i catch myself going for the hammer and block of wood everytime......lol

WOW - great reply,if there are any other suggestions it will be about a week till get the block back from the machine shop.

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to post such a
detailed responce. graemlins/thumbsup.gif (& That book will be money well spent!)

Scott, I built my 383 using Vizard's small block book. Like Bill said, read it cover to cover and make sure you have it laying around for reference for each stage of the build. It was my first build, and the engine runs like a bat out of hell.

Kevin

P.S. Pay special attention to details when installing bearings and such, make sure they are oriented in the right directions, same with rods. I almost screwed it up royally, but caught my mistakes before any damage was done.