One detail that seems to get overlooked until it causes a problem at the track is the starter and ring gear engagement. We take a lot of time to make sure we have .035" clearance between starter gear and the bottom of the ring gear teeth. This prevents binding. We also want .125 - .175" clearance between starter gear and ring gear when disengaged. Too close and it can hit the ring gear on launch and too far away can prevent proper tooth engagement when turning the engine over. One thing we did that really spins this Mopar over is we changed to a PowerMaster 16-volt battery. The cranking speed is much, much improved.
 This is about as good a view as you can get of the Fluidampr crankshaft damper with all of our accessories, the MSD crank trigger wheel, the vacuum pump pulley and the belt-drive fuel pump pulley bolted right on. It took a slightly longer drive mandrel than the old damper, but it was no problem changing that. |
Comp Cams: They have supported all of our project engines and this time around they steered us in the right direction on camshaft selection and their new roller lifter that includes an offset intake lifter to improve the pushrod angle. The cam was .727" int. /.704" ex lift. 286 int. / 296 ex at .050" installed at 112 L/C. This is actually a fairly conservative cam and that is how I like them. Easy on springs and components.
Fluidampr: When it comes to "smoothing things out" why not choose a company that has a product that is proven throughout the industry. Fluidampr's silicone fluid-filled dampers flat-out work. They extend crankshaft and bearing life. It bolted on perfectly (even with the aluminum timing chain cover) and all the accessories bolted to it as well. The part number is #720311. The only thing we had to do was extend the drive mandrel for our fuel pump and vacuum pump 1/2".
Ron's Fuel Injection: We stayed with the proven "Terminator" fuel injection for our methanol-fueled dragster. The first pulls showed the tune-up provided by "Killer" James Monroe was right on. We are using a .080 main pill and .037 nozzles. Exhaust gas numbers were 1030 to 1080 degrees and stayed steady through the pull. We are pretty sure a lean-out valve that comes on at about six seconds on quarter-mile runs will give is some MPH and a little ET, this is because mechanical injection tends to get “rich" as pump speed increases in high gear.
We ran the dyno pulls with a conservative 32 degrees of timing for several pulls. Stan then cranked it up to 36 degrees for the last pull and it responded with more torque (30 ft/lbs) at 5100 through 5800 rpms. The horsepower went up a little, but the flatter torque curve should help us out on consistency.
As for assembly tips and ideas, Stan and his engine builders made it clear to me that there are no “tricks.” Just keep everything as clean as possible, measure everything (new parts and used) to make sure they are correct, and follow proven engine assembly guidelines. They did mention rod bolt torque and they recommend using the ARP rod bolts and using rod bolt stretch as the proper way to assure correct torque on this very important component. Naturally, use the best assembly lube, ARP fastener lube, on head and main cap studs and rod bolts.
One interesting thing they told me was about setting valve lash on an aluminum-block engine. When I asked about setting the valves with a cold engine they said I would need to set them at about .008 to .010". That should end up being about .020" after the engine and oil warm up. WOW! I had no idea the block made that much difference. I could see about .004" of lash increase with the Indy aluminum heads from cold to hot, but the block ads another .010-.012".
I’ll let you know how that goes when I set them cold at the shop and then warm it up when we get to the track in a couple weeks and recheck the valve lash when the engine is hot.
The hard part is over for me on the Project 572. Now we get to go out and have some fun. It has been eight months since the Project 4-Link has seen the track and I am anxious to see how we perform.
Thanks to all the great companies who helped us out. I hope you have had some questions answered about building a big-inch Mopar Wedge. It has been made a lot simpler for us with the Ohio Crankshaft engine kits and World Product engine blocks.
Now get out there and start beating up on the Chevys and Fords!