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Sign up for our E-newsletterEach in-depth engine project build that I produce (for the printed issues of Precision Engine magazine and for this website) is intended to provide readers with a hands-on “road map” for building a specific engine. I’m not about to claim that each build is the “utlimate” by a long shot. My goal is to provide [...]
Project Engine Builds
PROJECT 427W, PART 6 THE DYNO RUN
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
November 2, 2010 ·
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THE DYNO RUN Build, text and photos by Mike Mavrigian . Well, we finally ran this engine on dyno. The dyno location was Platinum Engine Designs in Norwich, Ohio, a clean-as-a-whistle top-notch race engine shop in southeast Ohio, equipped with a late-model SuperFlow engine dyno.
PROJECT FLATHEAD, PART 4
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
October 15, 2010 ·
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The final product is a bit more enhanced than the in-progress photo shown here. I’ll discuss our chrome water pump upgrade, the final custom alternator setup and the complete fuel system setup in the next article. ….. This installment of our Ford Flathead series discusses the timing cover/distributor housing, setup and installation of the MSD [...]
PROJECT FLATHEAD, PART 3
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
September 28, 2010 ·
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I’ve decided to have the water pumps and pulleys polished and chrome plated. This will provide additional visual appeal. Engine build, text and photos by Mike Mavrigian In this series installment, I’ll discuss final installation of the rods and pistons, the oil pump and pan, timing cover, water pumps and cylinder heads.
PROJECT FLATHEAD, PART 2
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
September 2, 2010 ·
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She’s done. In this article, we’ll cover crankshaft balancing, valvetrain and crankshaft assembly. How do you like the plug wire routing? I’ll cover this in a later article installment. I’m considering having the water pump pulleys polished and chrome plated. By the way, the water pump/alternator belt pulley alignment is perfect. If the belt looks [...]
PROJECT FLATHEAD, PART 1
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
August 12, 2010 ·
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Our flattie is almost finished. Compared to an original, she’s looking pretty snazzy. Build, text and photos by Mike Mavrigian The Ford flathead was a popular platform for early rodders, and basically started the hot rod and performance engine movement. The engine production ran from 1937 through 1953, with one of the most popular versions [...]
DART 427W PART 5
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
April 9, 2010 ·
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Our build is done. See the end of this article for several tasty photos of the finished engine, followed by a complete list of the participating manufacturers. FINAL ASSEMBLY OF OUR NASTY LITTLE DART 427W OUR ONE TRICK PONY IS DONE. WE’RE READY FOR THE DYNO RUN. Engine build, text and photos by Mike [...]
DART 427W PROJECT, PART 4
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
March 12, 2010 ·
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FROM SHORTBLOCK TO LONGBLOCK CYLINDER HEADS & VALVETRAIN Our beasty 427W is finally in longblock form. Engine build, text and photos by Mike Mavrigian The use of studs, as compared to bolts, provides a more accurate and consistent clamping load for the cylinder heads, and eliminates wear & tear on the block’s threaded [...]
DART 427W PROJECT, PART 3
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
February 27, 2010 ·
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by Mike Mavrigian Build/assembly and all photos by author Our Lunati roller cam features 0.544″ valve lift at intake and 0.560″ at exhaust, with duration of 232 intake and 242 exhaust. Centerline is 108 intake and 116 exhaust. CAMSHAFT AND TIMING Dart thoughtfully provided anti-friction-coated cam bearings with their block. Each bearing is [...]
PROJECT DART 427W, PART 2
Posted By Mike Mavrigian,
February 4, 2010 ·
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We machine the block, balance the crank and check clearances. The Dart Iron Eagle 351W block is a precision-cast and raw-machined product of unparalleled quality. Dart provides a bit of extra deck height and minimal bore diameter, allowing the builder to precisely achieve desired dimensions. By Mike Mavrigian all photos by author [...]