Lykins Motorsports 427FE Build, Alan Carter

[blykins]

Yes sir they were.

Your aftermarket blocks are all rough CNC machined and have billet caps that are produced at a much higher tolerance too.

[Tim7139]

Originally Posted by Gasdoc

Hello everyone, I'm Alan Carter the soon to be owner of this beast. I've been drooling over Cobras ever since I can remember and can't believe there is finally one in my near future! I'm super stoked! I've been a bit of a lurker on this forum for a long time and that is how I found Brent. He's been great to work with and I can't wait to see this engine completed!

I put my order in with Peter at ERA a year ago in May and they told me then the lead time was at least a year. My car is Chassis # 813 and hopefully will be going to the paint shop soon. I'm not sure if I'll have time to do a detailed build thread but I'll definitely start a post and give updates on my progress along the way. I have to say I am very impressed with some of you guys and your builds. I hope mine turns out half as good as some of yours!

Alan

Gongrats, looks like a really nice lump going into the car. What colors are you going with?

[Large Arbor]

Awesome build Brent! Looking forward to see if coming together!

Alan - Your build sounds great. You picked a color yet? You will love the ERA.

Phil

[Gasdoc]

Thanks guys! I went ahead and created a build thread to answer some of the car specific questions so we wouldn't derail Brent's engine build thread. I would post a link to it but not sure how to do that yet. It's easy to find.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Gasdoc

Thanks guys! I went ahead and created a build thread to answer some of the car specific questions so we wouldn't derail Brent's engine build thread. I would post a link to it but not sure how to do that yet. It's easy to find.

Build thread is at Gasdoc's ERA build - #813

[blykins]

Heads cleaned up really nice. New bronze guides, getting ready for valve job and clean up the deck surfaces.



Taken next to a greasy Burger King bag for reference.

[LoBelly]

Originally Posted by blykins

Heads cleaned up really nice. New bronze guides, getting ready for valve job and clean up the deck surfaces.

>pic<

Taken next to a greasy Burger King bag for reference.

I stared at that picture of the head for ages trying to work out where the pushrods came through...

>doh<

LoBelly

[olddog]

Originally Posted by LoBelly

I stared at that picture of the head for ages trying to work out where the pushrods came through...

>doh<

LoBelly

That is because the push rods come through the intake manifold on an FE engine. Yes that mean to remove the intake, you must first remove the valve covers, remove the rockers, and then the push-rods. Since the intake contains about 1/3 of what is typically the head on most designs, the intake is one heavy beast in cast iron.

I had a 1986 Ford Bronco II with a 2.8 or 2.9 ltr V-6 that was a similar design.

[lippy]

How much do those bad boys weigh? And the intake?

[blykins]

Never put them on scales, but I would guess 30-35 a piece. Intake isn't any heavier than your normal Performer RPM.

[Bernica]

Nice. Are you doing any port work on them?

[blykins]

Yes, we are going to have the heads and intake ported.

[DanEC]

Orig heads aren't too bad for weight - it's those cast iron intakes that are a killer.

[Detroit Bill]

Nice, excuse my ignorance but were spacers on the main cap side bolts standard on factory blocks? I believe my repro aluminum block does not have any?

[buddyg]

Very cool! How much power will it make and what is the approximate cost to build?

[blykins]

I think we'll be in the 500-525 hp range. With the port work and all the original parts (plus custom pistons, roller camshaft, etc.) we're almost to the $20k mark for a turn-key engine....starter, coil, pulleys, carb, turkey pan, repop pentroof valve covers, etc, etc.

[blykins]

Heads are assembled. Rocker assemblies are assembled. Balancer is on and timing pointer position checked.

Custom pushrods are here (3/8" ball on one end, 5/16" ball on the other, custom length from Trend). Head gaskets will be here on Monday and having intake manifold refinished today. Getting close to making noise...

[blykins]

I run the cam timing pretty advanced on a lot of my engines. This cam was ordered with a 110 LSA, on a 104 ICL. It degreed in at 103.25. When we run that advanced, you can really see how piston to valve clearance is affected. The trend is that when you advance cam timing, intake valve clearance decreases and exhaust valve clearance increases. As you can see in the next two pictures, it's very apparent: intake valve clearance was .100" + head gasket thickness, exhaust valve clearance was a whopping .300" + head gasket.





Valve springs are set up at a nominal 1.900" install height. Valve spring pressures are tested based on install height, full lift, and coil bind.





And if you've never seen a factory MR intake port that approaches 320 cfm, then here's your chance....

[olddog]

Strange, I never actually used clay to check valve clearance, and I new it was the best way. I have measure the valve stem movement with the valve spring off. In my defense, that was back in my puppy days.

I was surprised how close the intake valve comes to the notch in the piston. Especially surprising to me after seeing the exhaust is a mile away, in comparison. I never gave clearance radially from the valve to the piston cut any thought. Measuring the valve stem travel, only measures one dimension. The edge of the valve may only have 0.002" clearance from the cut in the piston, and that method of measure wouldn't tell you that. That would get ugly when things heated up.

I learned something today. I'll never miss this step again.

Thanks

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by olddog

Strange, I never actually used clay to check valve clearance, and I new it was the best way. I have measure the valve stem movement with the valve spring off. In my defense, that was back in my puppy days.

I was surprised how close the intake valve comes to the notch in the piston. Especially surprising to me after seeing the exhaust is a mile away, in comparison. I never gave clearance radially from the valve to the piston cut any thought. Measuring the valve stem travel, only measures one dimension. The edge of the valve may only have 0.002" clearance from the cut in the piston, and that method of measure wouldn't tell you that. That would get ugly when things heated up.

I learned something today. I'll never miss this step again.

Thanks

Yes, it certainly is the best way.

I have had one engine where the valves were increased to almost total bore diameter, 52% and 43% and the block needed to be notched for clearance for the exhaust valve.

Same for making custom valve reliefs in the piston.

Observe how blykins has about the same radially as it does vertically.