276 stroker from 35 years of parts

[Bored&Stroked]

You got it brother!

[flatjack9]

Those Merc heads don't look to me like they have ever been milled. Do your pistons protrude above the deck at all at the edge?

[GB SISSON]

Flatjack, not the slightest bit above the deck. I could get a close up of a piston at TDC tomorrow. Most of the heads I have came from the large stash of blocks and parts I bought from a neighbor. He inherited them from his father in law and being a diehard bowtie goon, he considered them "boat anchors". The FIL had junked 13 cracked blocks a year earlier and these 9 were his 'keepers'. I had to drive 1 1/2 miles to pick them up. Guy was obviously huge into our V8s . All the heads were bolted face to face as pairs, with a sheet of corrugated cardboard in between. I have zero details on any history.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by KiWinUS

Send me your address and I will send you some cam bolts.

Thanks so much ! I got them today and I can see there is no way I coulda found anything like that in a hardware store. Another piece of the puzzle, so onward I go!

[38 coupe]

Things are looking good. Good news on the Mercury heads working for you. That is exactly the same method I used with foil balls. Clearanceing the heads looks like what my friend did on his Mercury heads. Fun, isn't it? The hard part is not overthinking things.
Thanks for all the pictures, this will be a nice reference for other folks building engines.

[GB SISSON]

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Here's a couple of photos of a piston at absolute TDC. The piston's top is chamfered and I don't have the experience to call it. Protruding or not? In the one photo you can see the damaged corner on the block.

[flatjack9]

Looks to me from the photo that the edge of the piston is protruding slightly above the deck.

[GB SISSON]

Since at this point I was really looking for it, I would agree with your observation. Good part of this is that those EAB heads could very well find a home on one of these other blocks and be in the correct range of squish.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

Looks to me from the photo that the edge of the piston is protruding slightly above the deck.

Jack,

I agree. I've dropped off on this thread for a bit and now I'm jumping back in.

[tubman]

A "Dazzle of Zebras"? Well, I'll be damned.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Here's a couple of photos of a piston at absolute TDC. The piston's top is chamfered and I don't have the experience to call it. Protruding or not? In the one photo you can see the damaged corner on the block.

[flatjack9]

This would explain why you are getting such tight clearances. I don't know that I have ever had that happen in one of my engines. Perhaps the block has been decked?

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

This would explain why you are getting such tight clearances. I don't know that I have ever had that happen in one of my engines. Perhaps the block has been decked?

Jack,

I was wondering the same. If you look at one of the picts, it looks like one side of the piston edge seems to be out farther than the other making me think it could have been possibly angle milled.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

This would explain why you are getting such tight clearances. I don't know that I have ever had that happen in one of my engines. Perhaps the block has been decked?

I was wondering the same.

[cadillac512]

I like that piston protrusion. Makes it easy to get whatever clearance and quench you desire.

[tubman]

Yep, Barney Navarro was also an advocate of "pop-up" pistons in flatheads.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by tubman

Yep, Barney Navarro was also an advocate of "pop-up" pistons in flatheads.

Navarro's pop-up piston design is quite different than what we see here.

The piston was made with an actual protrusion that rose above the deck and would match accordingly to a corresponding pocket in the head.

[Ziggster]

Thought I would share what I measured on my build.

C59A
Stk crank
0.060” over (Egge pistons)
C7RA-A cast iron factory Ford heads
Felpro head gasket - 0.055” thk
NGK sparkplugs
Block and heads were skimmed (not sure how much), but it was just to “clean” them up
Heads were tightened to spec

Head to piston clearance - 0.073”
Sparkplug to exh valve clearance - 0.128” (valve closed).

[Ziggster]

Some pics. Looking back at these pics (taken last year), makes me know wonder if the exh valve will hit the spark plug? I never did cycle it a few revs to check. Hmmm…What says the experts? I have the Isky 1007B.

[GB SISSON]

Les the machinest told me he took a very small amount off the decks to clean them up. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would angle mill the block without mentioning it to me. Been working on accessories today. I'm going to re-gasket and install new lockwashers on my chosen oil pump tomorrow, but I have to play a bit of catch-up in the woodshop too.