276 stroker from 35 years of parts

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked

Yeah, a contour gauge is a very handy tool for many different things - especially fabrication with tubing and other such fun!

I'll never let it outa my grip. I can picture a steel mounting tab welded onto a piece of 2" tube at a 45 degree angle. This thing would be the ****!, I mean the cat's meow!

Here is a pic I took several hours ago of the completed driver side head. After this morning's post I went down and decided that with the places where I just eeked out .040 (midway from top to bottom), it would be nice if it was .045 as that would match the bottom perimeter. To accomplish this I placed random postage stamp pieces of 100 grit around the half way point of my 'doming head' spun the wheel again and then cleand it all up with a 3 1/4" diameter cookie cut from an old, worn piece of 1/2" thick scotchbrite dropped in the hole. The sandpaper afforded some good traction on the spinning cookie and I think they cleaned up 'real good'. We are now .045 for the vast majority of this head. Perhaps I went a bit deep at the peak, but only for a real small area.

[Bored&Stroked]

Great work . . . this should really be fun when you get it all back together and running. Having a tight squish is mandatory for great performance.

[cadillac512]

Good looking domes. The system is working well...I thought the same about the contour gauge but man, it's a time saver!

[Tim Ayers]

Well done. What a great idea to get the contour right.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

I'll never let it outa my grip. I can picture a steel mounting tab welded onto a piece of 2" tube at a 45 degree angle. This thing would be the ****!, I mean the cat's meow!

Here is a pic I took several hours ago of the completed driver side head. After this morning's post I went down and decided that with the places where I just eeked out .040 (midway from top to bottom), it would be nice if it was .045 as that would match the bottom perimeter. To accomplish this I placed random postage stamp pieces of 100 grit around the half way point of my 'doming head' spun the wheel again and then cleand it all up with a 3 1/4" diameter cookie cut from an old, worn piece of 1/2" thick scotchbrite dropped in the hole. The sandpaper afforded some good traction on the spinning cookie and I think they cleaned up 'real good'. We are now .045 for the vast majority of this head. Perhaps I went a bit deep at the peak, but only for a real small area.

[Tim Ayers]

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Someone remind me, what was the measurement of the squish before the doming?

[GB SISSON]

Pete you are always there for us sight impaired barners. Against my eye doctor's wishes I find myself taking off the new trifocals and reaching for the 3.0 readers to read the fine print.
Tim, There were a lot of areas around .023-.030, but some .018 in places. I started out using an old compressed gasket that turned out to be .060 +-, but then I found out the Best gaskets compress to .052, so I made hardwood slats to replicate a compressed gasket. That of course gave me more cast iron to remove....It's been a long run at the ball, but the second head is going very quickly. I took progress pics of the passenger side head early this afternoon, but I'm remodeling my youngest kid's old bedroom as we have my daughter's family coming with their 3 kids for the weekend. I'll post up today's progress pictures after dinner, and before I paint the bedroom floor.

[GB SISSON]

Pics of the second head. Today I started where I left off with the angle grinder and the too thick old gasket last week. I did some fairly aggressive grinding and then set it up in the 3rd world doming grinder to fair out my work and see what it needs from here. Similar to the first head, it shows I need to take the most off in the middle ground. Last but not least, I uncovered a small pinhole. I actually think it's a bubble. I can't get even the finest wire in more than 1/8" and with a piece of silicone vacuum hose pressed against it, it holds suction. I can get my pinky finger into the water jacket and it feels like the roof is 1/4" thick still. I feel this head will finish out similar to the first one.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Pics of the second head. Today I started where I left off with the angle grinder and the too thick old gasket last week. I did some fairly aggressive grinding and then set it up in the 3rd world doming grinder to fair out my work and see what it needs from here. Similar to the first head, it shows I need to take the most off in the middle ground. Last but not least, I uncovered a small pinhole. I actually think it's a bubble. I can't get even the finest wire in more than 1/8" and with a piece of silicone vacuum hose pressed against it, it holds suction. I can get my pinky finger into the water jacket and it feels like the roof is 1/4" thick still. I feel this head will finish out similar to the first one.

[cadillac512]

I drilled holes in a junk head a while back...may have posted the pic but not sure. The domes are thicker than they seem. Bet you have no worry with the casting pit.

[Tim Ayers]

This entire post is really impressive. I love how GB was faced with a problem, he thought it through, and devised a solution that most folks could also do right in their own garage. This type of solutions are exactly what I love about working on old cars. Kudos! Well done.

[GB SISSON]

Thanks guys, it's been a fun challenge, but I'm more than ready to be past this dome clearance thing. It is quite stressful and very time consuming. Funny thing about it is that If I didn't cave in to all the suggestions offered about the .040 - .050 quench area, I would have blindly bolted those shaved EAB heads onto my decked block and had as little as .008 quench. I bet it would have turned over, maybe even run fine..... until it didn't. All of my past overhauls involved removing all the parts, performing the work and replacing the labled parts back on the same block. There is a LOT to know when scratch building from parts! My gratitude to all who have helped so far. And also a shout-out to 'Pete the Enlager' for illustrating my novel, even though one can click on the images, it just wouldn't be the same.

[Bored&Stroked]

It has been a fun journey for us all . . . now the REAL fun happens when you start it for the first time.

To me, starting a new engine is one of the best hotrod experiences --> a combination of anxiety, hope and fear . . . all working at the same time. I feel like a kid every time!

It is better than being an 8 year old ripping open a bunch of XMas presents!

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked

It has been a fun journey for us all . . . now the REAL fun happens when you start it for the first time.

To me, starting a new engine is one of the best hotrod experiences --> a combination of anxiety, hope and fear . . . all working at the same time. I feel like a kid every time!

It is better than being an 8 year old ripping open a bunch of XMas presents!

I told my wife it was like falling a really big tree. And in the end you did it right or you didn't.

[Bored&Stroked]

True . . . but you never really feel confident . . . until you absolutely know! This has been fun and you're about ready to enjoy your work!

[38 coupe]

Originally Posted by cadillac512

I drilled holes in a junk head a while back...may have posted the pic but not sure. The domes are thicker than they seem. Bet you have no worry with the casting pit.

Here is the thread where we discussed head thickness: https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=325380

[cadillac512]

Thanks, that's the thread. They are .260-.275 thick (EAB casting)

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by cadillac512

Thanks, that's the thread. They are .260-.275 thick (EAB casting)

Great to know how thick! I think I'm totally fine in that department. Family here now, the engine shop is shut down for a few days. Three of my four kids here tonight for my 71st birthday dinner.

[cadillac512]

Happy birthday ! Watch those 71 candles...quite a fire.

[flatford8]

Happy Birthday!!......YA ...geez...I can see that blaze from way over here.....Mark