Building A Budget 347 Engine - How To

Main cap stud torque is different than with bolts because you're torquing both stud and nut. Visit ARP's website, www.arp-bolts.com, for proper torque specs on page 24 of the ARP catalog.

Mark dresses piston rings before fitment and installation to prevent abnormal wear patterns. You should too. Sharp edges on all parts should be dressed to prevent galling and stress cracks.

Amass a room full of engine builders and you will get a variety of opinions on piston ring installation. Some roll rings on. Some use expanders. Today, thinner low-friction rings can be rolled on as Mark demonstrates here because there's less chance of distortion.

When stroking a 289/302 block to 347 ci, block cylinder skirts must be notched to clear connecting rod bolts during the block's machining and mock-up phases.

Connecting rod side clearances are checked once all rods are torqued and assembly is checked for smooth rotation. Rod side clearances are .007-.014-inch depending on how hard you intend to run the engine.

Trans Am Racing goes with screw-in oil galley plugs for oil system security. A small .020-inch oil hole is drilled into one plug for improved timing set and distributor gear lubrication.

Just because an oil pump is new doesn't make it ready for service. Disassemble and inspect the oil pump for proper clearances. Because manufacturers run pumps before they're packaged, it becomes easy to see wear patterns and potential trouble spots. Although this is a new pump, it obviously hasn't been machined true considering this wear pattern. Check the pressure relief piston while you're at it for freedom of movement.

Mark checks oil pump clearances with girdle and crank. Clearance should be at least .060-inch minimum.

Before Mark installs the Trans Am Racing deep-sump pan, he checks pan and pickup depth and clearances. This should be done with all pans, including stock applications. You want at least .060-inch between pickup and pan.

Some engine builders soak hydraulic lifters in SAE 30 weight engine oil before installation, which isn't a bad idea. Mark dresses his roller tappets with assembly lube for lubrication that endures prior to that first start-up. Also, Mark primes the oiling system by running the pump with a power drill before distributor installation. This gets lubrication to bearing journals and lifters for a good wet start-up.

The lifter retainer, known as the spider, is next once lifter dog bones are in place. Read the dog bones where it says, "Up" because it's easy to get them backwards. There are two types of spiders, one for roller blocks and one for retrofitting classic blocks. Difference is bolt hole locations. Use a thread locker on fasteners.

Cylinder head gasket installation goes just one way. Coolant passages go at the back of your block. Get this backwards and you will have overheating.

Mark is using Edelbrock on top with #77389 Victor Jr. 70cc chamber cylinder heads and #7521 Air Gap induction topped by an 830-cfm #0-9381 Holley. Because these are 351W heads on a 289/302 block, Mark uses Edelbrock #9680 bolt bushings with ARP bolts. Mark has ported both heads and manifold to achieve outstanding flow numbers.

Mark has opted for Trick Flow Specialties 1.7:1 ratio rocker arms (#51400520) and one-piece hardened pushrods (#21406400). The 1.7:1 rocker ratio provides more valve lift than 1.6:1 rockers, with Mark stating that Ford engines like more lift. Mark adds that his decisions are based on years of dyno experience.

Even the best intake manifold gaskets need help around cooling passages. Just a super-thin film of sealer around each passage can ward off leakage. Do the same along the bottom of each intake port to prevent oil from being ingested.

Mark has performed a lot of port work on this Edelbrock Performer Air Gap dual-plane intake manifold. The Air Gap has proven better than the standard Performer RPM due to its larger, longer intake runners. Mark's port work is icing on the cake. For street and strip, you want a dual-plane manifold with longer runners, which improves street torque.

Because Holley has been in the performance carburetor business longer than most of us have been around, Mark opts for experience. This is the double pumper, dual feed Holley #0-9381 830-cfm performance carburetor with annular boosters. It presented Mark with outstanding results on the dyno atop two different intake manifolds.