As promised, some pics from the build. Aside from the waiting list, it takes me about 4 months to put an engine together like this one. I have other stuff going on around it obviously, it's not a solid start to finish build. Many custom parts need to be sourced, I need to make some of them and some processes I like to do in stages, like porting the head; if I can get it to a stage and leave it for a few days and come back to it, I see it in a clearer more objective light than just locking the door until it's done! Managing the way I work is as important to the quality of the build as the engineering.
I'll detail some of the stuff, but alot will remain undisclosed, because I don't want to give away too much of how I get the engine to work the way I want! Power is an important objective, but the way the power is delivered is every bit as important and I also aim to design in reliability, durability, ease of use and ease of maintenance. My race engines come back every one to two seasons for rebuilding and I like to make that process as simple and enjoyable as possible, but decisions and tweaks made in the first build.
Turning the valves. I can't get the exact size and shape valves I want off the shelf and because I'm always making slight variations to the spec to try and improve the engines, I can't afford to tie myself to a bulk order. So I buy blanks and perform the finishing and groove cutting myself. Faces are finished on a Serdi valve grinding machine for high precision and equality.
Block bored and honed in the wash tank before being decked and surface ground
Crank getting a clean after journal polishing. I don't grind or lighten the cranks, I use low mileage ones that polish easily and balance them, that's all; the severe lightening I've seen some do worries me greatly!
About ready for first dry build
Custom CP pistons laid out. This is an "X-forging" slipper design, extremely strong, light and low friction, but thanks to good design and material, durable too. Much less likely to fail by fracture too if things go a bit wrong; that may seem an odd priority, but engine failure can and sometimes does occur, if you use the right bits then secondary failures can do alot more damage than the primary cause. Alot more expense and down time for a race engine!
Pulleys, springs etc. Double springs are used, by Piper in this case. Their springs are extremely consistent and reliable, something that has been an issue for me in the past with other suppliers.
Plastigauge on all bearings, a quick and easy way to check built up clearances. Assume nothing, check everything!
Checking ring gaps, should be checked at various depths in the bore to get a braod view. Piston can be used to push it in square, skewed it will mis-read. I use conventional ring packs, witnessed alot of misery and frustration with "Total Seal" etc types. CPs ring packs generally need little or no gapping if the bore is correct and bed in wonderfully quick on a suitably honed bore.
Block surface ground and painted, no core plugs as yet though. Surface grinding the head gasket faces ensures ultimate precision and the perfect finish for an MLS gasket. Precision is the groundwork of reliability.
Onto slightly cruder matters. Scummy seal housings don't do any harm, but if you have access to a vapour blaster and make sure they're properly cleaned of media after, can be nice.
