Photos of black death for a race engine

[Clem Z.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

some engine builders used stand pipes in the oil return holes in the SBC heads to keep the valve springs in the oil on endurance racers. never tried that myself but i guessed it work if ferrari used it.

[Jerry G.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

hey jerry here is your answer right from GM.
Clem,The NASCAR teams typically used to convert the 1184 block to 58mm O.D.(50mm I.D.) needle bearings.JC

Thank you. Sorry to ask another question. I now understand that the the priority oil flow goes from the pump through the filter , thru the cooler , back to the block and into the main(center) oil gallery which feeds the crank and pushrods. i tested the passages with smoke and can see the connection. however it appears that the filter side smaller gallery does not connect with the main center gallery. I came accross literature that said when roller cam bearings are installed the oil distribution grove bewteen the center gallery and the two outer galleries must be recut to allow oil transfer back to these galleries. do you agree? I'll need to remove the bearings to find out if this has been done.

[Dick W.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

if the corvette has certain side pipe headers the pan can not be too wide as they come close to the pan.

Fabricate a stainless steel heat shield. Helps quite a bit. This is what we did at Daytona when we ran the Camaro in the Paul Revere 250. Way back in the dark ages before dry sumps were popular

[Clem Z.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

Thank you. Sorry to ask another question. I now understand that the the priority oil flow goes from the pump through the filter , thru the cooler , back to the block and into the main(center) oil gallery which feeds the crank and pushrods. i tested the passages with smoke and can see the connection. however it appears that the filter side smaller gallery does not connect with the main center gallery. I came accross literature that said when roller cam bearings are installed the oil distribution grove bewteen the center gallery and the two outer galleries must be recut to allow oil transfer back to these galleries. do you agree? I'll need to remove the bearings to find out if this has been done.

when you bore out the cam bearing journals you cut into the oil passage,see my above drawing, so it does reduce the size of the passage BUT the person installing the bearings should know this and fixed it. make sure your oil filter boss adapter plate is not leaking internally and allowing the oil to bypass the cooler and filter. you are better off to tap the oil galleries in the filter boss for a direct hose connection than use the adapter plate.

[Clem Z.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

when you bore out the cam bearing journals you cut into the oil passage,see my above drawing, so it does reduce the size of the passage BUT the person installing the bearings should know this and fixed it. make sure your oil filter boss adapter plate is not leaking internally and allowing the oil to bypass the cooler and filter. you are better off to tap the oil galleries in the filter boss for a direct hose connection than use the adapter plate.

checking farther i find that your block 10051184 should have had the 2.000 dia. cam bearing bores from the factory, no over bore required

[Jerry G.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

i don't think 5 quarts is enought oil. i would get a 7-8 quart pan and fill it like i posted before to see how much you can get in it and then over fill few quarts plus allowing for the coolers,filter and the lines..

I may have had a revelation, of sorts. it's possible when I measured oil level with a dipstick that the oil from the cooler ran back into the pan. So when I started the motor and the cooler refilled I was two quarts low. Dumb mistake. Not sure about this but I'm checking

[Clem Z.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

I may have had a revelation, of sorts. it's possible when I measured oil level with a dipstick that the oil from the cooler ran back into the pan. So when I started the motor and the cooler refilled I was two quarts low. Dumb mistake. Not sure about this but I'm checking

never used those dip sticks as i brazed a 1/4 NTP plug bung in the side of the pan at the height i determined filling the pan on the bench and checked the oil level by removing the 1/4" pipe plug.

[Michael H.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

I may have had a revelation, of sorts. it's possible when I measured oil level with a dipstick that the oil from the cooler ran back into the pan. So when I started the motor and the cooler refilled I was two quarts low. Dumb mistake. Not sure about this but I'm checking

Hmmmmmm... I think you may have found something here, Jerry.

How many quarts, total, are/were in the system?

Wyada think Clem?

[Clem Z.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

like i posted above i always check the pan capacity on the work bench filling it 1 quart at a time using water or solvent and when i reach the level that would be even with the bottom of the windage tray that is my pan capacity. i then add to that the amount what is needed for the filter ,cooler and lines and that is what i put into the system. you can check their capacity the same way using solvent before you install them. i mark this number on the side of the pan so there is no mistakes later. you can also add a quart or 2 for what stays suspended up in the engine at speed.as long as the rotating assy is not spinning in the oil in the pan when running how much is in the pan when the engine is off does not matter. his 5 quart pan sounds a little light to me for road racing and if he checked the oil level when cold and the cooler and lines had drained back into the pan he was low on oil at race speed. JMHO

[Jerry G.]

Re: Photos of black death for a race engine

like i posted above i always check the pan capacity on the work bench filling it 1 quart at a time using water or solvent and when i reach the level that would be even with the bottom of the windage tray that is my pan capacity. i then add to that the amount what is needed for the filter ,cooler and lines and that is what i put into the system. you can check their capacity the same way using solvent before you install them. i mark this number on the side of the pan so there is no mistakes later. you can also add a quart or 2 for what stays suspended up in the engine at speed.as long as the rotating assy is not spinning in the oil in the pan when running how much is in the pan when the engine is off does not matter. his 5 quart pan sounds a little light to me for road racing and if he checked the oil level when cold and the cooler and lines had drained back into the pan he was low on oil at race speed. JMHO

That is the best explaination that I've been able to find. I like your procedure. If I'd used it I might not be here with a mess. I will use it going forward. Thanks for all your ideas and time, it really helped. Jerry