In that sub $5000 build, you need to put in the cost of all parts and whether or not they could/should be reused.

Main/rod/head bolts?  Do you replace the old fasteners on the front engine dress and intake?  Header bolts?  When telling a budget minded builder a price, don't give them a false impression, all cores are not lucky find, low mile runners, some are sitting in the middle of a field and have been exposed to the elements for years.  

Where I'm located, finding a big block that hasn't been picked by a puller, towing company, or racer is rare.  My last two 460's were rough at best, sitting in the mud with floor mats over them..

And if you're doing the "budget build" why not do a year on them, do the 454, 455, 455, 455, 460, 428, 440, 500...

Be honest with the results and budgets and see what is available and what can be done.  

Finally, no crazy cams and peak #'s just to say "I have 600hp" when a 500hp motor would kill it at the track in a full weight car..

Jim  

I think you need to do a series of articles entitled 'The reality of your engine'.  Dissect and measure everything in the common engines out there as they come from the factory.  SBC, BBC, SBF, SBM, etc.  I think people would gasp when they realized that their 'healthy'  BBC only had 7.7:1 compression and less than a .400 lift cam.  Do people realize that most SBC's had mid 8:1 compression when you actually measure it???  Can you believe that late model 5.0's had three different types of pistons and could be anywhere from .015 in the hole to .013 out of the hole?  
You can then take the 'reality engine' and modify it in the next article.

Daryl White  

I can't image why we wouldn't say the cost of all parts, except those that might be unique to a particular car (like headers or engine dress).

On our Vortec build, we reused everything. Once you replace everything, you're no longer in budget territory.

For cores, we just call up a core supplier and buy a core. No big deal there, unless you want something off-beat, like a Pontiac or something.

A Ford 460 should be easy pickings for a core supplier. You'd probably have your pick of the lot from a supplier like A&AMidwest. I think Jeff Smith just did a big low-buck 460 build in Car Craft.  

"Dissect and measure everything"? That isn't practical, and probably wouldn't sell magazines.
Of course, if I knew what sold magazines, I wouldn't be the editor, I'd be the president.  

Flexfuel E85 => 105 octane ethanol alcohol

Mr Hunkins, I believe there is a small block motor rendition that has not been done yet.  One that exploits the 105 octane feature of E85.  This is essentially alcohol racing fuel which is becoming more and more available at the pump in Midwest gas stations as Flexfuel, and the availability is spreading across the rest of the nation rather quickly.

http://www.e85fuel.com/index.php

I would especially like to see an updated version of the LS1, LSx, Gen III engine Norm Brandes of WESTECH Auto in Wisconsin built for a Camaro 302 show car for GM about 5 years ago.  The motor was I believe a 5.7 block with a 4.8 crank shaft and rods.

http://www.ttspowersystems.com/articles/7/index.htm

http://www.camaroz28.com/articles/302camaro/index.shtml

http://www.yearone.com/enthusiast/toursandevents/2001yearonepowertour/302camaro.html

http://www.westechauto.com/tech_talk/ar5_01/ar5_01_1.htm

If you used a 4.8 crank and rods in a 6.0 block, the cid becomes approximately 327 cid with a rather large rod/stroke ration of 6.275/3.268 = 1.92:1

If you started with a LS7 bore (4.125) and the 4.8 stroke (3.268) you get a nice 349.4 (5.7L) engine with a piston speed of about 4350 @ 8000. That was the formula for the first CTS-VR race car a couple of years ago. They cleaned up at Sebring, but got a rev limit (7100 I think) and some weight added right after that.

The LSx cranks are very strong, especially the short stroke one.  A 1.92 Rod/Stroke ratio isn't out of line at all. That's just about where Cup engines run. Nothing magic about it. It just fits well in the block with a 3.26 stroke.  This short stroke combined with high compression and 105 octane fuel would be a flash back to the rev happy 283-302 cube SBC in the 50s-60s.

An interesting side bar to this type of engine build up would be how to get the GM OBDII to operate on E85 only, not full of Flexfuel compromises.  As far as all the alcohol compatible materials and fuel system components, I believe GM has already figured this out.  You can mix and match fuel pumps, injectors, and other fuel system components from GM’s fleet of E85 compatible vehicles.  It is extensive.

http://www.gm.com/company/onlygm/energy_flexfuel.html#

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85

Why E85 only?  

1) E100 (100% ethanol)can be run in motors with a compression ratio as high as 19.5:1. Really, 19.5!  Determining the upper compression limits of E85 when used in a purpose built motor should be of interest to readers.  

http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/hyview/more-from-ethanol

2. E85 has a much higher evaporative cooling power than gasoline so the intake air charge in the cylinder is significantly cooler that it is with a comparable mixture of gasoline --- that means higher VE.

3. E85 has an octane of 105!!!

4. E85 (ethanol) burns faster than gasoline but has a slightly longer ignition delay during the slow burn phase of combustion so the engine does not do as much negative work fighting rising cylinder pressures due to large ignition advances. The total ignition advance for E85 is almost identical to the ideal advance for gasoline so it does not cause the ECU problems when you mix them.

5. At proper mixture you actually are releasing more energy in the cylinder due to the higher quantity of fuel you can burn. (Ethanol can burn efficiently at much richer mixtures than gasoline can) That means about a 5% increase in energy release all by itself.

6. Peak combustion pressures are actually lower for ethanol than for gasoline but the cylinder pressures stay higher longer, so you have more (longer) crank angle that is usable by the engine. This lower peak cylinder pressure also helps with detonation control. With this characteristic, I think having a longer rod to stroke ratio, which will make the piston stall somewhat longer at TDC, will help.

A piston with a stock 5.7 or 6.0 pin height will be down in the hole 0.177" when using a 4.8 crankshaft and rod.  I sent a note to Diamond Racing and they responded they would be able to make one of their standard catalog pistons (dished, flat top, or 10cc dome) with the pin hole moved down 0.177 to compensate.  I believe other piston manufacturers could accomplish the same.

As long as custom pistons are necessary, there is a possibility of using even longer rods. Yes they are available. Forged rods at 6.348" are available from here -

https://www.shop.crankshaftdepot.com/displayProductDocument.hg?productId=81&categoryId=89

These longer rods are stronger than stock, and this added length reduced the piston height difference from 0.177 to only 0.073.

With the longer rods, the rod/stroke ratio increases from 1.92:1 to 1.94:1, which might be a good thing for the combustion properties of alcohol.

These forged rods used with forged Diamond pistons should be good for piston speeds of over 4300 ft/minute. With the 4.8 crank stroke, this calculates to be a short block capable of nearly 8000 rpms. Set the rpm redline to 7500 rpms to provide a safety cushion, find a camshaft with a power peak between 6500 and 7000, and this would be a very rev happy motor. The 105 octane E85 should allow one to select a camshaft with a low valve overlap so the cylinder pressure is high at low rpms. This would be impossible to do with a conventional gas motor as knocking and preignition would be tremendous with high cylinder pressure. If you could get David Vizard to work with Norm Brandes to find a camshaft profile that would allow for a 850 idle rpm with the GM OBDII PCM as Norm accomplished on his concept 302, and a red line of 8000rpm, how cool would that be?

If this all came together, this would be a rev friendly motor in the spirit of, and improved upon, the '67-'69 Z28 302 Trans Am motors. This would be a great motor build to associate with the upcoming new Camaro.

EDIT - Here is something to look into that is happening later this week at the Engine Rebuilders Association Show in Indiana -

http://www.aera.org/expo2006.aspx

http://www.aera.org/docs/other/E85Rules.pdf

EDIT 2 - I found the following from one of your archived articles by Mr Vizard on the benifits of high compression.  I think it gives support to a high rpm motor that makes good power at higher rpm's yet retains good torque at lower rpm's.  How far a camshaft designer could extend this range using E85 would be a very interesting study.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/0311_phr_compression_ratio_tech/

"... a high-compression cylinder produces better power and fuel economy. It is not just because the charge is squeezed harder and the resulting combustion pressure goes up, but also because the higher expansion ratio allows more energy to be extracted from the original high-pressure charge."

"Because the high compression cylinder makes its power much earlier on in the power stroke there are other implications we can take advantage of. The most obvious is that we can apply the earlier exhaust valve opening needed for higher rpm output without significantly impacting the engines low speed output. Using as much compression as circumstances will allow makes dual pattern cams work at their best."  

Johnny Hunkins:
"Dissect and measure everything"? That isn't practical, and probably wouldn't sell magazines.
Of course, if I knew what sold magazines, I wouldn't be the editor, I'd be the president.

It is very practical.  A burette to cc the chambers and pistons, a bridge to measure the deck height and some calipers and you are on your way.  I just think it would be neat to show the realities of some stock engines before they are modified.  Otherwise how can you have a true comparison?  

I think Daryl's idea is excellent and I have to say that it is really disapointing to know that the truth and the facts of the engines were are disscussing isn't exciting enough so it won't get published, makes you wonder why you are even opening the pages of these magazines, the ads?  

I'm not a chebby guy but I'd like to see more info like this!  

With all the press lately on Pontiac,s I would like to see a middle ground build up on one. Hot Rod has done a junkyard build, and you guys had Kasse,s motor in a issue recently. So how bout a build that covers the middle ground were most of us live?
Thanks Jeff.  

I vote for the FlexFuel build. With the current situation at the pumps and the new E85 fuels available (at least here in Nevada) it only makes sense to put one together. Let know John.
 

Here's a concrete idea.  Build a 3.8L V6 with a turbo that runs on E85.  Your choice use a Buick Block, A corporate GM (Chevy) block or a Ford block.  Ther Ford would be cheapest to start with.

Pistons would be the same for each. (I know a killer T-Bird Super Coupe using Buick Slugs, and can run 12s in a 3400 lb car.)

I think you'll have to use a ceramic coating like that Calico stuff used in your budget build of the Chevy 350 on the homepage of this website.

There are many tricks and ideas I've picked up for this I'm using when I can build my 3.8.  

In the same vein as PCD, why not take an easy street engine, dyno test it then get every coating product that Techline offers and coat everything, crank, rods, pistons, headers, bearings, etc.  Go through the process in detail to show the readers how it's done, then dyno it again to show any changes.  

But Hot Rod insists that Techline coatings cannot be applied at home, so I suppose that test can't be done.  

I'll probably take a lot of flack for this, as hot rodding typically consists of 8 cylinders, but what about something a little less mainstream?  There are a lot of Ford 2.3 Turbo guys out there with Turbo Coupes (myself included), SVOs, and even turbo Pintos that are cranking out some impressive numbers at the track on a budget.  

I think that a big block is a great idea, since you guys haven't really done much there.  What I think is an even better idea is a small cubic inch big blockchevy engine like a 396 or 406, with a turbo. I have a '69 396 in a '94 chevy 1/2 ton stepside and i am seriously thinking of putting a turbo application on it. Built correctly even a small turbo can put out some serious horsepower, and it is rather cost effiecint.  TRY IT!!!