318 Small-Block Budget Build, Part 2

Part 2, Bottom End Bolt Up
Last month, we introduced our plan to assist Young Gun Darrell Kunda in his quest to build a budget-minded small-block for his '66 Barracuda. When asked how much money he planned to spend, his reply was: "money?" yep, he's a car guy. we hatched a plan to use a '70-vintage 318 as the core of our build and set out to build a reliable, respectably powered small-block using an engine that many just toss away.

If you remember in our October '08 issue, we tore the engine down and found that either this engine had very few miles on it or it was well taken care of. Either way, we were in luck. So we prepared the block for re-assembly and will pick up this month with that in mind. In Part 2, we will show how we assembled the short-block.

	After the block was checked...        read full caption After the block was checked and prepped with a cylinder hone and a cam bearing install, it was time to do some ring fitment. The factory spec for the compression-ring endgap in this application is .010- to .020-inch. Since we ordered a basic kit from Summit, we thought this would not be an issue. We were right-the gaps came in at .017-inch. We used the piston assembly to make sure the rings were square in the bores.	Before installing the new...        read full caption Before installing the new rings on the pistons, be sure that the grooves are free of any leftover material. In other words, really clean things. The rings need to be installed a certain way, and the kind of rings you get with your kit dictates the installation process. Check your instructions with the ring set.
Again, make sure everything...        read full caption Again, make sure everything is clean before you re-install it-hot, soapy water and an air compressor work great.