Inliners International Forums General Discussion Bench racing I'm new here

Top Fuel racer and pilot Connie Kalitta has vision in only one eye.

Don Garlits suffered detached retinas in both eyes as a result of parachute testing!

Kallita owns a flying service and at one time flew his own planes.

At first I seemed to be working pretty well on memory and depth perception was less of a problem than now. Lots of little things like people handing me things or reaching to pick something up. Lucky for all I think I am closer to the things than I am. At a gas station it looks like I'm going to take out the pump. When I get out sometimes the hose barely reaches. But I don't run into stuff. My friend is the opposite. He thinks he has more room than he does. His truck is dented all over.
I had to learn to drive nails all over. It looks like I'm hitting them sidewise. Only once while turning off a gas air compressor that had a lever that grounded the spark plug I missed the lever and touched the spark plug. The engine didn't shut off. I developed a new strategy. It is very hard to drill holes exactly where I need them. It takes more time to set thins up on the mill or drill press. The lathe is not so much of a problem. Catching things is tough. How many one eyed ball players are there? It might be an advantage in shooting since you sight with only your dominate eye. It might be a good defense for not allowing an attacker to get within 20 feet. I hate shopping or even being in crowded places and at first I was very scared to go into the horse corral. I'm pretty easy to sneak up on from my left.

The wife's second surgery was also a great success! She drove herself to town a couple of days ago and on yesterday's visit to her eye doctor, she now has greatly improved vision, 20/20 in both eyes!!

On the 153 subject! They called on Tuesday last to let me know they're finishing up my new pistons, pins and retainers, and rings and will be shipping 'em next week!! I've located gasket kit, oil pump, and crank bearings and they're readily available.

When the pistons arrive, I'll take the reciprocating assembly to have it balanced and hopefully, I'll have it in the car by Christmas!!

I'll do a rundown on the parts and the changes in a few days!

Good news about your wife!
Good news on the 153. I hope you will take pictures and find a way to post them here. The parts list and description of your changes will be a big help to others. It will be fun to see it in the car and to see what difference you notice.

great wright up on the build looking to run a 292 in the rod 29 essex three window suicide doors 5 speed hope all is well with all and be safe

Heading to the retina specialist today that performed my radiation plaque surgery back in July to see if it was successful in shrinking the melanoma on my retina. I can tell improvements in several ways, so I expecting it has been a success.

CNC,
Wow I hope it all goes as planned too. That is some scary stuff.

Best of luck, Scott!! Sayin' sprayer for ya'!!!

Thanks Tom and Tom! Well wishes and prayers are always much appreciated from family and friends!

You are still in our prayers! I hope you get good news.
And by the way a second shot was not needed recently with the 7mm mag.

Hoping everything went well.

Great results today! The tumor has reduced in size since the procedure and my vision has improved from 20/50 back May, to 20/25 today in that eye. Of course it will need prolonged check up routines and monitoring for a couple of years I'm sure. Thanks for the continued prayers!

OUTSTANDING!!!!

I dropped off the reciprocating assembly at the machine shop today for balancing. Left them that new balancer too! I want to see if it is as well balanced as my ATI units are.

I'm getting really close to putting this little unit together. Gonna mock up the valve train and see how everything lines up this weekend!!

Good news for both of you.

I promised Beater that I'd put together a list of parts for this little 153" engine. There are several pieces that I am using from the original engine which actually came with he car when I bought it and a few parts that I fabricated myself. I'll identify those as I list them.

The block: a 153" automotive block from a Jeep mail truck of unknown vintage. Bored 0.030,cleaned, magnafluxed, and decked to make sure the head surface is flat. Final deck height is 9.158" (I left the other .008 rather than going back and decking more)

The crankshaft: an early 181 industrial crankshaft, checked for true, mains turned 0.010, rods turned offset to earlier small journal standard producing a 3.650 stroke. (I could have had them turned another 0.020 offset and gotten another 0.005", but this leaves a little more material if the crank ever needed to be turned again). Had the machine shop drill and tap for a balancer bolt. I never trusted that balancer and pulley just pressed on.

Rods: 6.00" Scat H-beam rods with bushed little ends. Got these from 12bolt Tom

Pistons: 3.905" forged pistons. Custom made from RaceTec. these are 9.75:1 small dome pistons set to zero deck height. Lightweight tool steel .927 piston pins. Spiro lock retainers.

Rings: Total Seal metric rings matched to the pistons, medium tension, (file to fit)

Lifters: Hydraulic roller lifters, got 'em from 12bolt Tom

Camshaft: McGurk #55 roller cam. Got this from Impala in a trade. It was damaged and I sent it to Oregon Cam Grinding to be repaired and reground to a hydraulic profile. .540"+ lift and 110 centerline. Great folks!!

Timing set: Cloyes straight cut gears with aluminum cam gear and three position crank gear. I bought new cam retainer ring/plate and bolts from a Mercruiser supply.

Rocker arms: Comp Cams stainless Pro Mag roller rocker arms, 1.75:1 ratio, polly locks included.

Stud girdle: V8 small block. Crane Cams. (NOTE! the V8 Chevy small block stud girdle is around $100.00 cheaper than one for a six cylinder and you don't have to modify it. For 4banger you get two and for a six, you can modify the two girdles to do three cylinders each!)

Lump Port kit for intake ports. Again, 12bolt Tom

Valves: Manley, 1.65" stainless exhaust, 1.95" stainless intake

Cylinder head: 153" Chevy II head, ported and polished, combustion chamber slightly relieved around valves, milled 0.035", intake lumps installed and blended, 7/16" studs and guide plates installed, bench flowed and final polishing where warranted, and Crane valve springs installed. 74cc chambers.

I decided to use a different balancer for this project to keep costs down. It is SFI approved and manufactured in Australia. I'll post the brand here if it passes muster with the machine shop where I sent the reciprocating assembly for balancing! (More on machine shops later)

I built the header and intake manifold myself from header tubing. It mounts a Holley 4150 NASCAR 390 cfm carb with mechanical secondaries. This was a swap meet find that wasn't supposed to be sold to the public. It has no choke tower and uses removable jet plates on both ends. Both bowls have accelerator pumps. This setup works well on the stock engine that's in the car now, but I figure I'll have to re-jet and maybe put the big accelerator pump back on the secondary bowl.

I'm using a BBC starter on the little engine. I had it laying around and figured, "Why Not??"

The distributor is a slightly modified, stock, points type unit with a vacuum advance and a re-curved mechanical advance. We tinkered with it on one of the old Sun distributor machines 'til we were happy with it.

I haven't mocked up the head and cam yet, so I'm not sure what pushrod I'll be using. I doubt if I'll be lucky enough that the stock ones will work!

The head work was done by Bridges Machine in Nashville, Tennessee. Jimmy is an old friend from my racing days and he's held multiple NHRA World Records over the years and built heads for many other NHRA and NASCAR competitors. He has a flow bench and complete porting facilities as well as that Sun distributor machine and he does carburetor work for many drag and circle track racers.

The block and crank were done by Simpkins Machine in Springfield, Tennessee. Again, an old racing buddy who does things right. He's been around here forever and is happy to do custom work.

The camshaft was repaired and reground by Oregon Cam Grinders. It had one lobe that was flattened out because of a lifter failure. they built it back up with hard surface weld and reground it to a hydraulic profile that should be very streetable in this combination. Great communication and a stellar reputation among the people I've dealt with.

Balancing and final fit on the reciprocating assembly is by Kirt's Machine in Nashville, Tennessee. Peanut Watson is a racer. He's been in and around drag racing for more than forty years as a mechanic, driver, and machinist. Again, a producer of work for multiple NHRA and IHRA World Record holders and a major supplier to local racers of every kind!!

There's more that I'll add later. I'm certain I've forgotten or overlooked something.

Thanks to Beater of the Pack for his help with research and his connections with so many Inliners.

Thanks to Impala for trading that cam to me!

Thanks to 12bolt Tom for his help and for busting up six cylinder packages to get me what I needed and for information used in this build.

FINALLY!! Thanks to CNC Dude!! He pointed me in the right direction several times in compiling information and collecting "the right stuff the first time" and spent hours on the phone and on the web, helping me to get through all of the myth and misinformation that's out there to confuse and discourage a neat project.

Happy to know all is well Scott.

Blackwater, Thanks for putting all of this in one post. It is a great help to be able to read it from beginning to end, well... near the end. Thanks for telling us where some of the work was done. That should help others too.

I am looking forward to seeing how this thing runs. I think I will do a similar post about mine when it goes together in it's final form. My build focused mainly on what off the shelf parts could be used coupled with my limited skills and tools. 12 Bolt built the head and supplied forged Ross 250 pistons. He broke up a set for a six to do that. I also have his side cover and rocker cover.

When we were talking on the phone excited about the possibility of using a 151 roller cam we thought we had come up with something. Then you discovered that the valve order was changed on the Iron Duke (151). Did we ever look into using a 151 head? That would require different manifolds but performance manifolds are available for them. I don't know if that would work but it would open the world of roller cams.

The later Iron Duke head can be made to work. If I remember correctly, you have to relocate one head bolt hole in the block. I was already too far along with my old siamesed port head to change directions. (Maybe I'll do another one with the engine I'm pulling out and use a Pontiac Super Duty head and manifolds!).

Those later roller camshafts also have a second distributor drive gear.

The standard Iron Duke block is thinner cast and the cylinders are shorter in length, so using the 181 crankshaft requires an extra long connecting rod to keep from pulling the piston out the bottom of the cylinder. Same is true of the Pontiac SD block!! Again, without going back into my notes, it takes about a 6.250" rod to make this work and those would be special order if available at all!!

My research says the standard Iron Duke block is deficient in strength in several areas and the stock crankshafts are JUNK!! They also lack the motor mount bosses to allow easy installation in a longitudinal configuration.

Don't forget!! The inliner Chevy rod is DIFFERENT from those of the SBC!!

There is some extremely good info over on the FIERO forum! There's a guy over there that has played with several combinations of the "Duke" and combining parts from the Chevy II, the early Iron Duke, the Mercruiser 153/181, and the industrial 3.0 GM engines!

I think that if there was a way to acquire SB rods before the bottom is narrowed they would work. Another option would be adding material to one side of the crank journal.

It may be on that FIERO site that I read about putting a 181 crank in a 151. I can not remember what rods and pistons were used. I have a complete 151 from a YJ Jeep that I may play with and also a professionally rebuilt, U code I think, cross mount engine. This is truly an interesting engine family.

[quote=Beater of the Pack]I think that if there was a way to acquire SB rods before the bottom is narrowed they would work. Another option would be adding material to one side of the crank journal.]

I'd bet that you could get someone like Eagle or Carrillo to make the proper length rod. They are the same as SBC except for the inline rod not being narrowed to allow for two rods on one journal. They do that to get the rod in the center of the piston on the crooked engines.

The adding material would work, but it would involve a LOT of welding and machine work!! Some serious re-balancing too!!

Got the balanced assembly back from the machine shop this morning!! Less than a quarter gram difference between the four pistons. Probably could have skipped the balance job, according to my machinist.

The new balancer is very good!! I'll put the brand and info up when
I get the boxes out of the car.

Got the cast off my bad foot yesterday morning and I'm starting to re-learn this "walking" thing!!

I still have a little healing up to do and the Santa Claus thing is gonna' bite me in the billfold, but I'm hoping to have it all assembled and set in the car by Christmas.

Progress is good, it sounds like you're making some.

That balancer is made by ProSport. It's made in Australia and meet SFI 18 specs. There isn't one made directly for the inliners, (no V-belt pulley groove) but I'm modifying my belt setup anyway!

My machinist ran mine up pretty high on his high speed rig and he says it's well balanced and very true.

They're available on Evil-bay. Be sure to specify the SFI approved units. They make a cheaper one but it's not SFI rated!! I think they're available from Speedway as well.

Blackwater glad to hear your back on your feet no pun.

Yes speedway Has Both a SFI and a non SFI. The SFI is 164.99 the other is like 85 bucks. And it says the SFI was spun tested to 12,500 rpm that's a plus I think.

Speedy way also has this
TCI 870022 Chevrolet V/Inline 6 Balancer
Chevy Inline Six, 6.29" Outside Diameter, 18.1 SFI Rating, Steel, Black powdercoated with a 312.99 price tag But no photo at this time.
Application
1954-1962 Chevy Inline Six 235
1962-1967 Chevy Inline Six 194
1963-1969 Chevy Inline Six 230
1963-1989 Chevy Inline Six 292
1965-1984 Chevy Inline Six 250

Chevrolet made more than 5 different dampers for those engines...

The 153 only had hub, a pulley, and maybe a rubber pad between them. The 181 had it's own dampener. I bought a new 181 unit when I got my 181 crank. It'll work for my milder build. The fours don't have the same harmonic issues as the longer six. They are going to be be rougher no matter.

Right!! I put a later model balancer from a six cylinder on Lockjaw when I first put the car together. Right now, the engine is mounted solid to a mid plate and bolted directly to the frame. No rubber mounts! I'm considering isolating it on rubber mounts when I go back together with it.

The natural vibration from the four cylinder was expected, but now that I have the parts and the opportunity, I figure I can cut down on the perceived vibration.

The balance work, the longer rods, a BETTER harmonic balancer, and rubber mounts SHOULD achieve this goal.

Thanks, Larry!! Been a long journey with several setbacks. I still have a little work to do. This "walking" thing is all new to me again!!

Maybe if we put all of our remains together we could come up with one or two healthy guys to finish our projects.

Right lol.

As discovered many decades ago, L4 engines begin to experience severe vibration when the displacement passes about 2.2 liters (134").
Above that, light reciprocating bits and a large rod ratio help. Balance shafts frequently used in modern engines.
The L4 crank is much stiffer than the L6, and doesn't have harmonic problems. The L6 is not quite in perfect balance, since rocking couple will always exist between cylinders, there's no way to place the counterweight exactly 180° from (directly opposite) the crank throw.

I've done a lot with this project cut down on the vibration characteristics of the little engine!

BUT!! It's displacement has increased to 2.9 liters which is a negative, as it the slight increase in stroke. I'm hoping the the longer rods and the much lighter piston/pin will offset those negatives. Attention to balance and the better balancer should offer marginal improvements as well. Replacing the solid hub that came with the original engine was a noticeable improvement, so I'm thinking this will improve the situation.

Panic posted on the thread we have here (somewhere) about these engines to speak to a maximum practical size for 4 cylinder without a counter balance system. I think he said it was about 2 liters. I'm sure rpm is a huge factor as the older engines didn't turn nearly as high as we strive for now. That said there are some screaming 4 bangers out there. I am beginning to think I chose the wrong cam for what I really want my engine to do. It's not a racer.

Yeah! I've studied on that some. I figure I'll probably only rarely push this little unit past 4,500 RPM! No way to add a counterbalance mechanism, but I'm hoping what I'm doing will give it the low end grunt to make use of the overdrive transmission and the tall gearing.

I started this project using a 3.00:1 gear, but the stock engine wasn't quite torquey enough to stay in OD at interstate speeds when I hit a grade and wanted to drop to third gear. I swapped to a 3.50:1 gear and it worked well, but of course fuel mileage suffered. I'm thinking, (and hoping) that this build will let me go back to that taller gear.

When Steve Tanzi from Erson cams sat down with me he worked up 3 cam grinds based on my roadster build. The rpm ranges were #1. 1750-4750, #2. 2200-5200, #3. 2500-5500. I chose #3 and now think #1 would have been more realistic for what the car will be doing the most. The rear end and transmission are from y son's '54 Studebaker wagon. Trans is a BW T86 three speed OD and the rear gear are from a Dana 44 4.27-1. Tires will be close to 30". We ran that setup in the wagon on some round trips to Texas. In OD 65-70 was around 23000 rpm. On a stretch we did from Vegas to Kingman without OD was 55 mph at around 35000 and not pleasant. This was behind a supercharged 289 Stude V8.

I'm thinking the 4.27 will get the 4 cylinder rolling and help on the many mountains here. 70-75 Is plenty on the highway and I will avoid freeways when ever I can. So almost all driving will be in the cam #1 range. I have other rear gears 3.73, 3.55, 3.08 to play with but they probably won't help with this cam. At the rat the build is progressing it won't matter anyway.

I think I'd look seriously at the 3.73:1 for that project!! A little over half a ratio and it will still be in the ballpark to get the vehicle moving!!

You are probably right.