BritishV8 Forum

Low carbon 1020 seems to be the material of choice.. I think the Supercharged Buick V-6 caps are powdered metal..

Ahem.... If you want a set of Buick Supercharged V6 maincaps to play with... go here...

http://www.moradpartscompany.com/index.html

Just ask..

Greg

Greg, that "is" an impressive looking cap. Even beefier than a Jet Fire. In 215 engines, I always had, off-set problems between motors. What's your plan for nesting in a girdle? You don't like cross bolted mains? Good Luck, roverman.

Ahh.
Greg so was that your original post about the Buick caps?

Yep, that was yours truly.  That's actually a P76 block those caps are sitting in.  The original caps that came with the somewhat ragged out block are loose in the registers.  I wanted to see if the Buick V6 caps would resolve that problem.  They require machine work, but they are pretty tight.  Also notice the openings for the bolts.  They require machining as well.

Greg

The other thing that may tingle your tastebuds is the aftermarket Buick Turbo V6 cap.  They are also a good fit.  Six of one.. half dozen of the other...

Greg

Six of one.. half dozen of the other...

I'm confused. My block only has five caps.

How about a lifter valley girdle?

Can we just"focus" heere? Someone got dwg.? Quantity? Reason why one would'nt use nut/spacer,under girdle? More rigidity?(word).roverman.

Even those V6 caps need a shim between the spotface for the nut and the girdle. That spacer has to be custom fit to each side of each cap with (traditionally) .002" to .005" of interference so that the girdle actually does help clamp the main cap to the block rather than just stabilizing the loose end of the stud. Then there is the clearance over the middle. You either have to cut the cap (which I think in general is a bad idea but don't seem to get much agreement on) or you have to cut the girdle, or both. But if you use the interference fit to the spot faces then the girdle will bow where it goes across the center and contact, therefore support will be lost. Even if you use a zero clearance fit it's less than ideal. Think of a multi-leaf car spring, it's much less rigid than a solid block the same size. Best might be to cut the parts for a zero clearance fit and furnace braze them together assembled to the block. But an aluminum block will melt before the brass so that would be a problem too. My conclusion was that there is no easy way to win this one, and with anything less than an all out effort (custom casting for girdle and caps in one piece, etc) all you are accomplishing is to stabilize the loose ends of the studs and a 1/4" CR steel plate that only extends in to the studs will do that just fine. Add that to a cross bolted block and it should be good for anything but an all out maximum horsepower and rpm dry sump race engine, or maybe the Rotus Brossum. For that maybe you need the one piece sump/cap unit. Pricey even if you can find one.

Jim

I might have a simplistic veiw on this? 2-3" od. mic's and a counter bore, large enough on od. and correct fitting pilot. A good drill press/mill and semi-skilled user. Spot face the nut/washer area of all caps till the're good enough.Use 0-1" mic's to make all ten of your nut washer combos the same thickness(just enough to clear the cap). Install girdle with ten more nuts on top. I think we're done? Update, "Rotus" not need girdle on bottom, has two on top(heads). Maybe with blower, billet caps"nested" into billet girdle, hold "boocoo" power. roverman.

Not done. Interference with cap at center.

Jim

OK, I think my next question is, how much needs to come off top of caps to get girdle to .003-.005" above pan rail? I suppose this will vary with specific series, ie. 215-350"? Silicone sealer at final assem.? All studs on the pan rail with (4) 5/16"? I was thinking, shoulder studs for use on alum. blocks,(softer metal/better support) Once I get a dwg. and a qty, I can get them quoted.roverman.

Ok, I'm ready to build (10) girdles. Perhaps (5) Rover and (5) 340/350 Buick. I need a drawing for 340/350. Material will be A36 or 4130. Depending on how serious the response, ie. not like the (10) roller cam blanks, I had made. I feel the cross bolted Rover will need this with the potential of TA heads.  Anybody ? Thanks, roverman.

Price for RV8 ?

Art
Is there a possibilty of a  girdle for 215 olds with turbo or supercharged v-6 caps?   $?

Art,

Check with Sean over on the SBB board on V8Buick. He has my 340 template.

JB

Thanks Jim. David, If you can make the caps fit the Olds block, why not ?. As I think through this, not many will be willing/able to cut down stock main caps to flush with pan rails. I'm NOT suggesting this either. Therefore, for the aluminum blocks, I think 7075 T6 plate of .50-.75" thick, shall best serve the purpose. This is thick enough to "relieve" for the caps, and still have adequate strength. No blanchard grinding required and quite good "yield" strength,(52% greater than 4130 ) ! Onward, roverman.

Art
Sounds like what I'm looking for.  How much $,     Installation details?   Any oil sump mods?  I'm having pan made now with wings and baffles.

Art, sounds good. Keep us up to date on your progress, might be something we should consider when we build the "race" motor for the RV8 next year.

Clan, just like this months' Hot Rod mag. Will add .75" to pan rail height. Main studs will need  long enough for nut above/below girdle. Will have provision to use modified oem style 5/8" pick-up,ie. mount flange bolted to girdle and tube protruding into block, with precision fit.  I don't suspect "side oiler" is neccessary at this time. Material is ordered to build (5). I will post,first article. Onward, roverman.

Guys,

SCCA requires the 3.5 Rover block for my GT2 Rover RV8 - specifically, in the General Competition Rules.

The girdle might allow me an extra 1,000 rpm or more and provide for competiveness in the GT2 class.  I'm
building a better Rover 3.5 (SCCA legal) engine for the coming year and would greatly benefit from a girdle.

Keep up the good work.

keep them on the track,

phillip g

Phillip, Maybe "Mike" can chime in here, I thought BL Motorsports "had" a 3.5L block with cross bolted mains ? Are you forbade x bolted mains ? I saw "rally" blocks at the factory, in 83". They were "filled" for x main potential. Got girdle ? I find no logic for using a single nut, on top of a sheet metal pan, to retain the girdle.My design will have a flush nut at pan surface, to retain girdle,use "Sealtite" for hassle-free sealing and teardown  and another nut on top of pan. Good Luck, roverman.