Good choice on those heads for your build. You'll be happy when you are done.

 

Does anyone know off the top of their head what size bolts to use to mount the block on my engine stand? Gotta run by Ace this afternoon to pick up a few bolts & washers for it.

Block is ready to be picked up so I'm gonna swing by after work today. It looks amazing compared to when I dropped it off. I'll post pics, cost and what all they did tomorrow.

 

Didn't get to snap pics because by the time I got home it was already dark. I hate this time of year. I got the engine on my stand and shrink wrapped/taped it up the best I could to prevent any surface rusting of the cylinders until I get to start building it. It's gonna be a few days before I get to do any real work anyway - very busy schedule and I gotta help a buddy get his car back on the road. Then he gets to start helping me with my build.

I also ordered the heads, ARP head bolts and new lifters. So I should be able to get the whole motor put together once they come in. Pics during the process as it comes.

 

Finally got to work on the block a bit last night. Wedding planning... saps SOOO much time and money!!

Had a LOT to do to wash the block after getting it back from the machine shop. Good lord. With all that I only got to get the crankshaft installed. Gonna work on finishing the short block as soon as I get a few more free hours. That 4" crank is chunky! can't wait to get it in the Dakota.

I'll snap some pics as I'm doing the build. Should pick up the coolant system parts in the next few weeks so I can transplant the accessories, etc. soon.

 

Update: A few weeks ago the old motor finally blew a head gasket while I was on the interstate. Got it towed home. Major crunch time now. Had to buy all the rest of the build parts/materials before I really wanted to. But the 390 short block is finally together. Had to do a LOT of cleaning to that block after I got it back from the machine shop. Great price, but they didn't clean out any of the water passages that were all rusted up. The old motor is pulled and on a stand beside the stroker. Tomorrow I'll get some pics as I start swapping parts and bolts over to the new motor.

 

Alright guys, finally got some pics for you.

Here's the motor pulled from the truck a few days ago
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While removing the old harmonic balancer, it just fell in two pieces. After I pulled it off all the way I noticed this. This was the culprit of the coolant leak that I never noticed. Sorry the pics are blurry, after way too many drops my phone camera won't focus anymore lol.
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Progress of the new motor. Crank, rods pistons in. Cam in. Timing gears and chain on. Old timing cover cleaned and re-installed. New oil pump and feed tube in. Oil Pan on.
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Old motor being disassembled for miscellaneous parts and bolts
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I wanted to get way more done last night but at 4am in the 30s I had to turn it in. I needed to resurface the gasket surfaces on the timing cover and that was too noisy, and my damper tool doesn't have the right size bolt to press the damper on. And I had no heat since all my little propane torches are empty. I'm shooting to have the long block done by this weekend, and the truck on the road by next weekend, if not damn near it.

 

"sweeeeeeeet"

What's the plan for the old motor?

You have a parts list here somewhere? Total cost? I know the 408 kits are north of 3,000 plus machining on the block. Seems hughes wants right at 2,000 for both the 318/390 and 360/408 kits, but I think a spec-it-yourself kit runs more like 3,000.

I figure 5.2 blocks are easier to find than 5.9 blocks....Will a 408 kit fit a 318 block, or are the bore spacings different?

 

Old motor is just getting scrapped. I may keep the cams and pistons as some garage decor. But the salvage motor I bought was a burn unit so I'm re-using a lot of nuts/bolts and parts from my old motor on the new build.

I've got an Excel spreadsheet for my build. Ill post it up when I'm all done with the project. I think all said and done I'll be right around $6,500. But that's replacing a lot of parts - not just the stroker engine.

And I don't know... after delving in and doing more research (after I was already committed) I really wish I would've gone the 5.9/408 stroker kit. There's plenty of 5.9s out there - they were common in the Rams. Not sure about the bore spacing. In theory the 5.9 must be slightly further spaced as the 5.2 just doesn't have the cylinder thickness to pull off a 408. You'd need a full .1" bore with a 4" crank.

I really, REALLY wish I would've gone with a 5.9/408, especially for the money. More power, more torque, negligible difference in price or labor. Only thing that comforts me is with just the 390 maybe I'm not putting too much torque thru the stock automatic tranny/rear end? :/

 

Not too much new but thought you'd enjoy these pics:

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Oh yes... Had to hammer that piston (#3) to get it out. It had metal in between it and the cylinder wall. Funny, I never noticed anything out of the norm in Cyl #3 when doing compression tests, etc. #8 was the one that was way low - which did look like the rings we're cut way too much.

Dropped off the intake mani to get cleaned and make sure the surfaces weren't warped when the motor blew. I think I'm gonna pick up a Hughes plenum repair kit for good measure, esp since the intake belly pan bolts are evidently torque-to-yield.

When I get it back I'll do a bit of porting to it and the throttle body. Then I need to get an electric fan and start putting things back together. When it's ready to run I'll pick up an SCT Tuner and get a tune from Hughes for it.

More pics/updates as they come.

 

wow, melted that piston right apart, didja?