The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I am sending my main&Rod bearings to www.Calicocoatings.com 160.00 for all the bearings to be coated with their CT-1 which is a permanent coating that imbeds itself into the bearing and gives the user a little bit of extra protection. With all the dyno testing I am going to have to do to this plant, I think it's a wise investment. I am going to Moly coat the skirts myself as I cant justify the 320.00 for those to be coated, plus techline offers the same piston skirt coating as most shops use.

Primed and ready for paint. I put 3 coats on it. That was the 1st, which I sanded back down then applied the other blah blah. I also picked up a Brass petcock for the cooling block plug which goes into the passenger side of the block. This way I can drain the block before removing the heads.

love the petcock idea
do that on all my blocks
keeps floor clean

Measured the Con Rod fasteners and two sets of rods have fasteners .004 longer than the rest. Dave Hughes says it's normal, ARP says they're JUNK!

The trouble is. ARP are in the business of selling bolts. They also need to be 100% sure their product is not going to fail under the most serious racing stresses.

I would torque the bolts up 5 times to cycle them and leave it at that. These bolts have not even been used in anger yet!

dave-r wrote:The trouble is. ARP are in the business of selling bolts. They also need to be 100% sure their product is not going to fail under the most serious racing stresses.

I would torque the bolts up 5 times to cycle them and leave it at that. These bolts have not even been used in anger yet!

I spoke with an ARP Engineer, he said without measuring them before disassembly there is no way to tell if they have exceeded their yeild strength. I think I am going to use them, as you say Dave.

Waiting on my bearings from Calico and the girdle form 'Super Psycho' Dave!(Not our esteemed Dave R.)

Wouldn't be the first time I've been called that. Or worse.

Recieved the girdle today and ARP Stud kit, waiting on the coated bearings from Calico which should be here any day now. It's been raining steadily for the last 3 days so no paint today. I'll include pics of all the parts when I get them all organized for the build.

Look forward to up to date pic's Ed!

I'm not the dude you want painting your projects, but it didnt turn out too bad!

2

Need some advice here. Should I coat it with Eastwoods Diamond gloss clear? It's not very glossy, maybe 30% gloss.

airfuelEddie wrote:Need some advice here. Should I coat it with Eastwoods Diamond gloss clear? It's not very glossy, maybe 30% gloss.

are you gonna show it? or make it go? looks sweet to me ed,but if you have the time and money i would!!!!!!!!! itwill look sweet but then you will have to clear coat the engine compartment too!

airfuelEddie wrote:2

you r engins stand is named oilver is that named after the car in top gear? the opal?

drewcrane wrote:

airfuelEddie wrote:2

you r engins stand is named oilver is that named after the car in top gear? the opal?

LOL, Yeah Drew, it's an Oliver Opal GT! I'm not gonna show it. I think I'll wait a couple of days to outgas then lightly coat a small area, if it doesnt bubble I'll give it a good coat to enhance the gloss. I wish I could afford a set of Oliver Con Rods! Lentz, Oliver, Mahle are what the 'big boys' use!

Richard Hammond still owns Oliver. He imported it from that Africa trip and had it restored.

It gets spotted now and again when it is out and about.

I agree with Drewcrane. You did very good with the paintjob & It looks very nice as is, but a bit of shine is never wrong either. I think i would vote for a clearcote on top of that if you feel like you have the time, it should be more easy to clean up also with a bit more glossy finish(?)... (Is there clearcoat that is specially made for standing a bit of heat?) By the way, i do not remember if this have been answered before, can you use 2K car body paint on a engine, will it be strong enough and stand the temperature?

Yes. Engines do not get that hot.

As long as the paint is resistant to oil and fuel spills (which it should be) it will be OK.

I have the Eastwood brand of clearcoat it's called diamond gloss, the label says good to 250 degrees F. And yes it's oil,gas,resistant. I'll test a small area, then if it looks OK I'll give it a couple of light coats. Dave, that little car is really cool! Thanks Jimi!

Ok, thanks Dave. I did'nt knew that there was such coats available Ed, sounds solid...

dave-r wrote:Richard Hammond still owns Oliver. He imported it from that Africa trip and had it restored.

It gets spotted now and again when it is out and about.

omg oliver is still around and you see it now and again my wife will love that she likes richard hammond , he is a cool chap, love the show too! man that car has been through alot!

drewcrane wrote: my wife will love that she likes richard hammond , he is a cool chap, love the show too!

Hammond has anoyed me a bit.

I read his book about his recovery from brain damage when he crashed the Jet car? I thought it might help me because I was (am) going through the same thing. The only difference being his was physical damage and mine was though illness.
It really pissed me off.

His wife and himself go on about what a tough time they had.

She was able to stop work to look after him full time.
My wife had to stay at work to pay the bills and care for me.

They had proffesionals helping out with everything. Even shopping.
My wife had to do everything herself.

They had huge support from the BBC and their families.
Me and Diana were on our own.

They had ex-SAS troops take them to a secret hidaway in Scotland where they rented a huge house (with staff - cooks etc) where they could stay until he was completely recovered.

We couldn't go anywhere because without me working we were struggling even to pay the mortgage.

They had the most expensive care possible. Helicopter to transfer him from hospital to hospital. A huge mobile home for road trips. The top proffessors in the country caring for him.

I had Diana driving me in the Neon from hospital to hospital getting free NHS treatment whenever they could spare a bed.

Yeah. Hammond and his wife had a real rough time. Now their book about their tough time has raked in money too.

Don't get me wrong. If I had the money and was a TV personallity I would have done exactly the same.

I guess I am just annoyed that my poor wife had to go through all this on her own. Plus I am still not well and i have still got something on the brain scans.
I would have prefered a jet car crash any day of the week.

dave-r wrote:

drewcrane wrote: my wife will love that she likes richard hammond , he is a cool chap, love the show too!

Hammond has anoyed me a bit.

I read his book about his recovery from brain damage when he crashed the Jet car? I thought it might help me because I was (am) going through the same thing. The only difference being his was physical damage and mine was though illness.
It really pissed me off.

His wife and himself go on about what a tough time they had.

She was able to stop work to look after him full time.
My wife had to stay at work to pay the bills and care for me.

They had proffesionals helping out with everything. Even shopping.
My wife had to do everything herself.

They had huge support from the BBC and their families.
Me and Diana were on our own.

They had ex-SAS troops take them to a secret hidaway in Scotland where they rented a huge house (with staff - cooks etc) where they could stay until he was completely recovered.

We couldn't go anywhere because without me working we were struggling even to pay the mortgage.

They had the most expensive care possible. Helicopter to transfer him from hospital to hospital. A huge mobile home for road trips. The top proffessors in the country caring for him.

I had Diana driving me in the Neon from hospital to hospital getting free NHS treatment whenever they could spare a bed.

Yeah. Hammond and his wife had a real rough time. Now their book about their tough time has raked in money too.

Don't get me wrong. If I had the money and was a TV personallity I would have done exactly the same.

I guess I am just annoyed that my poor wife had to go through all this on her own. Plus I am still not well and i have still got something on the brain scans.
I would have prefered a jet car crash any day of the week.

man sorry man, yes money seem to change every thing except fate, you both still have brain damage his was caused by something he chose to do , and yours was my some un known force,yes dave i would be bitter if i were you too!it seems everything is sensationalized for a buck if you wrote a book about your problems it wouldent pay for the paper its printed(although i would buy a copy), but if a celebrity writes something it turns to gold,i did a emergency room visit for chest pains and spent the day in 13 hours, turns out i have a thing called gird,not heart issues , i spent the day to find out im actually ok , i really feel for you dave as i sat there i thought about all the people (including you , and a brother who has heart problems, ) as i lay there the bigist thing tat came to my mind was how it was going to change my life,wel as they day went on the gastral issues i have seem so small compared to what you have, and yes i would be pissed at people like hammond who have glamorized getting sick, its a shame ,a crying shame that the media has changed our lives forever , kinda like being sick, wow is this the future? must cause im pinching and it still hurts, i still like the show,good content and alot of stuff we yanks dont see, oh well enough of that again sorry dave hope you get better i know that sounds redundant but its the only thing i can say

I'll get better if it's the last thing I do!

We'll see to that Dave!! He may have had ex-SAS troopers helping him, but you have something better, a great wife and many friends who are pulling for you!

dave-r wrote:I'll get better if it's the last thing I do!

if you need ANYTHING from me/us let us know we are all pulling for you,. its a good thing that you have one of the rarest muscle cars on the planet to at least have you think of other things from time to time!

Well I finished clearcoating it but it orange peeled bad, I set it out in the sun to aid in 'flowout' maybe it will help. Either way it looks better than it did, dig my Calico coated Rod&Main bearings. I think this will give me a 88.00 "insurance premium" for the somewhat expensive Crankshaft and Rods in case I screw up!

Main&Rod bearings coated by Calico. Cost 88.00 for all the bearings and the CT-1 coating. I think the stuff is made up from the same material my Glock Pistols are made from. A Co-Polymer Resin thats self lubricating and highly resistant to heat and extreme pressure.

I installed some oil plugs, drain plugs and buttplugs. Time for the main studs and lay the crank in place, file fit the rings and place the piston rod assemblies in their respective bores/crank fillet radius.