Steve Grossen's 430 Windsor

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Last Updated: 16 Jul 2003

This is an engine I originally built for someone in California. It got shipped there, then got sold to someone in North Carolina, then to Steve Grossen in Virginia. It was begun in 1996, and Steve took delivery of it in 2001. It had come back through the shop, re-done with different piston notches and some other changes, and now sits in Steve's basement, never having been fired up during its travels...

In 1996 there were no off-the-shelf Windsor stroker bits, so I used modified Chrysler rods, Chevy pistons, and an offset 400 crank. It's still a combination that works just fine.

As usual I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have, so I've combined the original and rework photos to give a better idea of how things go together.


The crankshaft has been offset ground, the oil slinger cut off, center main widened, and other operations done. The counterweights have been turned round on crank grinder. Now they're being checked for fit in the block - the corners need to be beveled here and there.

The rod cheeks were extensively lightened and all four crankpins were drilled out to 1" for lightening and to make it easier to balance. It still took heavy metal.


The new stroker crank has a .687" longer arm than the stock Windsor. You can actually see how much closer the crankpins come to the pan rails...

351 Windsor crank to the left. 400 crank in the middle. 430 crank to the right. If you look at the raised ridge on the front of the counterweight, you'll see how much metal has come off there. The other counterweights had similar amounts removed. The 6.123" Chrysler rods pull the pistons down closer to the crank centerline at BDC than the stock 6.58" rods did.

You can see the "snout ring" on the 430 crank has been cut off, to take a Windsor lower sprocket. The nose also had to be shortened to keep it from sticking past the washer flange on a Windsor balancer; that hasn't been done yet in this photo.


After grinding the counterweights to clear the pistons, the crank was installed and one piston at a time was checked for block and cam clearance.

Notches in the bottoms of the bores to clear the rod nuts as they swing by. Roomy Windsor crankcase means you don't have to cut too much. Pan rail has to be notched slightly by the starter; the oil pan has to be dimpled there as well.

Sectioned clay shows clearance between connecting rod and cam. The rods had to be beveled to clear the .646" lift solid roller cam. The bevel was pretty much the same as needed for a 383 Chevy, so I wasn't worried about it, having done several of those.

The rods are Chrysler small block. The pin ends have been reduced to .927 Chevy size with Federal-Mogul bronze bushings. They have also been narrowed to 1" to clear the inside of the KB piston bosses. The big ends have been narrowed to fit the Ford width journals. The rod bearings also had to be narrowed a bit. I had purchased ARP WaveLoc bolts, but the shank diameter was almost .020" too large to go into the Chrysler holes. Talked with ARP tech support were inconclusive. I eventually bought a set of Direct Connection bolts and used the ARP nuts on them.

The bronze bushings were honed for floating pins and Spirolocs were used in the pistons.


Flywheel-end view. The front of the crankshaft had to be beveled to clear the oil pump.

The brown stuff is what comes from living in "wetlands".


Finding the assembled height of each piston/rod pair. Average was .020" below deck.

Keith Black was out of sets of the KB169 pistons needed for the engine. After a six month wait on back order, I found an employee at KB who found a dozen- odd mismatched pistons sitting on a shelf. He picked out the eight closest- matching pistons and shipped them. Seven were okay, one was way light. I called KB and talked to John Erb, who said it would be okay to Heliarc some beads of aluminum under the decks to add extra weight to the odd piston. I farmed it out to a local welder, who laid a thick bead on each side and parallel to the wrist pin. All I had to do was touch it in a couple of places with the grinder and it was okay. Not the way I would have preferred to do it, but it worked.
I rough-balanced the rods and pistons and hauled all the bits to Memphis, along with two other stroker engines, to have them all balanced. This is a nationally-famous shop that used to do cranks for Don Garlits, among other people. I didn't get quite the level of service Don used to get, I suspect. The weight differences between Chrysler rods is substantial. I had roughed them in to within 20 grams, just to make sure there was enough metal to finish up, and had weighed the pistons and had one welded, as I mentioned above. When I got the parts back, they had drilled on the flywheel and balancer, but no work had been done on the rods, pistons, or crank. On my scale, the rods still varied 20 grams. I called the place back up, and they told me that 20 grams was within their tolerance. They hadn't given me balance cards on any of the three rotating assemblies I'd brought to them, so, being paranoid, I took the 430 bits to a local shop and had them spin it up. Their machine showed the crank as being 46 grams out on one end, 20-something on the other. That's not enough to blur your eyeballs, but it's a long way from "balanced." I called the place in Memphis back up, and they said 46 grams was within their spec too. No, they wouldn't rebalance it. I did the rods and pistons myself, and paid the local shop to re-do the crank. It took two slugs of heavy metal. It turns out that two slugs is common on a 50-oz Windsor of this configuration.

This episode directly led to my purchase of a Stewart-Warner crankshaft balancer, so I could do my own balancing.


Pistons were originally hand-cut for clearance with Ford J302 cylinder heads. Then the pistons were recut with the milling fixture for Brodix Track I heads, which have a wider valve spacing.

Hand cutting works fine, but it's time consuming. When I first built the engine, I didn't have a piston vise. The second time around, I did, which makes for a neater job.


Final assembly now. The crank is in and the main caps cinched into place with ARP main studs. White is lithium grease on the washers.

The second time around, I balanced the engine again on my own machine.


Degreeing the solid roller cam. Steve decided to opt for a milder hydraulic flat tappet cam to go with the Track Is.

The ported Ford J302 heads that went on the first iteration of the engine. The valves were ceramic and moly coated.

Fitting the pickup tube for the Canton oil pan. The tube had to be dimpled for rod bolt clearance.

The early Windsor block didn't have locating dowel holes for the 5.0 timing cover. 50oz 5.0 damper was tapped on temporarily to locate the cover while the sealer set up.

AN fitting in the back routes oil from oil cooler adapter to back of main oil gallery. You can see the hole in the lower left corner of the block for a bulkhead fitting. The extra oil line will help equalize pressures in the oil galleries when the oil gets thin on a hot track day. Every little bit counts... 
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                           Parts List / Build Sheet
                       MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE RACING ENGINES


number: 0012, shipped 04/97
        rework (new block, valve reliefs) shipped 05/01


engine: Ford 351 Windsor, 430 cubic inches
        short block


   for: Steve Grossen, King George VA


        4.040 x 4.187 bore and stroke, 430 cubic inches

        400M crank, Chrysler rods, 50oz 5.0 external balance


        14cc    dish KB169
        65cc    Ford D0OE 351W heads
        9.12cc .043" head gasket
        9cc    .030 negative deck, extra valve notch, etc.
        ------
        97.12cc

        4.04 x 4.187 = 429.38 CID = 7073.61cc /8 = 879.70cc/cyl


        879.7 / 97.12 = 9.06:1 CR


COMPONENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------

crankshaft:
        400M Ford
        mains 351W - std.
        rods 360 Chrysler - .010"
        balanced to 50oz 5.0 bobweight, heavy metal
        oil slinger turned off
        rod throws drilled for lightness
        extensive grinding for lightening and balancing
        profiled for piston, block, and oil pump clearance
        snout cut back to 351W length
        snout ring cut back for 351W timing sprocket
        extra keyway cut for 351W timing sprocket (3/16 x 3/4 Woodruff)
        new roller pilot bearing

pistons:
        Keith Black KB169 hypereutectic
        D-dish top with valve trough
        additional valve reliefs cut for Brodix Track 1 heads, 2.02 intake
        4.040" diameter
        CBC2 ceramic coated tops
        TLMB moly coated sides
        single Spirolox pin retainers
        standard KB wrist pins

rings:
        .040" 1/16, 1/16, 3/16 Speed-Pro file fit moly


rods:
        360 Mopar forgings
        narrowed big ends
        pin ends bushed down to SBC .927 pins, FM 1799V bronze
        floating pins, .001"
        oil hole drilled on top of rod
        pin ends narrowed to 1", profiled round for lightness
        Direct Connection rod bolts
        ARP 12-point jet nuts
        polished beams
        oil holes point at pan rail (Mopar cylinder bank offset was opposite
           Ford, chamfers matched up better that way, Ford oil holes
           intersected with Mopar squirt holes so the oil stream didn't
           point anywhere useful either way the rod went in)
        standard-width Mopar bearings

block:
        1974 351W
        bored .040"
        honed to .0015" piston/wall clearance
        #600 wall finish
        bottoms of bores and oil pan rails clearanced for long stroke
        2 piece rear main seal
        new core plugs
        paint block  (Dupli-Color Ford Blue)
        #60 hole drilled below distributor gear
        new cam bearings  (Clevite 77)
        TLMB moly coated main bearings
        clearanced for stroker crank
        Dorman main studs
        Dorman main bolt washers
        threads chased
        lifter valley white Rust-Oleum


accessories:
        V-belt, standard rotation timing cover
        50oz 5.0 damper
        timing pointer
        timing pointer shows correct TDC
        ARP flywheel bolts
        Ford Motorsport 28 oz. billet steel 5.0 flywheel, drilled to 50oz
        stock Ford front sump oil pan
        stock Ford drain plug
        high volume Melling oil pump, ground for crank clearance
        oil pump bolts
        stock oil pump pickup tube
        new Melling oil pump drive rod
        cam bolt, washer, and fuel pump eccentric
        cam retainer plate, bolts
        harmonic balancer bolt and washer
        new Ford Motorsport timing chain set with indexable sprocket
        crank keys


===========================================================================

assembly lubricants:

                  rod bearings:  30wt oil

                         rings:  Unilube two stroke oil

                cylinder walls:  Mobil 1 5w30

                 piston skirts:  Mobil 1 5w30

                    wrist pins:  Mobil 1 5w30

          main bolts - threads:  ARP moly grease

       main bolts - under head:  moly grease

                     rod bolts:  ARP moly lube

      crankshaft rear oil seal:  Mobil 1 5w30


===========================================================================


TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS -----------------------------------------------------

--------torque---------------spec-----------thread---lube------------------

rod bolts
  torqued to 45 ft-lb                       3/8-24    ARP moly lube
  note: 1) step 1:  30 ft-lb
           step 2:  45 ft-lb

main cap studs                                      
  torqued to 84 ft-lb                       7/16-20   ARP moly lube
  note: 1) use moly grease under bolt head
        2) step 1:  50 ft-lb
           step 2:  84 ft-lb  (reverse pattern)

head bolts
                       (Ford spec 95-105)    1/2-13   oil
  note: 1) use hardened washers, moly grease both sides of washer
        2) block is blind tapped, no sealer needed
        3) step 1:  50 ft-lb
           step 2:  70 ft-lb  (reverse pattern)
           step 3:  100 ft-lb (mirror pattern)
        4) if you use studs, torque readings will usually be much lower
        5) if you use ARP bolts, DO NOT get the ones with the small hex; the
           heads are so short they will strip and round off the second or
           third time you take them out, or if your socket doesn't fit right.
           Given these are 1/2" bolts the stockers will work fine.

damper (harmonic balancer) bolt
                        (Ford spec 70-90)   5/8-18   oil
  note: 1) use automatic transmission fluid as lubricant when pressing damper 
           on 
        2) some people use sealer on the keyway to eliminate the chance of an
           oil leak there.

flexplate bolts
                        (Ford spec 75-85)            sealer
  note:    see drawing for pattern

intake manifold bolts
                        (Ford spec 23-25)   5/16-18  sealer
  note:    DO NOT OVERTORQUE.  You can break these bolts right off by hand if
           you're not careful.  The bolts go into the head at a 45 degree
           angle and the intake manifold makes enough of a wedge to lift the
           heads right off the block!  No fake.  Unless there's some kind of
           problem the intake won't leak even if the bolts are just past 
           finger tight.

exhaust manifold bolts
                        (Ford spec 18-24)   3/8-16  antiseize
  note:    use high temp antiseize if available

rocker studs            (torque 40 ft-lb)   7/16-16  sealer

timing chain sprocket bolt
                        (Ford spec 40-45)   3/8-16   (Fel-Pro Grey Bolt Prep)

cam retainer plate                                  
                        (Ford spec 9-12)    1/4-20   (Fel-Pro Grey Bolt Prep)

oil pan bolts                                        
                        (Ford spec 7-9)     1/4-20   oil
                        (Ford spec 9-11)    5/16-18  oil
  note:    11 ft-lb is "snug" with a nut driver; if you overtorque the bolts
           and you're fortunate enough not to break them off in the block,
           you'll probably warp the pan and it'll leak.

oil drain plug
                        (Ford spec 15-25)   1/2-20   oil
                        
water pump bolts
                        (torque 12-18)      5/16-18  antiseize
timing cover bolts
                        (torque 12-18)      5/16-18  oil

1/4 NPT threaded oilway plugs       Loctite Pipe Sealer With Teflon
                                    or silicone sealer, Teflon pipe sealer

oil pump pickup
                        (Ford spec 9-11)    5/16-18  Loctite 242

oil pump cover plate
                        (Ford spec 9-11)    1/4-20   Loctite 242

oil pump body                            
                        (torque 30-35)      3/8-16   Loctite 242

spark plugs
                                            18mm     antiseize

bottom pulley to damper
                        (Ford spec 35-50)            oil

valve cover
                        (Ford spec 3-5)     1/4-20   oil

fuel pump to timing cover
                        (Ford spec 19-27)   3/8-16   antiseize

fan to water pump
                        (Ford spec 12-18)   5/16-24  antiseize

carburetor to intake
                        (Ford spec 12-15)   5/16-18  antiseize




481 rod rotating
481 rod rotating
 51 rod bearing
 51 rod bearing
477 piston
145 pin
 48 ring set
205 rod reciprocating
----
1943 grams bob weight

50 oz-in 5.0 balancer and flywheel
800 setup/650 spin
took heavy metal to balance
.03/.05 oz-in finish balance