Engine Blueprinting, The Step-By-Step Guide: Practical Methods for Racing and Rebuilding

• How to use precision measuring tools



• How to select an engine block



• How to calculate compression ratios



• How to lap valves



• How to read a micrometer



• How to polish and shotpeen connecting rods



• How to degree a camshaft



• How to assemble an engine

Aluminum pistons are really rather amazing. They are alternately seared by the heat of combustion, and then blasted by a jet of cold air with every intake stroke.

They are accelerated and decelerated at tremendous speed with every turn of the crankshaft, while withstanding side loads that try to weld the piston skirts to the cylinder walls.

Everything that an engine builder does to increase performance, from installing a hot-rod cam to porting the heads to bolting on a blower, is intended to do just one thing: increase cylinder pressure.

And, of course, the more pressure there is in the cylinders, the higher the loads the pistons must endure.

Much of the work devoted to piston preparation is required by the special characteristics of aluminum. Since aluminum expands at approximately twice the rate of steel, clearances that are correct at room temperature can change dramatically when the piston tops are heated to over 500 F degrees.

Forged aluminum pistons have a much denser molecular structure than cast pistons, so heat transfers through the forged material more quickly.

Also, different parts of the piston expand at different rates. There is more metal around the pin bosses than in the skirts, so these two areas grow to different sizes when heated.

INTRODUCTION: Meeting Emissions Standards

TOOLS FOR BLUEPRINTING: Precision Tools | Basic Measuring Tools | How To Read a Micrometer | Dial Indicator | Dial Calipers | Exotic Tools | Engine Assembly Tools | A Word on Planning.

CYLINDER BLOCK: Selecting a Block | New vs. "Seasoned" Blocks | Preliminary Inspection and Disassembly | Two-Piece or One-Piece Rear Main Seal Blocks | Main Caps | Cleaning | Final Inspection | Sonic Testing | Deburring | Align Honing and Boring | Decking | Block Filing | Boring | Honing | Honing with Torque Plates | Hand-Honing | Automatic Honing | O-Ringing Blocks and Heads | Block Painting | Restricting Oil Passages | Debris Screens | Rod and Crank Clearance | Oil Hole Alignment | Block Cleaning | High-Tech Coatings.

CRANKSHAFT: Selection and Inspection | Stroker Motors | Deburring | Shotpeening and Stress Relieving | Crankshaft Grinding | Cross-Drilling | Chamfering Oil Holes | Counterweight Modifications | Hard Chroming and Tufftriding | Pilot Bearings | Stroke Changes | Micropolishing | Crankshaft Straightening | Stroke Checking | Bearing Clearances | Thrust Clearance.

CONNECTING RODS: Selection and Inspection | Rod Ratios | Polishing and Shotpeening | Rod Bolts | Rod Resizing | Pin Fit | Rod-to-Cam Clearance | Piston-to-Rod Clearance | Rod Bearing Clearance | Rod Side Clearance.

PISTONS: Piston-to-Wall Clearance | Piston Materials and Applications | Ring Grooves | Valve Pockets | Dome Fitting and Radiusing | Chamber Size and Piston Domes | Checking Piston Thickness | Piston Lightening | Piston Skirt Preparation | Skirt-to-Crankshaft Clearance | Piston Rings | Ring End Gaps for Nitrous and Blower Motors | Pins.

CYLINDER HEADS: Cylinder Head Selection | Selection and Inspection | Non-Adjustable Valvetrains | Head Gaskets | Valves and Seats | Hardened Valve Springs | Valve Lapping | Valve Guides | CAD and CNC | Porting for Street Performance | Milling | Measuring Port Volume | Spring Seats | Spring Pressure | Retainer-to-Guide Clearance | Rockerarms | Changing Rockerarm Ratios | Guideplates | Push Rods.

CAMSHAFT: Altering Cam Timing | Finding Top Dead Center | Checking Intake Centerline | Changing Cam Phasing | Degreeing Asymmetrical Cams | Cam Graphing | Camshaft Glossary.

COMPRESSTION RATIO: Combustion Chamber Volume | Valve Relief Volume | Dome Volume | Deck Height and Gasket Volume.

BALANCING: Rotating and Reciprocating Weight | Internal and External Balancing | Balancing Techniques.

ENGINE ASSEMBLY TIPS: Thread Lubricants.

APPENDICES: Cubic Inch Conversion Chart | Decimal and Millimeter Equivalents | Engine Blueprinting Record Sheet | Drill Sizes | Sources and Acknowledgements.