main girdle info

i pulled the bullet out for a little "update"and thought i'd share some info.my 526,a heads,flat top's & oliver rods had a ford racing girdle on it.it's aluminum and had all the studs and such with it as i got it new when i built this thing about 5yr ago.after 200 or so passes with a cam change in the mix it's saw 6800-7800rpm but mostly in the 7200 range.i know this has been beat to death i just wanted to share what i found.this aint my first build so it's nothing new to see cap walk,and cap walk i did see.i dont see any good the girdle did for this one but who knows,it coulda been all that kept it together. i do have a cure for cap walk,i'll post it later.

They are just snake oil they do not work what so ever...... I have seen to many and never have they ever stopped cap walk...... the only thing I have seen them do is remove cash from your pockets, Nothing else.....



Randy

i'v been tryen to think of something to make out of it.

sell it to someone that think they are so needed, get part of your money back at least...... only way to stop cap walk is 4 bolt mains...


Randy

Yep Randy is right on there, I have delt with the Ford FE's for a number of years, and have seen alot of cap walk when the motor starts making some good hp...the only way I have ever seen to eliminate it was either a set of pro-grams 4 bolt caps, or some guys will use the old 427 ford crossbolt caps..Problem gone...I have even seen some drill and dowel the main registers and caps, But have never seen them tore down for a re-fresh to see if it worked.. I think the cost of having the block machined for the new 4 bolt caps is around $300, but then of course you'll want to line hone the main caps and saddles again, I'am not sure of what the line hone goes for..But the cost of the caps @ $300+ and another min of $300 in machine work plus the line hone...you can see you'll get into some cash..Now these prices are a few years old now... I was going to do this to my 428CJ motor, as I wanted to take it up close to a max for the block... To run in my 70 F250...But then I have been thinking well hell...For the all the machine work needed to get the block to handle that kind of hp...and the price of FE parts today..I think I'd be ahead of the game selling my block and intake, crank etc...and just buying a A460 block from Lem and be done with it..and do the conversion in my truck.... and that will still give me room to grow at a later date.. JMO...

i bet the dowels work better than the girdle.
the girdle still relys on the clamping force of the bolt (or stud) in this case. (seeing how hardly any of it touches the cap)
at least with a dowel there is not 30 thousands clearance around it in the hole.

cool40 wrote:i pulled the bullet out for a little "update"and thought i'd share some info.my 526,a heads,flat top's & oliver rods had a ford racing girdle on it.it's aluminum and had all the studs and such with it as i got it new when i built this thing about 5yr ago.after 200 or so passes with a cam change in the mix it's saw 6800-7800rpm but mostly in the 7200 range.i know this has been beat to death i just wanted to share what i found.this aint my first build so it's nothing new to see cap walk,and cap walk i did see.i dont see any good the girdle did for this one but who knows,it coulda been all that kept it together. i do have a cure for cap walk,i'll post it later.

i got the cure!

RapidRuss wrote:..and do the conversion in my truck.... and that will still give me room to grow at a later date.. JMO...

You don't need to buy a conversion at all for your truck. My truck is setup EXACTLY the same as yours. FE engine perches for the stock FE engine. But the engine was a 429 and there was never any conversion put on it. Stock 429 motor mounts rested on FE perches and the motor and trans just drops into place. I know of another guy who did the same thing, never had a single problem putting the motor and trans in. So you can knock that expense off of your list, 67-72 ford trucks are VERY similar with parts and looks. For all model trucks except the f600, that's another story in itself.

How do you identify main cap walk, to be exact? I'm leaching

bb429power wrote:How do you identify main cap walk, to be exact? I'm leaching

the main cap will "walk" on the block and make places that look kinda like you srtuck an arc with a stick welder on it.it's a sure sign your shit was close to the point of no return.

cool40 wrote:

bb429power wrote:How do you identify main cap walk, to be exact? I'm leaching

the main cap will "walk" on the block and make places that look kinda like you srtuck an arc with a stick welder on it.it's a sure sign your shit was close to the point of no return.

Okay, thanks. i couldn't really find any spots like that on the cap. But just behind the stud on the left I see a few. But you know how it is, its MUCH easier to see in person.

very easy to see with the eye,not so much with my pic's.

can you get a good torque reading with those allen head bolts ????

bruno wrote:can you get a good torque reading with those allen head bolts ????

WHY NOT??

just asking a question ...... but that doesnt seem like an answer