Big Block Mopar 400 Build Series: Installing Pistons and Rods

[@PoorBoysGarageUSMC]

Damn good vid bro! Now I know where to go if I ever need to build a engine….👍👊

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Brad! I hope she does well. This is truly a budget build.

[@dumpsterchicken6287]

I missed my calling. Shoulda built engines. Looks like fun, also satisfying.

[@JustMoparJoe]

It’s a good day when a motor goes together smoothly. It’s a bummer when you have to stop and order new bearings, wait a week for them to come in.

[@gregtough9055]

Do not forget that the rings rotate as the engine runs... Great video as always

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Greg. Someone had just asked that they had heard never to put a ring gap over a wrist pin. I believe that’s a myth. Especially when they’d spin over them repeatedly.

[@TheMoparman1978]

Loose is fast, fast is Loose. Very nice short block

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother!

[@desertmopars3336]

We appreciate the small details... Continuing to learn. Thanks Joe.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks buddy. The Devil is in the details and we must defeat him!

[@edsmachine93]

Good job Joe. Super nice and clean procedures. Your rod side clearance is perfect. I have had Eagles that were .045 to .048. That is excessive in my opinion. Years ago I did some big Fords and they required alot of side clearance. And it lived. This is and will be a nice build. Thanks for sharing the technology. Take care, Ed.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks for sharing that! “A man with an explanation is at the mercy of a man with experience.” EM 😎

[@donaldhalls2189]

It's going together well, can't wait to see her rip, all the best to you and your loved ones

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks for the support! Have a good Sunday!

[@jimwellesley5849]

Looks good Joe! Keep up the good work! 👍

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Mopar Jim!

[@jimwellesley5849]

@@JustMoparJoe you're welcome!

[@218422100]

Doesn't get much better than this. 💯😎

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother!

[@218422100]

@@JustMoparJoe you're welcome brother 💯😎

[@whatchacookin1096]

I have watched all your engine videos and this one was great. Good info and some trick camera shots made this a winner.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thank you! It was a time crunch for me. I would have liked to get more!

[@musclerestorer7223]

Really like the time and the attention your giving to your engine! Nice build series again 👍🏻👍🏻

[@JustMoparJoe]

I appreciate that! This is the nicest block I’ve ever used. True in every direction. Clearances good. Balanced and getting closer to run!

[@lonnieairsman9215]

Good video Joe

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Lonnie! Finally coming together!

[@Scarlet_1971_cuda]

Looking great. Thank you for the details!!!

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks John! Can’t wait to hear it run and lay down some passes with it.

[@lautburns4829]

Good explanation and assembly.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother

[@BigMikesHooptyBarn]

That's about as good of an instructional video as I've ever seen on here! Awesome job Joe!

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Big Mike! Hope it helps someone out there

[@maximuswedgie5149]

Great video Joe, I went with a full roller 383 after I pulled my 400 out. This 400 will be my first rebuild this winter, I will be referring back to your videos as always! I’ve seen that book at my local speed shop, will have to pick that up too. Thanks for being so thorough.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Awesome! Good luck with your build. I’ll keep pushing on his one 👍🏼

[@darwinfoster7420]

Love the way you build your engines . I do them the same way .

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Brother!

[@rickseeman5679]

Good work Joe

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Mr. Rick!

[@getwrenching]

Great job Joe, keep those videos coming.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks buddy! I will do my best!

[@musclecarmitch908]

Nice build and awesome work! Can't wait to see what kind of performance you get out of it!

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks Mitch! Going to give her all I can!

[@speedbuggy4095]

I like the face on your pistons

[@JustMoparJoe]

Haha! Hoping it’d draw some attention

[@brianandglendaharkin9457]

Nice work MOPAR old school or no car 👍🏻🇦🇺

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks buddy! Making progress each week!

[@DuddiesAdventure]

This engine is going to be a ripper!! FYI Joe I heard that sharpie marks on the pistons are just has lethal to a engine as over spray in the heads!!! HaHa Great video Joe!

[@JustMoparJoe]

Haha! The travesty!

[@aaronbarnes8938]

I know these rods and pistons they look familiar.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Yes sir!

[@mrpurcountry]

Love watching you put this back together was wondering if you checked how high the Pistons come up to the top yet.

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother! I got that on video a while back. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWKvmKqvbJJ3rJI

[@MoparMan-ff8fb]

Joe correct me if I'm wrong . I seen, read and heard when balancing an engine to weigh all pistions the take the one with the lightest number and make the rest weight the same along with each end if the rods to match one another and then have the machine shop balance the crank so the crank and the other parts rotate with a even balance ? I was planning on doing this at home with a digital kitchen scale for the 360 build down the road for my dart

[@JustMoparJoe]

The idea is correct, but not the process. Every shop has their own way, and so do big crank manufacturers. If you buy a “balanced” rotating assembly, they weigh all the rods, take the average, and use that weight. They weigh all the pistons, take the average and use that weight. Then weigh one wrist pin, 2 locks, and rod bearings. They make a bob weight up, and add a small amount of weight they’d consider to be the oil’s weight. It’s semi precise, but not guaranteed. The correct process is similar to above, but to balance each end of the rod, individually. That’s where one side is rotating, and one is reciprocating. In my set of Chinese rods, the little end was much lighter on one rod. If the other rods would have been taken down to that weight(weighing individually), then it would have potentially thinned the metal and caused 7 weak rods. Since my rods were already balanced at the machine shop, “end to end”, I took their total weight and paired them with the pistons(lighter to heavier). You’ll notice my pistons and rods were within a few tenths of a gram to start with, a gram being the weight of a single dollar bill. If balancing rods at home, make yourself a fixture and do the rods end by end.

[@firstrespondergarage]

👍👍

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother

[@williamturner8422]

Hey Joe, what kind/ brand of connecting rods are you using.

[@JustMoparJoe]

These are 440 source factory length connecting rods with upgraded bolts. The full build information is in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWKvmKqvbJJ3rJI

[@griffittsgarage]

I really like this short stroke low deck set up. That big bore block will take a big ole intake valve! Did the piston come out zero deck Joe?

[@JustMoparJoe]

Thanks brother! We stopped when it was true on all corners. It’s .015 down now. The future for the block is to go with the stroker crank. It may need touched up then. Ed was able to deshroud my heads on his machine for the bore.

[@jackwells1452]

I've always heard don't put the gaps over the wrist pins holes, myth?

[@JustMoparJoe]

I’ll say Myth. As Greg Tough mentioned in the comments, the rings are always spinning as the pistons go up and down. So the gaps will cross over both pins eventually. I should have emphasized that the rings need to spin freely in the grooves. I had one that had a catching spot on the edge. I pulled it apart and lightly sanded the gap to make it spin freely.

[@cjm5002]

Have you ever torn down an engine for a refresh and found the rings in the exact same spot as you put them in?

[@JustMoparJoe]

I have not. The marks would fade away after the heat and oil baths. I have seen the numbers on top of pistons after a tear down once.

[@williamturner8422]

They do NOT stay in the same place. My friend with a dragster made a map of his ring locations. After just a few quarter mile runs the engine was torn down and ALL of the rings had moved.

[@JustMoparJoe]

@@williamturner8422 agreed. On the bronco I just did, the rings had all lined up in most the pistons that I took out.

[@williamturner8422]

The "excessive" rod side clearance is because , big block chevy rods are used most of the time on stroker big block Mopars. Normally 7.1 inch long on a stroker 440 (510). But I don't like super short skirts ( on pistons). Because you can get piston slap if you piston looks like a hockey puck.

[@JustMoparJoe]

@@williamturner8422 Ed from Ed’s machine let me know that the excessive clearance allows for the crank journal to cool more, as oil flows past it. The stroker crank I have will make a 500 from this block, but it’s made to use with a standard 440 length rod. I see the aftermarket rods and stroker pistons now available with both the Chevy pin size, and the mopar. If I have to buy rods and pistons, I’ll go with the lighter weight pin size.

[@karlsracing8422]

Gonna give the sb a hard time.

[@JustMoparJoe]

That’s the plan! If this one can’t hang, it’ll have to get a crank!