Budget Engine Honing | Sick Week Build Part 3

The 350 Small Block in the Square Body Service Truck checked out just fine with the Fowler Bore Gage. So I performed an at home DIY cylinder honing with my Flex-Hone 240 Grit Brush Hone. No time or need for a machine shop. Don't let anyone tell you that a 3 stone hone gives you a better result. If they say that...ask them what type of torque plate they are using to ensure the cylinder is perfectly round when they hone it... Then wait for them to stumble all over themselves. Dingle Ball / Bottle Brush/ Dingleberry Hones, as well as 3-stone Hones, are only for breaking the cylinder glaze, so the cylinder can properly seat a set of new rings. They are not for straightening a worn cylinder. I used ATF as a lubricant because I didn't have the recommended 10W-30 or Flex-Hone Oil. I didn't follow the instructions...sue me. I used a Dewalt Cordless Drill set on low to give the the specified 500 RPM. I used a one stroke per minute cadence to give me the desired 45 degree cross-hatch. That's 22.5 degrees from horizontal, which gives a 45 degree intersecting angle. I finished buy giving the entire engine a warm bubble bath and the coating the machined surfaces with WD-40, or engine oil, or some other form of recycled dinosaur.
Sick Week is right around the corner and I need to rebuild the 350 small block, upgrade the clutch, rebuild the SM465 Transmission, install a Yukon Locker into the GM 14-Bolt rear end, install the Mishimoto Radiator and Electric Fans, wire in the MSD 6-BTM, and all the AutoMeter gauges. This Square Body is an awful choice for a drag race vehicle... but it'll look cool going down the strip...slowly. I have a pile of parts from Summit Racing and the Amazon...and not a lot of time to get them installed! So let's get to work!
Product Links:
Fowler Bore Gage: amzn.to/3YL4a0Z
Micrometer 4"-5": amzn.to/3Iehio4
Micrometer Set: amzn.to/3Kts9NR
Flex-Hone: amzn.to/3xICEVP
Flex-Hone Oil: amzn.to/3kj4yEU

[@davidrice313]

Great video. You are very entertaining. Looking forward to seeing this thing all together and hopefully a little tire smoke.

[@freedomworx]

I appreciate you watching. I’m trying to get more consistent long format content up. 👍

[@hoagiesherlin7732]

Very nice very nice

[@freedomworx]

Thank you for watching 👍

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

According to Uncle Tony's Garage you can hone a block .010" over and re-use the pistons the engine came with. He claims the rings will center the pistons, he has a couple of cars that are built that way. It's Either Gonna Work Or It Ain't right? I couldn't tell for sure but your cross hatch angle looked a bit flat, the X pattern should be close to 45*, to get that the faster the drill spins the faster the up and down motion needs to be. This X is what you're looking for but rotated 90* for future reference, should work fine for just wanting to get er done though. If that is what you ended up with(like I said it was hard for me to see) good job if not you'll do better next time? I'm a machinist by trade just sharing a little knowledge for anyone that reads this, no offense intended.(yes you were correct 22.5* but no less than 22* and up to no more than 32* I wrote the above before my morning coffee, sorry about that.)

[@freedomworx]

All this honing took 0.0005” out of the bore. It works take forever to remove 0.010” and I would never recommend that. The cross hatch intersects at a 45 degree angle. It’s not supposed to be 45 degrees from horizontal. Should need about 22.5 degrees from horizontal.

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

@@freedomworx A trick to use when your hone is cutting slower is to run it in reverse so you're using a different spot on the hone dingle berries stones.

[@itseithergonnaworkoritaint7852]

@@freedomworx Yeah, sorry I wrote that cross hatch backwards I'll go back and fix it.