The time has come for me to rebuild the spare engine I have sitting in my garage. This particular engine has been in my car before, but I blew the ringlands on the pistons about 7 months ago. For Christmas I'll be getting things to rebuild it, hopefully with better internals, and I have a few questions about what parts I should get.

ARP head studs will be used, but should I go ahead and get ARP main studs too? What about rod bolts?

Pistons? I've searched a little bit and it seems that detonation is likely to kill the ringlands, regardless of whether or not the piston is forged. Are forged pistons worth it for ~15 psi and ~350 whp?

Rods...I know the stock rods are shot peened from the factory, so I will most likely keep the stock rods, but does anyone have any input as to why I should get Eagle or AMS rods? Since I plan on keeping the stock rods I will get them balanced and sized (not too sure what that means, read it on another forum haha). They also said that nearly all rod failure stems from rod bearings with improper tolerances, so I guess I'll be getting ARP rod bolts as well.

Head gasket - Fel Pro for sure.

Basically everything else I'm keeping OEM. I've taken the valve cover off and the inside of the head is extremely clean, I doubt I'll do anything to the head other than have the machine shop make sure it's flat. As for the block...if I have blown ringlands in there now should I go .02 over with the new pistons? I'm not sure how much ringlands would affect the cylinder walls, but it can't be good for them. I've rebuilt a KA before but I failed miserably at putting the rod caps on the correct way so it spun a bearing. An experience engine builder is helping me so it's not the build I'm concerned with, it's the parts that will be going into it. Thanks!

-Chris

I like how 2 engine rebuilds is experienced haha

I also like these smileys you have on this here forum

But everything should be fine as long as we don't put the rod caps on backwards.

rtrdpenguin wrote:But everything should be fine as long as we don't put the rod caps on backwards.

I have no real advice for you Chris!
I've never rebuilt the bottom end before!

Since you are already getting the block machined I would go ahead and get the main studs. Aftermarket rods would also be a good idea. Most of your after rods (Eagle, AMS, BC, etc.) will come with ARP rod bolts. Eagle rods are cheap and have been proven reliable.

.020 over is usually enough unless your cylinder walls are deeply scarred.

Rod's and main studs will only add ~$450 to your build but will save you lots of time and frustration if you want to push more than 400hp either now or in the future.

Alright, thanks for the input. I didn't realize Eagle rods came with ARP bolts, that makes the price more reasonable.

Do you think I'd be alright with OEM pistons?

i had a block with blown ring lands and the cylinders were fine. i ran a hone through the cylinders and then just put oem pistons back in. but i think that was rare.. make sure you take everything apart before you order parts. you can get package deals and if you order it individually then it car get more expensive.

if your truely only shooing for 350 and no more, then i dont see a reason for better rods and pistons. but i have seen wisco pistons and eagle rod packages for like 700 on ebay. that sounds like a pretty good deal to me. but i dont know about the single. im assuming that the pistons are different compared to the dohc.

and to get the rods sized, i think it means basically they run a hone through the bores and clean them up. not sure. but you should get your whole rotating assy ballanced. (crank, crank pulley, flywheel, pressure plate, rods, and pistons.) usually its only about 150-180 for that.

i dont know if the arp rods and mains are really necessary, but they for sure wont hurt if you can afford them. and yes detonation will kill any piston, but the forged will hold up to it longer. but you should still get a solid tune on it either piston choice.

and LOL at Razi's post!

good luck.

Yeah, I've seen the package deals on ebay as well. I guess since I have it all apart I might as well build it up now. I'm sure i'll be more than happy with 350 rwhp, but in the future I'll probably go t3 top mount and who knows what will happen then.

I'm not sure if I'll get the rotating assembly balanced, but I will get each individual part balanced. Apparently the machine shop has to build the bottom end themselves in order to balance the assembly, and that makes the cost go really high. I'll ask the machine shop about it, but I'm not sure if I'll end up having it done.

that doesnt sound right. the machine shop i go to, you can bring them all your parts. and they do it there and give them back. look it up on you tube. personally i would get a balance before forged rods and pistons. even though i have heard that the aftermarket rods and pistons are almost dead on with the balance.