Ford 302 V8 Engine Assembly - Summit Stroker

18.With the mains snug, the crank endplay is set by the thrust bearing. Making sure this bearing is set is essential. The method of smacking the crank with a hammer may seem crude, but that ensures the upper and lower bearing segments are flush.

19.After the trust bearing is set, all the main journals are torqued to ARP-provided main bolt specification.

20.Here is where Superior's high-tech machinery starts to come into play. With the block's symmetry corrected, and the crank bore and bearing clearance close to perfect, the engine spins freely. Even though the engine had one rod and piston tied to the crank throw, the engine spun three full revolutions with a flick of the wrist. This means rotating the engine's reciprocating mass will take less power from the engine, allowing the motor to put more of its produced power to the wheels.

21.Superior had our JE pistons thermal-coated for wear and power enhancement. The crew also balanced the piston and pins by machining material out of the wristpin on naturally aspirated applications. Because the pin is made of a heavy material, it is easy to achieve weight loss with very little material removal.

22.Spiro locks or wire clips? That's the question. We've heard so many negative remarks about spiro locks that we asked JE to put wire locks in our pistons. It's still tricky not to score the pinhole, but it was easy enough to put the finishing touches on our piston and rod combination.

23.We had no intentions of using nitrous on a high-compression engine, so we had the ring fitment set up tight. This machine makes sure the ring endgap is symmetrical. Plus the diamond-impregnated wheel made quick work of our fire ring.

24.With all the pistons, rods, and rings in place, we were ready to finish our short-block assembly.

25.A quick light strike to the top of the piston pushes the rings through the ring compressor and the piston into the cylinder bore. Scott spins the crank into position so the rod doesn't scratch the crank upon insertion.

26.Here we go again with Scott and his speed wrench! One thing's for sure, Joe certainly can't complain about Scott's mighty engine-building efficiency - although he should talk to Don about his wacky cam selections.