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LemonWedge 470 build thread

yes Im at 11.0:1 comp , .600 nett lift . Dont forget Im at 505ci so a few more cubes . But most would say Im leaving HP on the table by not using a solid roller . I shift @ 6500 trap 6700ish .
Same bottom end with Source CNC heads and 4150 carb went 10.50@126ish . So that was about what i expected to gain .25 ET . Expensive upgrade though . That will give you an idea of your potential gains .

Tex
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This was August 20th couple weeks ago

Tex
 
More MaxWedge goodness showed up today. This time courtesy of Indy Cylinder Head. I can certainly see the cross sectional port size difference leading out of the plenum between this manifold and the M1. Not terribly impressed with the casting finish of this piece, but I plan on port matching it and cleaning the plenum up a little anyway, so I’m not really worried about it.

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4150. It’ll run with my current annular 1000 Holley for the foreseeable future.
I personally think you will like that manifold. And if you should go with a Dominator when you are ready to get down to 10 flat.... :thumbsup: , stick with it and use the adaptor to 4500.... it works well with the improved signal in my experience.
 
Hey LW, following your thread and it’s nice to see those major improvements being made. At my last meet, my buddy who pits next to me came out of the burnout box and his 540 wedge just died. He said that he didn’t hear any noises but a couple of guys that were in the stands and later stopped by said that they did hear something. Started checking into it and his distributor wasn’t turning. Pulled it out, cam not turning neither. Broken timing chain was the consensus, hasn’t been pulled apart yet to confirm. Probably 400-500 runs on the build. For what that’s worth related to your build, but yep I expect you’re going to easily be mid 10’s. Keep up the updates Bud.
 
Anybody have a trick for removing spiral-locks?

2 tiny flat blades or a pick and tiny flat blade. Move the end out of the groove with one and get under it with the flat blade. They’ll come right out.
 
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the tiny flat blade worked. thanks guys. got the pistons free and I should be ready for the machine shop.
 
I like the looks of this build

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Everything went to the machinist yesterday. Using DG Machine in Auburn, WA. The owner, Dale, is a racer and a guy I trust. I had thought that he would be able to measure the deck height and then grind the crank to have the pistons land at zero deck, however. He said they really can’t guarantee that level of accuracy when trying to reverse engineer a combo of parts like that, and ultimately wants me to specify a crank dimension. I did the math and to get the pistons to land in the same spot they did with the 6.76” rod now with the 6.70 rod, I come up with 3.875. This is short of the normal 3.91” stroke of the common 470 combo. Do you guys agree with my math?

I looked back at my receipts from the previous build, and I did pay to have the parts mocked up and the block decked to get it all to zero Deck. I’m sort of bummed out that it looks like I’m going to be a little short of the 3.91 stroke of the typical 470 combo. But I suppose .035 and 2 cubic inches wont really matter too much.
 
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Hey LW, following your thread and it’s nice to see those major improvements being made. At my last meet, my buddy who pits next to me came out of the burnout box and his 540 wedge just died. He said that he didn’t hear any noises but a couple of guys that were in the stands and later stopped by said that they did hear something. Started checking into it and his distributor wasn’t turning. Pulled it out, cam not turning neither. Broken timing chain was the consensus, hasn’t been pulled apart yet to confirm. Probably 400-500 runs on the build. For what that’s worth related to your build, but yep I expect you’re going to easily be mid 10’s. Keep up the updates Bud.
thats why i run the milodon full cover gear drive, set it up and forget it. no breaking or chain stretch has a very slight Blower type whine to it. :thumbsup:
 
I went over the 512 thing on a spreadsheet with numerous options in & out. Came to the conclusion that the 470 is just a better fit for me for a number of reasons.
I think I'm getting too old to care anymore, but back when I built my 470..... a similarly built 512 would put me well into the 9's which is licensed racer territory....
 
I looked back over the posts addressing displacement and stroke, and if I understand, girdle, caps, cost were all factors.
I'm NOT "that guy" with shoeboxes full of money, FAR from it. If I didn't have a builder willing to order parts and go by my ability to pay for them vs "call me when you have ALL the money" I may never have been able to do my build.
I paid a balance due on my Bill Mitchell aluminum RB block in December of 2021, and I recently paid for the TF270s, and a number of major components have already been paid and received. (Crank, rods, pistons, cam, lifters) maybe more but that gives you an idea. I just paid a little over half of the roughly $1700 for T&D rocker arms and valvetrain geometry correction kit.
For me, it just made sense to use the BMP block as my foundation. When I was ordering the crank, and learned that while a "hemi" internal oil pickup tube would work with the 4.35 stroke I had originally planned, BUT my builder recommended an external line for "insurance" I didn't have any reason not to say "sure". Because of no clearancing requirements for the 4.5 stroke, and no cost difference in the crank, I said "why not" 572 sounds better than 541 anyway. It's mostly for cruising and car shows, but my trips to the track are going to be very exciting!
I'm only going to get ONE shot at this and it's been a long time coming, and that's another reason for the block choice and other decisions as well.
I don't want "if only" or "what ifs" to haunt me.
 
It's mostly for cruising and car shows
If your motor falls apart at those duties the way you are building it, it's going to require some major human error, or you have the worst luck imaginable. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but your motor isn't the only thing that can bust up at the drag strip. It's pretty easy to go pretty fast in a dedicated race car....:steering:
 
thats why i run the milodon full cover gear drive, set it up and forget it. no breaking or chain stretch has a very slight Blower type whine to it. :thumbsup:

I’m trying one on my HEMI. It was used so I had to buy some parts for it. Initially I was a bit skeptical but once I understood how to set it up it’s pretty cool. There may be more of these in my future. So tired of **** timing chains.


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I’m trying one on my HEMI. It was used so I had to buy some parts for it. Initially I was a bit skeptical but once I understood how to set it up it’s pretty cool. There may be more of these in my future. So tired of **** timing chains.


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looks good, the most critical part of installing it is to set up the lash correctly and drill the block for the new pins, i think i used a 7.9mm drill bit, it was like .0015 undersize for a tite pin fit...real easy to time it . good enough for top fuel good enough for me..
 
Easy to mock up. #1 and #5 mains with the upper #3 shell in the block. Upper shell in the rod, no spirolox. Just pin, piston, rod and rod bearing. Bolt the crank in using #1 and #5. Roll it to the close to TDC #1. Thread a long fine thread bolt thru the crank flex plate face hole lightly against the block to hold the crank from rotating. Drop the piston and rod in. Use a dial indicator to get to perfect TDC, then snug the bolt. Measure the piston on the pin centerline for the deck clearance. The piston will rock. Also the deck measurement may be slightly off front to rear of the piston. Average the numbers. Then repeat using the same piston/rod in #2,#7,#8. Average all the numbers. Depending on whose components you use, generally speaking the other piston/rod assys will average between .001" to .005" different in height. Keep piston to head in mind when deciding on the final number.
Doug
 
Stroke/2 + rod c/c + piston cd will equal the deck height. I use some large dial calipers and measure from top of main to deck and add 1/2 the housing bore diameter. It’ll get you close if your good but it’s not perfect. In the case of this build I was around .010 out by the time the decks were cleaned. Not an issue, I just used head gasket thickness to compensate.

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