Rebuilding a 304

[Mark Pietz]

I'd like to see any pics of it, or how it was made.

[Mark Pietz]

Any fab would be good, or after shots too!

[jauringer]

edit: we posted at the same time agian! LOL

Unfortunately I didn't have any pics during the process but I did have one before hand that will help describe some of the work.

Here are a few more completed pics. (with and without flash)






Heres the only one beforehand but it does show a couple things.



Here I've got it clamped down to grind down that lip around each OE gauge hole so I can get a good flat grip area for the resin/fiber. Once I ground those edges down and sanded the backside, I put some wax paper between the my work bench and the panel and then clamped it down again. That gave me a false floor to let this resin dry. I soaked the fiber cloth and laid across the entire backside. I'm not sure how much resin folks use normally but I used a bunch. There was probably a 1/4" layer on the backside there. Once it completely dried I flipped it over to the front and sanded it down flush with each guage cutout.

So now the holes are filled but the dash is still not flat all the way around as there is a recession that all of the gauges sit in. I sanded the entire front and then took some long stranded fiber glass and spread a thin layer all the way across the front to fill in that area (probably a couple 1/16ths deep), sanded all that smooth and then finished with some glazing compound. After that sat for a day I measured and laid out placement for all the holes and then cut. I had too keep the layout very close to the previous stainless panel since my dash was cut for that setup so really the only different is I eliminated a center hole over the steering wheel and put my bright lights, E-brake light there. When cutting those holes I used a drill press on it's lowest setting. As long as you're slow, it shouldn't give you any problems.

[jtscout80]

What happened to the build? I had been following with interest. parts stuck at the machine shop?

[jauringer]

Originally Posted by jtscout80

What happened to the build? I had been following with interest. parts stuck at the machine shop?

Thanks for checking in Jtscout.Yep, stuck like chuck. Been there for a few months now and he still hasn't gotten to it. I would love to get back on this as all the parts are in boxes just waiting to be put on.

He's the only shop that came highly recommended around here so I'm just going to wait it out.

Jason

[Bill usn-1]

Wow, I think a drive to DFW would have been worth it instead of that long wait.
I'm sure someone in the NTB's could have recommended a shop.

[jauringer]

Originally Posted by Bill usn-1

Wow, I think a drive to DFW would have been worth it instead of that long wait.
I'm sure someone in the NTB's could have recommended a shop.

Yeah, no kidding Bill. Hind sights 20/20. Like I said before, he does Hi Po and race crap and obviously the one used by many. I'm sure regulars get pushed ahead of the one time build guys like myself.

Of course after pulling the trigger on a set of 4340 axle shafts this afternoon. If he wants to wait another couple weeks, that's fine with me!


Jason

[jauringer]

Just a quick update. This project is finally back on. I called the machine shop a few days ago and got on him for the long delay. I probably should have stayed on him from the beginning but I was busy with other projects and didn't really care all that much. I'm board again now so I want something to mess with after the holidays. My block is now in the works. A set of KB Silvolite contoured pistons are on the way, as well as a set of molly rings. We could only get those pistons in 60 over so that's what we did. Now, instead of decking the block .0070", we dropped it to .0060" keeping my CR around 9.1.

More to come in a week or so.

Jason

[Bill usn-1]

The engine needs to be preassembled with one or two pistons to determine the decking.
You can't just cut .060. (.006 is 6 thousanths...not much)But I assume the shop should know what they are doing.
Some simply do exactly what the customer says and then it's on you if your engine is trash.

Keep in mind that the intake or heads will also need cut to make up for the deck being lower.

This also results in the valley pan fitting differently so care must be taken when installing it.

Mods need to be thought thru carefully.

[jauringer]

Originally Posted by Bill usn-1

The engine needs to be preassembled with one or two pistons to determine the decking.
You can't just cut .060. (.006 is 6 thousanths...not much)But I assume the shop should know what they are doing.
Some simply do exactly what the customer says and then it's on you if your engine is trash.

Keep in mind that the intake or heads will also need cut to make up for the deck being lower.

This also results in the valley pan fitting differently so care must be taken when installing it.

Mods need to be thought thru carefully.

Hey Bill, good to hear from you. Thanks for the reminders. These are the contoured pistons, so the heads will be needed as well.


Rings made it in.


I was hoping the pistons would too but no such luck. Hopefully I'll get them Monday so I can get everything to him before family stuff starts.

Jason