[GOAT WHORE]

You are having way too much fun Paul.
That crank looks killer. Is all the bullet nosing to cut down on windage?

[gtofreek]

Yes. Shape it like an airplane wing for cutting through the air/oil mist. Get rid of casting flash, which is weak spots.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

I like the gas mask!! Once again, I am awed by the quality of your work, Paul. How wide of a radius are you planning on using on the main and rod journals?

The mains have a large radius already. The rod journals have a fairly small radius, so it will be enlarged some when ground to BB Chevy size. We'll have to see how large he can get it.

[gtofreek]

I got some POR15 Pontiac metallic blue engine enamel, and some silver POR15 as a base coat, today. That ought to look real nice for a long time. Their engine enamels look like powder coating. I've never used the Pontiac color yet, but the other colors I have used/seen, look great.

I'm investigating thermal barrier, anti friction, heat dispersants, and oil shedding coatings for my pistons, combustion chambers, exhaust ports, headers, intake manifold, connecting rods, and crankshaft. Maybe for my carburetor also.

[gtofreek]

Well I ground on the crank some more Tuesday, and Wednesday. Got the casting flash mostly cleaned up. Got the rear half counterweights done on the leading edge. Now I just have the trailing edge to deal with.

[gtofreek]

Well, I thought I finished my crank tonight, but after looking at these pictures, I decided I must have been asleep when I ground on it tonight. The points of the trailing edge of the counterweights that I ground in, are not centered. Some of the other edges I ground are crooked. Even a blind man can see that! Looks like I was drunk, and trying to walk a line! Need to address those issues before I get it shot peened.

[gtofreek]

What a difference from how it started out! :

[gtofreek]

I fixed my drunken grinding from the other day. I also ground off the ugly "nubs" that were on the 5-6 rod journal that you can see in the picture above. This is what it looks like now.

[gtofreek]

Here's the trailing edge after fixing.



Now, off to get shot peened.

[GOAT WHORE]

So Paul, you just shape it the way you like, shot peen then balance it?

[rexs73gto]

WOW, that looked like a lot of work. But it looks great.

[b-man]

I'm curious, how many hours do you have in shaping and polishing the counterweights and other raw cast surfaces on that crank?

Just to give viewers of this thread an idea of how much effort is involved for an experienced professional.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by b-man

I'm curious, how many hours do you have in shaping and polishing the counterweights and other raw cast surfaces on that crank?

Just to give viewers of this thread an idea of how much effort is involved for an experienced professional.

Yes, and how do you go about balancing afterwards? Was thinking while looking at your polishing - most will never see the artwork you've created while in motion in the vehicle ...but you'll surely get many "smiles per hour" & "smiles per revolution" of satisfaction

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by GOAT WHORE

So Paul, you just shape it the way you like, shot peen then balance it?

Pretty much. I wanted the leading edge a nice radius, like an airplane wing, and the trailing edge, tapered off. As far as the trailing edge goes, I looked at several aftermarket cranks to see what they did, and I saw it all ways. Some had one angle cut, going from one side of the counterweight, directly to the other side. Some did it the way I did. Others did nothing but leave the squared off face like this was. I chose to do it the way I did, because it made the most sense to me.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by rexs73gto

WOW, that looked like a lot of work. But it looks great.

It wasn't as much as you might think! Thanks!

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by b-man

I'm curious, how many hours do you have in shaping and polishing the counterweights and other raw cast surfaces on that crank?

Just to give viewers of this thread an idea of how much effort is involved for an experienced professional.

I have a total of about 4-4.5 hours in it. I plan on spraying an oil shedding coating on the counterweights after I'm done balancing it. I did it all with an angle grinder with a hard grinding disk to remove the heavy stuff. Then I used an 80 grit sanding disk to rough shape and smooth out the rough grinding from the hard disk. Then I went to a medium grit Scotch-Brite Roloc pad for final shaping and rough polishing. Then I finished up with a very fine Scotch-Brite Roloc pad for final polishing

I will balance it after I get it ground. Then, for windage purposes[remember, I plan on spinning this thing high], I am going to make some plugs to fit into the balance holes in the front face of the front counterweight, and the rear face of the rear counterweight, then tig weld them in, and grind back flush.

Then after I drill holes to balance it out, I will drill them deeper, then cap them over, tig weld, then grind flush also. Then, do any balance tuning up with the grinder. This way, I will have a no holes balance job for better windage at higher RPM's. Then ready for oil shedding coating.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Yes, and how do you go about balancing afterwards? Was thinking while looking at your polishing - most will never see the artwork you've created while in motion in the vehicle ...but you'll surely get many "smiles per hour" & "smiles per revolution" of satisfaction

Yes, but the main thing I will get out of it is the fact that I know as many stress risers as possible are gone. It will just make this crank much less likely to break. Looks really aren't the goal here. I could really care less about the internal looks. As you said, no one will ever see it while it's in the engine. The looks, are basically, a byproduct of the stress risers being removed. Plus, if I wanted a show piece, I certainly could have made it a lot nicer!

Thanks for the nice words from all!

[Alvin]

What's your final safety check after all work chryo and coating performed - XRay or?

[gtofreek]

No X-ray. I had it magnafluxed after I Cryoed it. It checked out good, so I don't feel a need to go to that extreme. This engine is very budget minded, just labor intensive. But that's OK, because I don't have to pay myself to do the labor. Otherwise, I certainly would have forked out the $'s for a forged crank.

[blueghoast]

what are you using to grind on the crank? A flapper type grinding disc.
Your giving me some idea's. That looks really nice. Cool project.

GT.