Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

The stiffer the springs are, the more they will make the pushrods flex. As Mike said, the springs are way too stiff for the pushrods you have. You MAY get by with the proper softer springs and thick wall pushrods. May be worth a try. If that doesn't get you the RPM you need, then you can go to offse...

Cool fact... Crane made/makes? the conversion kits for 351C/400 Fords that converts them to an adjustable valve train. It uses a guide plate with a plastic insert designed to used stock unhardened 5/16" pushrods. I built a BUDGET 400 for a guy... and these things have a really tall 10.297"...

The most important/elusive thing with shaft rockers can be rocker geometry. The rocker height/angle is SET. Changing pushrod length does nothing for geometry. To adjust the geometry, the rocker assembly will need to be raised by adding shims or lowering by milling the stands. If longer valves have b...

Copper has better heat transfer per square inch of surface than aluminum. Not that simple when you consider material thickness, solder joints, paint, etc. Aluminum is cheaper, lighter and works just as well on a radiator that has been well designed. But might not be as durable in a large applicatio...

I agree with the aftermarket block, but not the billet crank....there are plenty of forged cranks out there that will easily handle any hp level you can possibly make and then some....billet are a great option though, but not needed for about 99% of the "general" builds out there.... My l...

Well, it looks pretty. :) X-pipes have to be done RIGHT. The gains (if done right) are fairly minimal, but many think they sound really cool. Do one wrong (by not having enough area at the merge), and it becomes a major restriction and costs a ton of power. When the X-Pipe craze was at its height, I...

what is this Oxalic most commonly sold as? and what is the difference between muriatic and oxalic? Muriatic acid is Hydrochloric acid... which is a strong acid. Oxalic is a weak, organic acid. Muriatic/Hydrochloric acid will attack metals much more aggressively than Oxalic. Do NOT pour HCl into you...

Would that be 9oz of Oxalic powder to 1 gal of water? Thank you 128/9 = 14.2 That's a bit light on the acid. It will work but will take longer. You're a bit off here. You're comparing weight ounces to fluid ounces. 128 fluid ounces per gallon, vs. 9 oz of powder. But it's not that bad, as 1 gallon ...

Many of you guys are trying to come off as 'superior'... but to many hobbyists and car show guys, stroker = low end torque. It would take less than a minute to explain to them that a 406 has the same stroke as a 383, and that the 383 is just a 350 with a 400 stroke. A small amount of respectful educ...

You can still buy the 'Flush and Fill' kits that Tee into the heater hoses (if so equipped) and hook to the garden hose. This allows the use of a more aggressive flush agent, as the garden hose will not only do a good job of MECHANICALLY flushing the block out, but also flushing out all the chemical...

I really like the idea of the underground mufflers. That would kill a TON of sound. Was figuring they would just rust out in no time, but the concrete culverts mentioned above are genius! Even an underground concrete box/cistern/septic tank would work great. Add some water to the bottom for even bet...

PSI drop in a filter depends on the media, thickness of the oil and flow rate. The thicker the oil, and the higher the rate... the more media the engine needs. As for oil viscosity: Absolute perfect ISO 9000 style machining where tolerances are held to within a tenth in every parameter for every par...

Phasing, go for sound, if you want a V16 even as it can be fire, couple it at 45 degrees, if you want the sound of two V8's in unison couple at zero degree. On the PowerNation Horsepower show where they coupled two 600 hp Big Block Chevys, they said it was easier on the starter, and it spun over a ...

8.7" is generally used as an alternative to the 8.2" for building 363-385 engines and maintaining a decent rod length.
Guys wanting max cubes will go with a 9.5" deck.

Found this pic I took a long time ago when repairing a 289 head that cracked. A thin spot in the bowl cracked, so I drilled a hole between the valves, cleaned the spot really well from the WATER JACKET side of the crack (as well as the port side) and added a thin layer of JB Weld on both sides of sa...