Crew Chief Bill Smith is working on our motor as we speak.  Due to cutbacks in our budget, we have opted to do a home-made motor rather than buy one from a speed shop.  We found a solid Chevy 350 last week.  Bill tore it down to the bare block, then took it to our local technical school, Northwest Technical College (NTC) in Bemidji.  They have a great high performance engine building program.  

First things first, Bill put the bare (and greasy) engine block in large washing tank with caustic solution to degrease it.  Then the block went to an oven to bake away any remaining residues, and dry it thoroughly.  

From there the squeaky clean block went onto a boring and honing machine to freshen the cylinder walls and "deck' the top side--that is,  mill and flatten the surface where the heads fit on.  From boring, our cubic inch displacement went from 350 ci to 360 ci--standard for the Midwest Modified class.  (If you're a true motorhead, see engine machining photos in album.)

Now that the block is bright and shiny and fresh, it's ready for pistons, crankshaft, etc on the bottom end., and the heads and their valve assembly on the top side.  We'll buy a package of "claimer" pistons from Speedway Motors, a great mail-order place down in Lincoln, Nebraska.  (Photos of these will be added later, so you can follow the whole engine building process.)

Let me explain "claimer."  The MIdwest Modified, also called B-Mod, is in a Claiming Class.  That is, another driver can claim our engine if he thinks we're cheating.   He pays us a small fee for our trouble, and we have to take his motor.   This rule is designed to even the playing field, and keep car owners from investing big money in their motors. The larger goal is to keep at least some car classes affordable for all.  

With engines being generally consistent, the emphasis returns to chassis and set-up technology--and of course the driver.  The ultimate goal is to see who is the better driver--not who has the most money to put into an engine.