Top Shop Challenge - Engine Building Contest

You Could Be The Winner Of This Custom-Built Engine!Go To SyntecTopShop.com and Vote For Your Favorite Engine

We're down to crunch time with only a few weeks to finish our Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge engine buildup. This engine build is one of the most fun projects that we've done in a while.

In the "Head Games" article (October issue) we showed you how Jerry took a new set of Trick Flow heads and took them apart, the reason being because we wanted to polish them, not because the heads needed to be gone through. This month, Jerry tackles the assembling of the long-block and leaving it ready for final assembly. We decided prep the engine and then candy painted the block using SEM custom colors. Touches like this were being done to separate us from the rest, since you know we are all about the paint and chrome. Soon people are going to know we are also about the need for speed, because our engine is going to get fully blinged out with some serious horsepower for the competition.

Jerry has been putting together this engine in stages and, after allowing the paint to dry, he assembled the Lunati bottom end. This Lunati billet crank was used to help the engine stay together with all of the torque that the Trick Flow heads and Comp turbos put out. Once Jerry finished the bottom end, he got the Castrol Syntec Lowrider engine ready for the final assembly and tuning.

Remember to go online and vote for your favorite Lowrider engine at www.SyntecTopShop.com; once there you can register for a chance to win this engine. Look out for next month's installment where we wrap up the complete build, including spending some time on the dyno at Westech Performance in Mira Loma, California.

The Castrol Syntec engine...        read full caption The Castrol Syntec engine block ready to be assembled.	Jerry added the freeze plugs...        read full caption Jerry added the freeze plugs to this heavy-duty World engine block.	To keep it traditional, a...        read full caption To keep it traditional, a Candyapple Red over a silver base was used for the color of the engine.
With the World block gutted,...        read full caption With the World block gutted, it was completely masked off. We then used some high-heat primer that will allow the custom SEM candy to adhere to the engine block.	While the engine block dried,...        read full caption While the engine block dried, Jerry pulled off the mock-up heads that were dropped in temporarily so we wouldn't ruin the polished Trick Flow heads we're actually going to use. Once the SEM paint had cured and dried for 48 hours the heavy-duty World block was ready to be assembled.	Here is a view of the engine...        read full caption Here is a view of the engine block before the bearings and bottom end went into it.
The billet Lunati crank was...        read full caption The billet Lunati crank was ready to go in after it was machined and balanced.	These Lunati connecting rods...        read full caption These Lunati connecting rods were used to connect the pistons and crank. Jerry used the CP pistons that were custom-made for our application and specs. The piston pin will keep the rod in place.	The piston rings that hold...        read full caption The piston rings that hold the compression had to be shortened and fitted one at a time.
Jerry started off by carefully...        read full caption Jerry started off by carefully installing the Comp Cam's hydraulic roller cam.	Jerry installed the crank...        read full caption Jerry installed the crank bearings.	The heavy-duty, four-bolt...        read full caption The heavy-duty, four-bolt main caps were installed and tightened. This style cap helps prevent the bearing from spinning.
These spiral clips lock the...        read full caption These spiral clips lock the pin in place, allowing the piston to connecting rod to stay together.	The pistons and connecting...        read full caption The pistons and connecting rods were dropped in one at a time. These pistons all went in smoothly.	Using ARP fasteners ensured...        read full caption Using ARP fasteners ensured that the strongest fasteners would keep the engine together.
As Jerry assembled the crank...        read full caption As Jerry assembled the crank assembly, he had to manually turn it throughout the process.	The valvetrain valley was...        read full caption The valvetrain valley was cleaned and ready to have the roller lifters put on.	One of the last things to...        read full caption One of the last things to go on this month was the Summit oil filter adaptor, which is designed to flow oil through the filter faster.
Every bolt used on the engine...        read full caption Every bolt used on the engine had to be torqued to spec.	The bottom end crank was fully...        read full caption The bottom end crank was fully assembled and only needed the oil pump, which would be installed later.	The Milodon dual roller timing...        read full caption The Milodon dual roller timing chain was bolted on and good to go.