AmericanMuscleFan

You work too fast for me, Pierre, I don't have time to keep up with you. It's unbelievable how talented you are, it's art, it's astonishingly realistic! I'm going to go and have a look at your Under Glass thread. 😊

Now the engine block in the final stage.

Hello everyone, Tonight, a long-awaited update from several friends who follow my project and who have a preference for the mechanical part, more specifically the engine. What may seem like an easy piece to make is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult with all the intricate details that characterize it. This is not my first engine block and I don't want to deny what I made before, but I sincerely think that this engine block is a big step forward in terms of dimensional accuracy versus a real one. I have done a lot of research on the web and found a large number of documents and technical drawings to guide me and I have followed them as precisely as possible to produce what I have to offer you this evening. There are about 100 hours of work in this piece alone and I couldn't count the number of cuts, rotations, repositioning and tool changes to get to this. I took a ton of pictures but it doesn't make sense to post them all, I'll limit myself to a few but I'll be happy to post the ones that might answer specific questions you might have, if they exist in the ones I took. I wanted to take the time to thank Tim (Codi) for the inspiration and for recommending me to buy a media blasting kit, you were right my friend, it does the job! Technically, the block represents a 528 cu. in. Indy-type racing block, but with some freedom of detail because I found lots of photos with visual differences in most cases. However, the front part which forms the timing gear housing and the water pump inlet/outlet is precise to the thousandth, it was a long job to do. In all modesty, the pictures are not bad but they do not do it justice, it is even more beautiful in real life, I think I have a good basis to continue! Questions or comments are welcome. Francis First, some photos of the machining at different stages of progress.

Cool project Ian, is this 1/16 scale like most of your other projects? Is that engine 3D printed? it looks well detailed by the way.

With the kind of detailed project you're working on, I thought you were a patient guy? 😁 I was waiting for a nice day to unbox my new media blasting kit and try it out on a piece of aluminum. It's a bit your fault if it stretches, you're the one who put it in my head and proved to me how worth it it was! By the way, it's very nice here today........ 😉 Francis Spring is slow to arrive here this year, today is one of the first truly beautiful warm days of spring! On the other hand, I see the end of my modeling season fast approaching, I hope to have something other than the engine block to offer you. The engine block photos are for this week, I promise! 😊 Francis

Good news for your injury, it's reassuring to know that you could avoid surgery. That being said, that doesn't seem to stop you, the work on the fuel pumps is impressive and convincing as usual! The total number of things to make for such a project seems endless, but I see that the machine is well underway again! 😁

Good job Robert, one piece at a time and you will get a very nice engine block, you are on the right track. 👍

WOW Ian, another fantastic Canadian drag car project in progress, your work on the computer to adapt the STL file to your needs is amazing! I don't know this funny car but I'm sure that your usual passion for representing their history will interest us until the end, I'm along for the ride my friend! 😊

Be patient Robert, it's coming, just a few more hours and I'll be able to show you the result. I'm not sure if all the time and work I put into this sole piece is really reasonable, but you don't realize it until you're done. It's promising, though! 😊 Francis

Absolutely stunning work Brian, the wonder seems to have no end and I have no objection to that! 👌

You're just being too harsh on yourself Charlie, everything you do is absolutely fantastic. I'm just making it smaller because of the scale, that's all! I have almost finished machining the engine block, I am in the details if I may say so, I hope to be able to publish the results in the next few days if all goes well. Francis

I understand you Brian, I was lucky enough to buy the socket set for all sizes back in the day before Scalehardware was sold and I don't regret it, they are so useful and effective, especially for the smaller nuts. As for the rubber clips on the cover, have you thought about small O-rings that would be stretched between 2 pins? It certainly wouldn't be the same design as the originals but it would be removable much like the real ones. The result is impressive my friend, no detail is missed ! 👌

Great job Dan, it's impressive! 👍 I don't know who designed these car transporters, but they're quite a piece of engineering! You wouldn't want to accidentally drop it on the ground with that beautiful load of Mopars, that would be a disaster I can't imagine! 😱

That's promising, Brian! 😁 Just kidding, you know, this is another success story in the making, the diamond plate gives them the "real look", it's like wrapping paper on a gift. I also have a photo-etched bender but from a different brand, it's very useful for bending thin aluminum or brass, it creates super straight and precise bends, plus nimble hands, you can never have too many tools, right? 😉

That's a good start Robert! I personally use a lot of internet images mainly to confirm the appearance of certain specific details of the engine block. The kit engine is often a good starting point for validating basic measurements, but I found several technical measurements on various websites, including discussion forums, to guide me. Very few modelers take on a project as ambitious as machining an engine block; it's a much more complicated process than it appears. Your determination is admirable my friend, you need to have fun and set yourself goals that will increase your motivation and your desire to go further in creating your own custom pieces. You seem to be on the right track! 👍