I've been in this trade 26 year. Worked on some of the most expensive cars around. Spent a few years restoring Ferraris. I never heard a better explanation than this. I've always gravitated to the old school guys that have this knowledge, as I feel an obligation to pass it on. Such good content here.
This is way better than a great video. Hey Tony why don't you go one step further. and explain how things like degreeing a cam, rather than just droping it in can help immensely and that all these things in unison can do many things beside lowering ET's. They can increase Horse Power & Torque and even increase MPG's.
Same here, I can definitely tell by talking to other car people that each generation loses important historical information from the past. All I can do is pass on what I learned and hope it sinks in, I think some of it does for sure.
I have to tell you, I was watching some vintage NASCAR videos from the late 60’s. They had coverage from the pits and the garages. They had stock motors with stock intake manifolds and stock exhaust manifolds. Those cars would do 170mph around those super tracks for hours. After seeing that, I knew, a solid stock motor can kick some serious butt.
What I absolutely enjoy about UTG’s channel is that he not only teaches us, he takes the time to actually explain in detail everything and he makes us feel part of the work shop. Tony, you can’t believe how strong those closing words “I’ll see you tomorrow” are. It takes us right there. Thanks for having the patience to school us all, even the stubborn guys in the back of the shop.
You are never rambling Uncle Tony. You are true practitioner of what you love to do. Hobbyist and wannabees ramble because they rarely practice nor apply what they preach and seldom research as deep as you do. You love to teach your craft and are not a braggart. The world needs more Uncle Tony's in it. Thanks for your videos. 🔧🏁🏆
I look at it like this…when we were kids we saved for the Monogram, AMT, or Revel model kit of choice and a) built the kit out of the box, without trimming the sprue and flashing from the parts. Did it look like the box top? Not even close. Only after b) cleaning the parting lines, sanding, painting and tweaking components and paying attention to the details does it resemble the picture, ie:blueprint
Tony, I did a project with that same intake. Very rusty and dirty. I spent hours cleaning, gasket matching, EGR and crossover deleting, and then painting that intake. It was WAY more fun than just picking up an aluminum intake to replace it! I was so much more proud of it when it was installed and running. That is why I watch your channel, because you do things that way too.
Uncle Tony, this video just made my decade. It is now my all time favorite, and one I will share every time the subject comes up. I have been an Engineer since around 2002 until now, but for twelve years I worked at one of the largest global aftermarket parts companies, and largest in their industry, and had to struggle to get this point across to my boss and a few other Engineers. I gave your same soapbox speech to my boss countless times with only a small movement in his attitude about it. I finally had to secretly give this information to our CAD Operators so that they would have an understanding that Design Intent was different than the results of a production part. First you determine the most likely used standard of measure being used (metric or imperial), then determine the most likely dimension on the OEM drawing, which we were not privileged to see. We had to make true educated guesses using multiple variables, then set proper tolerances, which were in the realm of potability, affordable, and didn't result in stacking . Thank you for making this video. I will use it for educating anyone in the future who thinks a production part has all the perfect dimensions needed to make multiple parts without a steady stream of returns. I think you know about that. Honest....It wasn't me. :0)
I can say from my own personal experience that doing just the porting on a friend's Honda B18A1 on factory intake and head made a big difference in performance. That is a 1.8 liter, dual overhead cam non-VTEC 4 cylinder. He had also gasket matched the intake and exhaust ports on the head, and even before tuning the car ran stronger. Massaging stock parts really can make a huge difference, it nuts. That said, my friend's engine has been taken much further since then, with higher compression, a ported VTEC head and a ported Skunk2 intake manifold with a Skunk2 70mm throttle body, but he was shocked at the difference just massaging the stock parts made.
An old Gear head told my he got a new Vett probably late 50's pulled the 283 and port polished everything and did a nice balance job . It ran perfectly. Lasted forever.
I once owned a 65 Plymouth satellite 426 wedge and always thought it was a special car that came down the line and everything was just right, good mileage, amazingly fast, and Very smooth, I owned 13 Big Block Mopars and none were like that one.
Yeah I've had a couple cars like that That I regretted selling cause I thought just cause it was my car The way it ran And stuff I did and then I got another one and was disappointed same engine same everything not Is the same it's like the B team came in hung over on the assembly line On saturday
My dad has a similar story about his Roadrunner. “Fastest bone stock car I ever owned”. He raced it and the only car that ever beat him was a worked 427 Chevelle by a fender. Said there wasn’t anything special about it. 383/4 speed post car. Compression wasn’t any higher than normal. But everything was just right and it absolutely flew
I had a 72 Chevelle with a 350. Completely stock. It always started even at 50F below. It was quite fast and could get 18 mpg when I was careful. It didn't take a ton of work to build another car that would beat it, but in stock form, it was impressive.
While blueprinting is everything Tony said, it is also producing a speck sheet of what you did and how you did it so you can reproduce it. As well as that when what you did brakes, it can be repaired in such a way as to restore things back to the way you did it. An example would be building a 351W, with 302 heads that was ported polished and had the head bolt holes enlarged to accept 351W head bolt’s or studs. And that you used intake gaskets for a 302, with oil galley gaskets from a 351W for X reason whatever X reason specific is.
Back in the late 60s I owned a '57 Dodge Coronet (I was 18). Very clean, lower miler with a 325. I got a 361 hp (like Tont has there) from an old Desoto. I rebuilt it using standard bearings. After Plastiguage it was a little wide but all the crank surfaces were very good. Let's call it "mileage clearanced". Slapped on a windage tray (a very new deal at the time) and used a couple of Dick Landy Clinic tricks. I set the distributor timing by lugging up the steep hills to get incipient knock. A local trans shop removed a couple of the springs for the first to second upshift on the old cast iron Torqueflite making that pretty crisp. After I broke it in I got into a street race with a then new 383 Roadrunner, manual trans, and beat him three out of three. One on the jump, and two on the roll. That was a pretty spicy old Deso 361. The guy riding shotgun almost pissed himself. Road Runners were legendary even then.
Hey Tony, Tim here, the Aussie dude, needs to go back to school........he mite build hi-power engines in Austrailia, but he's NEVER dealt with Stock Eliminator!!!!.......we both know, blueprinting can yield LOTS of power......i'm a S.E. schooled dude......my Poncho KICKS ASS for what it is, cuz thoughtful attention to detail was how it went together......cant help Aussie man, and you explaining SHUD help a bit......you explained it well!!!....nice job sir!!!....PEACE TO YOU!!
Blue printing is like working out your body . Your stock body can be improved by running or lifting weights etc. You absolutely explained it perfectly . Hell you can blueprint a slot car . Thankyou sir .
Love the mindset when presenting this info to us. Not one specific model or brand. Universal useful knowledge to keep these older engines alive and preforming well. Thanks UTG!
Excellent description of blueprinting. I started hearing the term a little over 40 years ago when I was a kid and eventually I came to the conclusion, when it came to engines, it was about refining and fine tuning the parts to flow better, like port matching, polishing the passages, etc…
That’s great insight into the philosophy of how someone could squeeze all the performance and reliability out of their vehicle without going nuts on aftermarket everything. Cool stuff!
Back in the day it was common to hear folks (employees, so they'd know) say "never buy a car that came down the line on a Friday". The thinking was that since the car was built on a Friday and a good number of those on the line would end up being half in the bag during their shift, Friday cars could well be a sub-standard product
The book "Wheels" explains this concept. You wanted a car built on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Workers would get paid on Thursday, after their shift and would be "half in the bag" on Friday, and "hungover" the following Monday. My mom told me about this book in the 1970's.
This is true I knew a couple friends of mine that used to work at the old Ford plant in St.paul MN years ago and they were telling me that a lot of people go outside for their lunch break and slam as many beers as they could & smoke dope then come back in & go back to work . I remember seeing on the local news that people were buying the new trucks and would notice noises coming from the doors and took them into the dealership to find out what was making the noise and they were finding empty pop cans tools and garbage thrown into the doors by the workers and this was the late 70's just before they got laid off of work for a while. That plant is long gone now but it at one time was the oldest Ford plant still running at the time & that there are tunnels under where the plant was that were used to mine the sand out to be used to make the glass & windshields going way back to the cars and trucks from the 20's & 30's . The last Trucks to be built in that plant were the small Ford Ranger and Bronco from the 90s until it was shut down permanently because it wasn't cost effective to rebuild & update the whole plant so it was shut down and sat for years until it was demolished and the land sold .
The original owner of my house (and my employer at the time I bought it from him) had been a lead maintenance electrician at Dodge Main. He ordered a car from Dodge on the employee purchase program and then he got to pick the car he wanted and watch it as it was built. Because each department wanted to keep him happy they all went out of their way to build him the best car that could be built...the engine guys basically built him a factory balanced and blue printed engine (every part hand selected)...transmission guys the same thing, suspension, interior, ect.... He said that was the best car he ever had and when he finally replaced it it still ran like a top.
What I love about your videos is that not only do you cover the subject, you drop so many other nuggets of info that are pertinent to hot rodding. Thanks Uncle Tony and Godspeed!
People seem to forget that the origins of true hotrods is making more from less. Using and modifying recycled parts to make them better. You don't need to by everything new. There's a satisfaction of making things better without the need of always going the new or latest trend route. There's Rat Rods, custom builds and everything in between.
A max effort factory, stock car! This is how my dad built cars, use factory parts, but from different cars, and modify them to improve performance, some would look like a stock 327/350, but make nearly 400hp , used 302 intake and cam on a 350, it was stout, with decent heads, ports cleaned up matched, the duntov 30/30 cams were a bit spicy also, we even though about angle milling some heads, great video , I can dig modified parts , even stock parts!! ✌️
And of today's video the reason why I love this channel, the 3-6minute It's the run what you got, it you only have stock , make it the best of stock that you can
Completely agree with using what you have. Gasket matched and cleaned up bowls etc. Intake heater passage blocked. Exhaust manifolds gasket matched and cleaned up. Cam installed correctly. 1968 GTS 340 4 speed 3.23 rear gear. Used 1987 Goodyear gatorbacks on cop wheels. 12.98 @110 in 1987. I was 17 years old and just absorbed your magazines knowledge and all the direct connection material I could find. Reading and comprehending is the cheapest horsepower.
Your idea of manufacturing slop was why we looked for "Tonawanda no1 Team" on our Chevy engines. They were always the best motors. My 68 396 325hp Chevelle had a Tonawanda built engine and it ran 14.4's all day long. Bone stock with a TH400 and 3.23 rear.
I was born and grew up in North Tonawanda. The engine plant was huge. If you knew the right people, you could get all sorts of goodies that never were sold retail.Thats from Chevy experiments, back in the 60s and 70s mostly.
A 428 CJ in C/S we used an iron factory intake, which weighs 85lbs. The car ran on the top of the index. Blueprinted pieces can have tricks that the factory put in to it as you said they were cast very precisely. The parts have been handed down from racer to racer. You can’t pull a schlupped together 428 from a wrecked Mustang and run the time. The engine you build has the best parts that were passed by Farmer Dismuke numerous times. This C/SA Mustang is pulling 18 inch wheelies and running 10.60. That’s what gets it done. Thanks Tony. Many people have no idea how much it takes in little things to make a 385 hp factored 428CJ to be able to blow out an index that way and do 18 inch wheelies with an all iron engine in probably the toughest Sportsman class in NHRA. Blueprinting. Bumper to Bumper Carb to oil pan.
When the planets aligned at the factory in 1967, my friend’s Plymouth Fury w/ 318 was being built. As bad as a factory engine could be with the stacking of tolerances turning ugly, there is the rare moment when the gaps are what was drawn up. Bob ate 383s for lunch. We were amazed, and Bob was quite amused when his dad’s Fury walked away from our 383 Polara (which I am convinced was built on a Tuesday after a three day weekend). Thanks for poking that part of my memory.
I'm glad you discussed this topic. Now I have a clearer understanding of what that means. Year's ago I would hear some guys talking about this and quite frankly I don't think they really understood the real definition.
Does anyone remember Grump Bill Jenkins? He was a master drag racer from the 50' and 60's He was Chevrolets go to guy. G M would send him 50 sets of heads, he would pick the best 5 sets, and rock the stock rankings of pure stock.This was common in the 60's.
Bill Jenkins actually started out drag racing Mopars in the early days then switched to Chevrolet . It took him a few years to finally beat the Hemi guys later on when using a SBC in a Vega which I never understood why the rule changed from mandated original type engines being used at that time because the Vega never ever came stock from the factory with a V8 in them . All you had for engine options for the Vega was that lowly pile of crap that wore out quick that burned & leaked oil knew this because I had one and the other option was the HP Vega with the Cosworth engine which are rare . Another great engine builder was Smokey Yunick and I bought his book he had years ago on how to Design & blue print engines for racing which I still have to this day . He even went as far as showing the differences of 3 small block engines the SBC SBF and Chryslers 340 and how some were better designed and built & showed the best engine blue printing mods for each of these engines to be used for racing so if you can find this book buy it because it's a good read & it will definitely be handy when it comes time to build a solid performing engine .
I remember an Australian motor mag testing new Holden Brock Commodore V8 cars, 82 SS 5.0L and the testers getting a few examples to belt around and one tester related exactly what you're talking about. The 5.0s were hand built from memory with heads derived from the touring car race program. This guy said one test car went quite a bit harder than the rest and shaved a significant few 10ths off the quarter times of the other cars. Moral of the story Is the technician who screwed that mill together had the combo of parts that exceeded the claimed manufacturers performance expectations. In 1982 the VH Group 3 - 5.0L V8 4 speed manual ran 0 to 100 kmh in 6.7 secs and 0 to 400m in 14.7 secs ( zero to 60 and 1/4 mile) not to shabby for the time. At just a shade over 19k aud new, these cars in excellent condition now command well into 6 figures. The tester's conclusion, "this car is one out of the box"
...after he retired around commercial jet G.S.E. , he had gained experience with other makes/models that were "pre-electronic/computer control systems" We have a '90 Dodge Ram D-150 Long bed P/U and hope to get it running under O.E.M. design...it does not have to pass emissions, and can be modified slightly...the 318c.i.(5.2l) is at 98k+ original miles...and he says he can easily do an "in frame rebuild" ...and hopefully a nearby local machine shop can still supply a complete basic O.E.M. rebuild kit... Keep up the sharing videos... God will bless you for helping retired fixed income seniors like us here in FPK GA!! HAPPIEST NEW 2024!🎉
You keep talking about it Uncle Tony. Old fellas such as we, learned all this the hard way. It's great to pass along knowledge to the upcoming generations
I moved on from the vintage car hobby but I could listen to Uncle Tony talk all day. He thinks clearly and expresses himself so well. Truly comfort food for the motorhead.
Thanks for all that you do, Uncle Tony! Your explanation of blueprinting, and how your content covers many makes and models is spot on. I'm in the process of doing a mild build on my first car, a 1972 Gremlin X with the 258 straight six, and I'm using a lot of ideas that I got from you!
UNCLE TONY! WE LOVE YOU MAN!!! Every time you put out a video. It ALWAYS has cracking information in it! In all honesty bud! You are a font of great information to say the least!!! Thanks again bud for your awesome informative videos!!!❤❤
Uncle Tony I want to thank you, your philosophy and teaching is what makes me watch your channel. I’m from Brazil and given our limited resources and an almost cult of VW classics, any engine from a different brand is usually a pain to work with, so many times blueprinting is not only a cheaper alternative, it’s the only one! So any knowledge of yours is worth a lot to us! Thank you for taking your time to record and share what you have, we really appreciate it
I love you explanation about the idea and the original draft to the manufacturing process. It's well-known about tolerances from the factory. Thank you for articulating that. It's gold Tony.
Living on a farm, the highway way the closest activity. On many still days, you could always tell when a highway patrol caught someone going over the Jimmy Carter 55 MPH speed limit. The trooper would pull off the road, check traffic and nail his Plymouth Satellite with their 383 Golden Commando, spread bore Carter AFB, and whoosh thru into second gear, then third and gear and hear the sirens crack on for a couple of seconds. They guy was caught. I will never forget that sound! DK, Omaha. ASE Master Retired.
Been wrenching since the early 70’s. Never got into building power. Alternative fuels and paying bills took priority. However, when I rebuilt my personal autos. I did what you are speaking about. I called it blue printing and balancing back then! 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve always considered blueprinting to be all Of what Tony talks About and to go beyond that is to Measure and write down every part That goes into the engine. All the rod bearings and main bearings. Piston to wall clearance and ring end gaps this all is recorded into a binder and this is your “bible” that you take to the track and use as a note book for tuning to keep track of what’s been done and what the results of said tuning was. Then when the time comes to freshen stuff up you can compare the before and after Sizes alone with any new installed parts. I do believe this is the proper way of blueprinting your engine.
I really love the back story; the difference between factory burrs and casting crud vs polished & ported. I heard blueprinting is to detect cracks and balancing is grinding the parts untill they balance. Determining that balance point alludes me.
Jim’s Automotive Machine Shop Incorporated JUST put out a great vid on balancing a GM rotating assembly a few hours ago. Great vid. Great channel. Check it out, may answer your questions
Tony, I think there's a little language barrier between you and that engine builder in Australia. When I was at Meadowbank TAFE learning to wrench in the late '80s, the definition of "blueprint" was to get the parts exactly as the plans indicate. Not to fit them together better, or even as the designer _intended,_ but exactly as it says - for every part to precisely match its design blueprint, even if there was an error or non-optimal fit. What you're doing, we would probably have called " matching and fitting", rather than blueprinting - same thing, different terminology. Not that "blueprinting" isn't also used in the same way you mean it - usually at the pub after work. But that's in the vernacular, and a good builder usually sticks to the precise definition, rather than the idiomatic.
Nice! In manufacturing, production stackups can produce minimum performance parts and maximum performance parts (still in production tolerances - low end vs high end). One of the things a manufacturer can do is send parts to their test lab to make min/max performance parts and then test them to see if the minimum part will still meet the performance parameters and the maximum part meets nvh and other specs (ie too much fuel pressure). All of this can take place within the tolerances set by the engineer for manufacturability.
Another bench racing term that drove me crazy was "Three quarter Racing Cam". I used to wonder, which two cylinders don't get the use of the cam, or do two cylinders still use the stock cam. Either way the logistics are impossible for my simple mind to grasp. Don't get me started on "Bolt on application, no modification needed."
Good timing for this video. Just last week we were die-grinding out the casting imperfections on a friends motor. Motor is skyline inline 6, ground head and exhaust manifold for better flow. The imperfections are numerous and some case extreme. Yes,the motor type does not matter, the work is the same!
I didn't hear any rambling. I love the way you explain things Tony. I've been building what I hope to be a wicked 41 plymouth. A lot of my inspiration and knowledge has come from watching your videos. Hats off to you sir, don't ever stop making these vids!
Sticking to the middle of the specs ensures that after the break in period the MPG and then power also meets specs. It takes about 1500 to 2000 miles of easy does it. To get it done right. I broke in a lot of test vehicles for Ford. I got picked to break in Bullitt number 2 and number 7. Boring but necessary. Wonderful driving machine, if you can drive a stick. It also makes it's own special music. So yes building a engine and a few thousands of here and does add up. My 1st build was a ford 292. I found out closer is not better. But did Ford cherry pick the engines for the Bullitt? I did not ask. I also was not allowed to drive it like I owned it. 20,000 miles later. Better? You have to ask the exec that got them after testing was done.
I've blueprinted aluminum V8 race blocks, putting the lifter bores in a position with tighter tolerance than the manufacturer. Same with cylinder bores, main bores etc, and literally everything machined, tighten up the tolerance making it closer to perfect. Accuracy- hitting the mark Precision- hitting the mark consistently Thats what wins along with balancing and carrying no extra weight
I found myself nodding along with this video so much so I think I hurt myself. Kidding aside you are the perfect guy to explain this stuff because you've learned all the tricks over what I am sure was a helluva lot of learning moments and you like to teach so that thousands of engine D.I.Yers can escape those pitfalls. Tony, you are a true master. If you doubt me consider how many shops are able to partner with David Wizard, I mean Vizard. Love your stuff and I subbed when I first found you about two years ago. Bravo, Sir!
I understand exactly what you mean I had an 1983 Volkswagen rabbit gti 1.8 8 valve and that's exactly what I did. I cleaned and smoothed out intake n exhaust helped it to breathe more with out spending alot of money just spent a little time and holy cow the difference that made
Tony, I love your attitude with this build. I've been trying to get people to understand what you're doing for a long time, it's nice to see the progression. So many people just bolt on aluminum heads headers and Aluminum Intake and then fuel injection and they go this is what it'll make after spending 10 grand rather than showing you that with an intake it makes this much power, or headers and exhaust will affect it like this, I could Port the head and make this much power, etcetera.
I recall a 1972 Plymouth Duster 340 that was dipping into the high 12's. Didn't take long and one of the magazines figured out the thing had 488 gears in it. It was actually topping out at it's maximum speed by the end of the quarter mile. That car was a real ringer, you could not buy a 1972 Duster 340 4-speed car with 488 gears from the factory. Chrysler probably pulled this kind of thing more than any other manufacturer, but they did all do this stuff for bragging rights. Even AMC.
Thanks for the explanation on blueprinting. The engineer lives in the theoretical world when designing which eventually meets the reality of fabrication. There will be differences. Blueprinting is the effort to minimize or eliminate these differences. Also I appreciate your approach in discussing engine practices from a general perspective and not with the constraints of brand names. I believe there is far more value to that type dialog.
Back in the 70s blueprinting was explained to me exactly in this manner. I can only guess that the info shared on the internet noise machine has added a ton of bad information since. Thanks for clarity and quality. Great channel. Subscribed.
There's this product called dragy, it's essentially a gps based trap and tree working in conjunction with a smart phone. Produces a full time slip accurate to 1/100th of a second. You could use it to be a happy medium for data collection. Not a dyno or drag track but testing the mule would leave good evidence, between the gps data and video of the launch and 60 foot. It's 170 bucks or so, about to send my dad one for a bench mark lol. Trying to make a turbo miata that stacks up, the plan is to push it to where the stock 5 speed and dif are almost grenades and then cut weight. factory 96 miata and 66 mustang fastback 289 had the same weight to horsepower. He has serious cams, msd ignition and know how, I'm using youtube, forums and as little money as possible.
Tony, thanks for that awesome explanation! That makes so much sense to me now. Never quite understood the term blueprinting when it came to engines and now the entire car for that matter. Really enjoy your channel. Keep up the great work of sharing knowledge, especially old-school Muscle car knowledge!
Well said Uncle Tony... its those tolerances here and there that stock up to sloppy performance... I think at my age those tolerances are stocking up.... Dooohhhh!
See there's always new things to learn and consider in this hobby. The "bought not built" crowd (especially Mopar rivet counters) tends to rag on Tony for being a shadetree-gone-rougue and just making stuff work... and more often than not they're forgetting the human aspect, the error aspect, inherent in everything mechanical. The unexpected flaws, the effects of grafity and inertia on things that work fine when static. Always good to talk theory. Love ya, Tony!
I'm working on stroking a 460 out to whatever I decide then using factory iron heads and intake. I don't want a high rpm engine, I want that stump pulling low end torque. I just have to improve the heads and intake to let in and expel more air. Because we all know big block Ford factory heads tend to suck on the exhaust side.
I've learnt loads about points, coils engine building and bottle of gas tricks that have came in handy with my a series 4 banger in my mini. All thanks to this channel.
Tony, Parts Blueprinting is Enhancing. A.K.A. Improving. A.K.A. Attention to detail. A.K.A. Reworking a component to it's best capable form. We who have done it know what it is. Definitions are varied and semantic. The same can be said of Assembly Techniques.
I saw those comments after I watched the video this morning. For the first one you mentioned...You could almost build a complete 350 Chevy for the price of an aluminum intake for a 361 Chrysler...I'm exaggerating of course but, my point is that, more often than not, the budget plays the biggest part in any build. Using what you have on hand is a necessity for most of us. For the second one...All "blueprinted" engines are modified from stock in some way. Measurements are taken, parts such as bearings are swapped to get tolerances where you want them. Heads, intakes etc. are "massaged" in various ways to make them flow at their best. I could go on. Not every engine is, or even needs to be blueprinted to such extremes as race engines but, even just gasket matching intake and head ports us indeed part of it.
Also help explain another term. Align Boring and Align Honing. Which are commonly mistakenly called Line Boring/honing. The purpose is to re-ALIGN bores in a row. Such as crankshaft main bores and camshaft bores, anything that needs to align precisely. Let’s teach the world Tony!! Lol
Your discussion on why one car performs better than the other, the car built on a thursday arvo, its pay day and everyone wants to go to the hotel after work, and they were tired. So things may have been rushed on the engine line. Yet on Monday morning everyone was well rested, alert, and more careful on the assembly. So here in Australia, we call the better performing car, as a Monday car.
One of the best all time ringers was the 1964 GTO Motor Trend road test. Motor was a 421 tri power balanced/blue printed by Royal Pontiac, not the 389.
Thank you for taking the time to explain that stuff it's very interesting. I believe the term you are talking about is referred to as "tolerance stacking" .... in any event thanks again UTG. ✌
The 1972 TQ non EGR valve provision but first generation EGR with exhaust orifices below the carb, those have to be plugged! You can see how to grind the early Thermo Quad manifold comparing the two. That's why the newer EGR manifolds are recommended, a plate can replace the valve and seal off the exhaust. The lower plane plenum on the secondary side is improved too.
Go behind the practise to the theory. Go behind the theory to the philosophy of thinking why you are going to do something with the engine. The engine is waiting. Yep this episode is one of the best ever, thanks.
My older brother was a mechanic diesel trucks car's and autos foreign and American. He did some stock car racing and he would perfect part's. He'd fix a water pump or oil pump instead of swapping it for another fuel pumps windshield wiper motors. Etc. he was that into it. Uncle Tony reminds me of my older brother how he talks his personality. He died and I miss him. He predicted light's would be LED. More turbos smaller engines. Smaller lighter car's and Monacoch bodies with crumple zones and he loved simpler cars. He got a 327 Chevy to get over 50 mpg tried to patent a mesh screen inside the intake manifold to atomize the air (fuel) mixture he told me I retarded the timing. They bought his effective idea and shelved it of course. He improved a coffee maker. After suing a Chinese company. He made money off suit. Because it caught fire and he improved it's design the Chinese company copied his design. He would fix any and everything he truly was genius. His name was Frankie. He worked on my motorcycle and All of my dad's car's brothers his friends. He also did HVAC/R. Service and installing. He was amazing.
I remember an article I read in Hot Rod (probably Hot Rod or a similar magazine) that discussed what Tony is talking about in this video. The article stated that many of the cars Motor Trend magazine tested back in the day were probably blueprinted by the factory to provide the best performance available in stock form. All the manufacturers wanted to look good in the eyes of potential customers and there may even been a little "enhancing" the stock cars, lol.
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I've been in this trade 26 year. Worked on some of the most expensive cars around. Spent a few years restoring Ferraris. I never heard a better explanation than this. I've always gravitated to the old school guys that have this knowledge, as I feel an obligation to pass it on. Such good content here.
The old guys do know something ay.
This is way better than a great video. Hey Tony why don't you go one step further. and explain how things like degreeing a cam, rather than just droping it in can help immensely and that all these things in unison can do many things beside lowering ET's. They can increase Horse Power & Torque and even increase MPG's.
I’m a carpenter by trade for 25 yrs and I’ve always and still do learn from the grey haired dudes
Same here, I can definitely tell by talking to other car people that each generation loses important historical information from the past. All I can do is pass on what I learned and hope it sinks in, I think some of it does for sure.
This is the whole meaning of this channel. Low buck building what ya got and making it better. Refining what you have.!! UTG for life!!
blueprinting isn't necessarly low buck . UTG is spot on .
Like how u show the affordable side of doing things . U can have fun without spending nascar money
Yes! I agree guys! That’s why I bought my car! Thank you Uncle Tony !
Hes a Mopar guy. They LOVE to help
I agree Tony is the hid and seek champion wen it comes to horse power lol
I have to tell you, I was watching some vintage NASCAR videos from the late 60’s. They had coverage from the pits and the garages. They had stock motors with stock intake manifolds and stock exhaust manifolds. Those cars would do 170mph around those super tracks for hours. After seeing that, I knew, a solid stock motor can kick some serious butt.
What I absolutely enjoy about UTG’s channel is that he not only teaches us, he takes the time to actually explain in detail everything and he makes us feel part of the work shop. Tony, you can’t believe how strong those closing words “I’ll see you tomorrow” are. It takes us right there.
Thanks for having the patience to school us all, even the stubborn guys in the back of the shop.
I hadn't ever thought about it when he says "see you tomorrow", but you're right! I feel as if I should be there turning wrenches and helping.
Blueprinting is the perfect word for as the saying goes, "built, not bought"
You are never rambling Uncle Tony. You are true practitioner of what you love to do. Hobbyist and wannabees ramble because they rarely practice nor apply what they preach and seldom research as deep as you do. You love to teach your craft and are not a braggart. The world needs more Uncle Tony's in it. Thanks for your videos. 🔧🏁🏆
I could listen to this man "ramble" for hours he is a fountain of automotive knowledge
I look at it like this…when we were kids we saved for the Monogram, AMT, or Revel model kit of choice and a) built the kit out of the box, without trimming the sprue and flashing from the parts. Did it look like the box top? Not even close. Only after b) cleaning the parting lines, sanding, painting and tweaking components and paying attention to the details does it resemble the picture, ie:blueprint
Tony, I did a project with that same intake. Very rusty and dirty. I spent hours cleaning, gasket matching, EGR and crossover deleting, and then painting that intake. It was WAY more fun than just picking up an aluminum intake to replace it! I was so much more proud of it when it was installed and running. That is why I watch your channel, because you do things that way too.
I kind of like it when Uncle Tony gets on on a rant and rambling about a topic I start learning.
Uncle Tony, this video just made my decade. It is now my all time favorite, and one I will share every time the subject comes up. I have been an Engineer since around 2002 until now, but for twelve years I worked at one of the largest global aftermarket parts companies, and largest in their industry, and had to struggle to get this point across to my boss and a few other Engineers. I gave your same soapbox speech to my boss countless times with only a small movement in his attitude about it. I finally had to secretly give this information to our CAD Operators so that they would have an understanding that Design Intent was different than the results of a production part. First you determine the most likely used standard of measure being used (metric or imperial), then determine the most likely dimension on the OEM drawing, which we were not privileged to see. We had to make true educated guesses using multiple variables, then set proper tolerances, which were in the realm of potability, affordable, and didn't result in stacking .
Thank you for making this video. I will use it for educating anyone in the future who thinks a production part has all the perfect dimensions needed to make multiple parts without a steady stream of returns. I think you know about that. Honest....It wasn't me. :0)
I can say from my own personal experience that doing just the porting on a friend's Honda B18A1 on factory intake and head made a big difference in performance. That is a 1.8 liter, dual overhead cam non-VTEC 4 cylinder. He had also gasket matched the intake and exhaust ports on the head, and even before tuning the car ran stronger. Massaging stock parts really can make a huge difference, it nuts. That said, my friend's engine has been taken much further since then, with higher compression, a ported VTEC head and a ported Skunk2 intake manifold with a Skunk2 70mm throttle body, but he was shocked at the difference just massaging the stock parts made.
An old Gear head told my he got a new Vett probably late 50's pulled the 283 and port polished everything and did a nice balance job . It ran perfectly. Lasted forever.
Porting is an amazing way to add free power.
I once owned a 65 Plymouth satellite 426 wedge and always thought it was a special car that came down the line and everything was just right, good mileage, amazingly fast, and Very smooth, I owned 13 Big Block Mopars and none were like that one.
I am a chevy guy but once you start with the best stuff you cant go back
I started with ford cars with crown vics
Yeah I've had a couple cars like that That I regretted selling cause I thought just cause it was my car The way it ran And stuff I did and then I got another one and was disappointed same engine same everything not Is the same it's like the B team came in hung over on the assembly line On saturday
My dad has a similar story about his Roadrunner. “Fastest bone stock car I ever owned”. He raced it and the only car that ever beat him was a worked 427 Chevelle by a fender. Said there wasn’t anything special about it. 383/4 speed post car. Compression wasn’t any higher than normal. But everything was just right and it absolutely flew
Betcha wish you still had that car today...
I had a 72 Chevelle with a 350. Completely stock. It always started even at 50F below. It was quite fast and could get 18 mpg when I was careful. It didn't take a ton of work to build another car that would beat it, but in stock form, it was impressive.
While blueprinting is everything Tony said, it is also producing a speck sheet of what you did and how you did it so you can reproduce it. As well as that when what you did brakes, it can be repaired in such a way as to restore things back to the way you did it. An example would be building a 351W, with 302 heads that was ported polished and had the head bolt holes enlarged to accept 351W head bolt’s or studs. And that you used intake gaskets for a 302, with oil galley gaskets from a 351W for X reason whatever X reason specific is.
Back in the late 60s I owned a '57 Dodge Coronet (I was 18). Very clean, lower miler with a 325. I got a 361 hp (like Tont has there) from an old Desoto. I rebuilt it using standard bearings. After Plastiguage it was a little wide but all the crank surfaces were very good. Let's call it "mileage clearanced". Slapped on a windage tray (a very new deal at the time) and used a couple of Dick Landy Clinic tricks. I set the distributor timing by lugging up the steep hills to get incipient knock. A local trans shop removed a couple of the springs for the first to second upshift on the old cast iron Torqueflite making that pretty crisp. After I broke it in I got into a street race with a then new 383 Roadrunner, manual trans, and beat him three out of three. One on the jump, and two on the roll. That was a pretty spicy old Deso 361. The guy riding shotgun almost pissed himself. Road Runners were legendary even then.
Blue printing is building to the original specifications of the blue print . I'm a tool and die maker for the automotive industry for the last 35 yes.
I enjoy old school, low buck, DIY. This is what the car hobby is to me. Great explanation of “Blueprinting”!
I worked a Summit racing in the 90's . I was in phone sales and tech . I sold a set of 15 ×15 welds to Ron Sox. It was so cool talking to him .
Hey Tony,
Tim here, the Aussie dude, needs to go back to school........he mite build hi-power engines in Austrailia, but he's NEVER dealt with Stock Eliminator!!!!.......we both know, blueprinting can yield LOTS of power......i'm a S.E. schooled dude......my Poncho KICKS ASS for what it is, cuz thoughtful attention to detail was how it went together......cant help Aussie man, and you explaining SHUD help a bit......you explained it well!!!....nice job sir!!!....PEACE TO YOU!!
Blue printing is like working out your body . Your stock body can be improved by running or lifting weights etc. You absolutely explained it perfectly . Hell you can blueprint a slot car . Thankyou sir .
If you have ever been in a Big 3 engine plant and see how they are assembled it is easy to see how beneficial blueprinting can be!
Are ya saying that they're pretty much just slapped together?
Love the mindset when presenting this info to us. Not one specific model or brand. Universal useful knowledge to keep these older engines alive and preforming well. Thanks UTG!
You’re dead on Tony 👍🏻. You explained “blueprinting “ perfectly.
Excellent description of blueprinting. I started hearing the term a little over 40 years ago when I was a kid and eventually I came to the conclusion, when it came to engines, it was about refining and fine tuning the parts to flow better, like port matching, polishing the passages, etc…
That’s great insight into the philosophy of how someone could squeeze all the performance and reliability out of their vehicle without going nuts on aftermarket everything. Cool stuff!
Back in the day it was common to hear folks (employees, so they'd know) say "never buy a car that came down the line on a Friday". The thinking was that since the car was built on a Friday and a good number of those on the line would end up being half in the bag during their shift, Friday cars could well be a sub-standard product
And Monday
The book "Wheels" explains this concept. You wanted a car built on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Workers would get paid on Thursday, after their shift and would be "half in the bag" on Friday, and "hungover" the following Monday. My mom told me about this book in the 1970's.
This is true I knew a couple friends of mine that used to work at the old Ford plant in St.paul MN years ago and they were telling me that a lot of people go outside for their lunch break and slam as many beers as they could & smoke dope then come back in & go back to work . I remember seeing on the local news that people were buying the new trucks and would notice noises coming from the doors and took them into the dealership to find out what was making the noise and they were finding empty pop cans tools and garbage thrown into the doors by the workers and this was the late 70's just before they got laid off of work for a while. That plant is long gone now but it at one time was the oldest Ford plant still running at the time & that there are tunnels under where the plant was that were used to mine the sand out to be used to make the glass & windshields going way back to the cars and trucks from the 20's & 30's . The last Trucks to be built in that plant were the small Ford Ranger and Bronco from the 90s until it was shut down permanently because it wasn't cost effective to rebuild & update the whole plant so it was shut down and sat for years until it was demolished and the land sold .
The original owner of my house (and my employer at the time I bought it from him) had been a lead maintenance electrician at Dodge Main. He ordered a car from Dodge on the employee purchase program and then he got to pick the car he wanted and watch it as it was built. Because each department wanted to keep him happy they all went out of their way to build him the best car that could be built...the engine guys basically built him a factory balanced and blue printed engine (every part hand selected)...transmission guys the same thing, suspension, interior, ect.... He said that was the best car he ever had and when he finally replaced it it still ran like a top.
I feel the same way about things. Have my old cars and just keep them alive. I love that kind of shit it's the science.
What I love about your videos is that not only do you cover the subject, you drop so many other nuggets of info that are pertinent to hot rodding. Thanks Uncle Tony and Godspeed!
People seem to forget that the origins of true hotrods is making more from less. Using and modifying recycled parts to make them better. You don't need to by everything new. There's a satisfaction of making things better without the need of always going the new or latest trend route. There's Rat Rods, custom builds and everything in between.
A max effort factory, stock car! This is how my dad built cars, use factory parts, but from different cars, and modify them to improve performance, some would look like a stock 327/350, but make nearly 400hp , used 302 intake and cam on a 350, it was stout, with decent heads, ports cleaned up matched, the duntov 30/30 cams were a bit spicy also, we even though about angle milling some heads, great video , I can dig modified parts , even stock parts!! ✌️
And of today's video the reason why I love this channel,
the 3-6minute
It's the run what you got, it you only have stock , make it the best of stock that you can
Completely agree with using what you have. Gasket matched and cleaned up bowls etc. Intake heater passage blocked. Exhaust manifolds gasket matched and cleaned up. Cam installed correctly. 1968 GTS 340 4 speed 3.23 rear gear. Used 1987 Goodyear gatorbacks on cop wheels. 12.98 @110 in 1987.
I was 17 years old and just absorbed your magazines knowledge and all the direct connection material I could find. Reading and comprehending is the cheapest horsepower.
Your idea of manufacturing slop was why we looked for "Tonawanda no1 Team" on our Chevy engines. They were always the best motors. My 68 396 325hp Chevelle had a Tonawanda built engine and it ran 14.4's all day long. Bone stock with a TH400 and 3.23 rear.
I was born and grew up in North Tonawanda. The engine plant was huge. If you knew the right people, you could get all sorts of goodies
that never were sold retail.Thats from Chevy experiments, back in the 60s and 70s mostly.
A 428 CJ in C/S we used an iron factory intake, which weighs 85lbs. The car ran on the top of the index. Blueprinted pieces can have tricks that the factory put in to it as you said they were cast very precisely. The parts have been handed down from racer to racer. You can’t pull a schlupped together 428 from a wrecked Mustang and run the time. The engine you build has the best parts that were passed by Farmer Dismuke numerous times. This C/SA Mustang is pulling 18 inch wheelies and running 10.60. That’s what gets it done. Thanks Tony. Many people have no idea how much it takes in little things to make a 385 hp factored 428CJ to be able to blow out an index that way and do 18 inch wheelies with an all iron engine in probably the toughest Sportsman class in NHRA. Blueprinting. Bumper to Bumper Carb to oil pan.
When the planets aligned at the factory in 1967, my friend’s Plymouth Fury w/ 318 was being built. As bad as a factory engine could be with the stacking of tolerances turning ugly, there is the rare moment when the gaps are what was drawn up. Bob ate 383s for lunch. We were amazed, and Bob was quite amused when his dad’s Fury walked away from our 383 Polara (which I am convinced was built on a Tuesday after a three day weekend). Thanks for poking that part of my memory.
I'm glad you discussed this topic. Now I have a clearer understanding of what that means. Year's ago I would hear some guys talking about this and quite frankly I don't think they really understood the real definition.
Does anyone remember Grump Bill Jenkins? He was a master drag racer from the 50' and 60's He was Chevrolets go to guy. G M would send him 50 sets of heads, he would pick the best 5 sets, and rock the stock rankings of pure stock.This was common in the 60's.
Bill Jenkins actually started out drag racing Mopars in the early days then switched to Chevrolet . It took him a few years to finally beat the Hemi guys later on when using a SBC in a Vega which I never understood why the rule changed from mandated original type engines being used at that time because the Vega never ever came stock from the factory with a V8 in them . All you had for engine options for the Vega was that lowly pile of crap that wore out quick that burned & leaked oil knew this because I had one and the other option was the HP Vega with the Cosworth engine which are rare . Another great engine builder was Smokey Yunick and I bought his book he had years ago on how to Design & blue print engines for racing
which I still have to this day . He even went as far as showing the differences of 3 small block engines the SBC SBF and Chryslers 340 and how some were better designed and built & showed the best engine blue printing mods for each of these engines to be used for racing so if you can find this book buy it because it's a good read & it will definitely be handy when it comes time to build a solid performing engine .
@@peteloomis8456 Is the book "Power Secrets" or another title?
I remember an Australian motor mag testing new Holden Brock Commodore V8 cars, 82 SS 5.0L and the testers getting a few examples to belt around and one tester related exactly what you're talking about. The 5.0s were hand built from memory with heads derived from the touring car race program. This guy said one test car went quite a bit harder than the rest and shaved a significant few 10ths off the quarter times of the other cars. Moral of the story Is the technician who screwed that mill together had the combo of parts that exceeded the claimed manufacturers performance expectations. In 1982 the VH Group 3 - 5.0L V8 4 speed manual ran 0 to 100 kmh in 6.7 secs and 0 to 400m in 14.7 secs ( zero to 60 and 1/4 mile) not to shabby for the time. At just a shade over 19k aud new, these cars in excellent condition now command well into 6 figures. The tester's conclusion, "this car is one out of the box"
...after he retired around commercial jet G.S.E. ,
he had gained experience with other makes/models that were "pre-electronic/computer control systems"
We have a '90 Dodge Ram D-150
Long bed P/U and hope to get it running under O.E.M.
design...it does not have to pass emissions, and can be modified slightly...the 318c.i.(5.2l) is at 98k+ original miles...and he says he can easily do an "in frame rebuild" ...and hopefully
a nearby
local machine shop can
still supply a complete
basic O.E.M. rebuild kit...
Keep up the sharing videos...
God will bless you
for helping
retired fixed income seniors like us here in
FPK GA!!
HAPPIEST
NEW
2024!🎉
Is FPK Forest Park?
You keep talking about it Uncle Tony. Old fellas such as we, learned all this the hard way. It's great to pass along knowledge to the upcoming generations
I moved on from the vintage car hobby but I could listen to Uncle Tony talk all day. He thinks clearly and expresses himself so well. Truly comfort food for the motorhead.
Thanks for all that you do, Uncle Tony! Your explanation of blueprinting, and how your content covers many makes and models is spot on. I'm in the process of doing a mild build on my first car, a 1972 Gremlin X with the 258 straight six, and I'm using a lot of ideas that I got from you!
Cool car. I regret selling my 70 javelin sst everyday.
UNCLE TONY! WE LOVE YOU MAN!!!
Every time you put out a video. It ALWAYS has cracking information in it! In all honesty bud! You are a font of great information to say the least!!!
Thanks again bud for your awesome informative videos!!!❤❤
Uncle Tony I want to thank you, your philosophy and teaching is what makes me watch your channel.
I’m from Brazil and given our limited resources and an almost cult of VW classics, any engine from a different brand is usually a pain to work with, so many times blueprinting is not only a cheaper alternative, it’s the only one! So any knowledge of yours is worth a lot to us! Thank you for taking your time to record and share what you have, we really appreciate it
I love you explanation about the idea and the original draft to the manufacturing process. It's well-known about tolerances from the factory. Thank you for articulating that. It's gold Tony.
Tony is right when he says that the little things add up to making a big difference between engines.
Olds with W30 big blocks and W31 small blocks up to '72 were assembled with "select fit parts" basically factory "blue printing.
Living on a farm, the highway way the closest activity. On many still days, you could always tell when a highway patrol caught someone going over the Jimmy Carter 55 MPH speed limit. The trooper would pull off the road, check traffic and nail his Plymouth Satellite with their 383 Golden Commando, spread bore Carter AFB, and whoosh thru into second gear, then third and gear and hear the sirens crack on for a couple of seconds. They guy was caught. I will never forget that sound!
DK, Omaha. ASE Master Retired.
Corvair heads have integral intake manifolds, no such thing as a swap.. Must port them for performance. Go Uncle Tony!
Been wrenching since the early 70’s. Never got into building power. Alternative fuels and paying bills took priority. However, when I rebuilt my personal autos. I did what you are speaking about. I called it blue printing and balancing back then! 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve always considered blueprinting to be all
Of what Tony talks
About and to go beyond that is to
Measure and write down every part
That goes into the engine. All the rod bearings and main bearings. Piston to wall clearance and ring end gaps this all is recorded into a binder and this is your “bible” that you take to the track and use as a note book for tuning to keep track of what’s been done and what the results of said tuning was. Then when the time comes to freshen stuff up you can compare the before and after
Sizes alone with any new installed parts.
I do believe this is the proper way of blueprinting your engine.
I really love the back story; the difference between factory burrs and casting crud vs polished & ported. I heard blueprinting is to detect cracks and balancing is grinding the parts untill they balance. Determining that balance point alludes me.
Jim’s Automotive Machine Shop Incorporated JUST put out a great vid on balancing a GM rotating assembly a few hours ago.
Great vid. Great channel. Check it out, may answer your questions
Titled “Why Balance a Stock 396 Big Block Chevy?”
Tony, I think there's a little language barrier between you and that engine builder in Australia. When I was at Meadowbank TAFE learning to wrench in the late '80s, the definition of "blueprint" was to get the parts exactly as the plans indicate. Not to fit them together better, or even as the designer _intended,_ but exactly as it says - for every part to precisely match its design blueprint, even if there was an error or non-optimal fit. What you're doing, we would probably have called " matching and fitting", rather than blueprinting - same thing, different terminology.
Not that "blueprinting" isn't also used in the same way you mean it - usually at the pub after work. But that's in the vernacular, and a good builder usually sticks to the precise definition, rather than the idiomatic.
Well said Tony you put it a little differently than what I was thinking. Makes Perfect Sense GODSPEED
I've read that word a million times in engine ads and articles but never realized i didn't know what it meant.
The aluminum intake manifold fits better than heavy iron.
Nice! In manufacturing, production stackups can produce minimum performance parts and maximum performance parts (still in production tolerances - low end vs high end). One of the things a manufacturer can do is send parts to their test lab to make min/max performance parts and then test them to see if the minimum part will still meet the performance parameters and the maximum part meets nvh and other specs (ie too much fuel pressure). All of this can take place within the tolerances set by the engineer for manufacturability.
Another bench racing term that drove me crazy was "Three quarter Racing Cam". I used to wonder, which two cylinders don't get the use of the cam, or do two cylinders still use the stock cam. Either way the logistics are impossible for my simple mind to grasp. Don't get me started on "Bolt on application, no modification needed."
Good timing for this video.
Just last week we were die-grinding out the casting imperfections on a friends motor.
Motor is skyline inline 6, ground head and exhaust manifold for better flow.
The imperfections are numerous and some case extreme.
Yes,the motor type does not matter, the work is the same!
The 361 is looking gooooood! Really dig the yellow paint 😎
I didn't hear any rambling. I love the way you explain things Tony. I've been building what I hope to be a wicked 41 plymouth. A lot of my inspiration and knowledge has come from watching your videos. Hats off to you sir, don't ever stop making these vids!
And don't forget Tony, some people just want to argue. As a design engineer, I can honestly say you really nailed the definition of blueprinting.
Sticking to the middle of the specs ensures that after the break in period the MPG and then power also meets specs.
It takes about 1500 to 2000 miles of easy does it. To get it done right.
I broke in a lot of test vehicles for Ford. I got picked to break in Bullitt number 2 and number 7. Boring but necessary.
Wonderful driving machine, if you can drive a stick. It also makes it's own special music.
So yes building a engine and a few thousands of here and does add up.
My 1st build was a ford 292. I found out closer is not better.
But did Ford cherry pick the engines for the Bullitt? I did not ask.
I also was not allowed to drive it like I owned it. 20,000 miles later.
Better? You have to ask the exec that got them after testing was done.
Best damn go fast channel on YT. Thanks brother for taking the time to give us your knowledge.
UT for POTUS!
Yellow is the color of Happiness Uncle Tony:)
I've blueprinted aluminum V8 race blocks, putting the lifter bores in a position with tighter tolerance than the manufacturer. Same with cylinder bores, main bores etc, and literally everything machined, tighten up the tolerance making it closer to perfect.
Accuracy- hitting the mark
Precision- hitting the mark consistently
Thats what wins along with balancing and carrying no extra weight
Didn't you have something like 3,000 subs a year ago? Hell yeah, UT.
I found myself nodding along with this video so much so I think I hurt myself.
Kidding aside you are the perfect guy to explain this stuff because you've learned all the tricks over what I am sure was a helluva lot of learning moments and you like to teach so that thousands of engine D.I.Yers can escape those pitfalls. Tony, you are a true master. If you doubt me consider how many shops are able to partner with David Wizard, I mean Vizard. Love your stuff and I subbed when I first found you about two years ago. Bravo, Sir!
Working with , What You Got ..
Get it yet...
Thanks BOSS
That saying should be blueprinted onto a t-shirt.
I understand exactly what you mean I had an 1983 Volkswagen rabbit gti 1.8 8 valve and that's exactly what I did. I cleaned and smoothed out intake n exhaust helped it to breathe more with out spending alot of money just spent a little time and holy cow the difference that made
Tony, I love your attitude with this build. I've been trying to get people to understand what you're doing for a long time, it's nice to see the progression. So many people just bolt on aluminum heads headers and Aluminum Intake and then fuel injection and they go this is what it'll make after spending 10 grand rather than showing you that with an intake it makes this much power, or headers and exhaust will affect it like this, I could Port the head and make this much power, etcetera.
I recall a 1972 Plymouth Duster 340 that was dipping into the high 12's. Didn't take long and one of the magazines figured out the thing had 488 gears in it. It was actually topping out at it's maximum speed by the end of the quarter mile. That car was a real ringer, you could not buy a 1972 Duster 340 4-speed car with 488 gears from the factory. Chrysler probably pulled this kind of thing more than any other manufacturer, but they did all do this stuff for bragging rights. Even AMC.
Thanks for the explanation on blueprinting. The engineer lives in the theoretical world when designing which eventually meets the reality of fabrication. There will be differences. Blueprinting is the effort to minimize or eliminate these differences. Also I appreciate your approach in discussing engine practices from a general perspective and not with the constraints of brand names. I believe there is far more value to that type dialog.
This is what you did with the 5.0 fox body mustangs...tweaking the little things adds up!
Smoothing thereby improving Airflow is blueprinting improved airflow equals power. It is amazing how a die grinder and time can add power.
Back in the 70s blueprinting was explained to me exactly in this manner. I can only guess that the info shared on the internet noise machine has added a ton of bad information since.
Thanks for clarity and quality. Great channel. Subscribed.
There's this product called dragy, it's essentially a gps based trap and tree working in conjunction with a smart phone. Produces a full time slip accurate to 1/100th of a second. You could use it to be a happy medium for data collection. Not a dyno or drag track but testing the mule would leave good evidence, between the gps data and video of the launch and 60 foot. It's 170 bucks or so, about to send my dad one for a bench mark lol. Trying to make a turbo miata that stacks up, the plan is to push it to where the stock 5 speed and dif are almost grenades and then cut weight. factory 96 miata and 66 mustang fastback 289 had the same weight to horsepower. He has serious cams, msd ignition and know how, I'm using youtube, forums and as little money as possible.
Tony, thanks for that awesome explanation! That makes so much sense to me now. Never quite understood the term blueprinting when it came to engines and now the entire car for that matter. Really enjoy your channel. Keep up the great work of sharing knowledge, especially old-school Muscle car knowledge!
Well said Uncle Tony... its those tolerances here and there that stock up to sloppy performance... I think at my age those tolerances are stocking up.... Dooohhhh!
See there's always new things to learn and consider in this hobby. The "bought not built" crowd (especially Mopar rivet counters) tends to rag on Tony for being a shadetree-gone-rougue and just making stuff work... and more often than not they're forgetting the human aspect, the error aspect, inherent in everything mechanical. The unexpected flaws, the effects of grafity and inertia on things that work fine when static. Always good to talk theory. Love ya, Tony!
I'm working on stroking a 460 out to whatever I decide then using factory iron heads and intake. I don't want a high rpm engine, I want that stump pulling low end torque.
I just have to improve the heads and intake to let in and expel more air. Because we all know big block Ford factory heads tend to suck on the exhaust side.
Indeed. This ain't Daddy's Money Garage.
I've learnt loads about points, coils engine building and bottle of gas tricks that have came in handy with my a series 4 banger in my mini.
All thanks to this channel.
I have a factory iron intake on my 455 Pontiac with a Q Jet. Runs 11.30 at 118 mph.
Tony, Parts Blueprinting is Enhancing. A.K.A. Improving. A.K.A. Attention to detail. A.K.A. Reworking a component to it's best capable form. We who have done it know what it is. Definitions are varied and semantic. The same can be said of Assembly Techniques.
I saw those comments after I watched the video this morning. For the first one you mentioned...You could almost build a complete 350 Chevy for the price of an aluminum intake for a 361 Chrysler...I'm exaggerating of course but, my point is that, more often than not, the budget plays the biggest part in any build. Using what you have on hand is a necessity for most of us.
For the second one...All "blueprinted" engines are modified from stock in some way. Measurements are taken, parts such as bearings are swapped to get tolerances where you want them. Heads, intakes etc. are "massaged" in various ways to make them flow at their best. I could go on. Not every engine is, or even needs to be blueprinted to such extremes as race engines but, even just gasket matching intake and head ports us indeed part of it.
Tolerances change overtime. That's why blueprinting is needed. You make things as they were supposed to be.
Thhr fact that you mentioned a thermoqaub got me.i am the carburetor king of Texas..love your channel
Also help explain another term. Align Boring and Align Honing. Which are commonly mistakenly called Line Boring/honing. The purpose is to re-ALIGN bores in a row. Such as crankshaft main bores and camshaft bores, anything that needs to align precisely. Let’s teach the world Tony!! Lol
Such a great explanation. I have a really hard time wrapping my head around new things sometimes but even I understood it. Bravo! Bravo!
Your discussion on why one car performs better than the other, the car built on a thursday arvo, its pay day and everyone wants to go to the hotel after work, and they were tired. So things may have been rushed on the engine line. Yet on Monday morning everyone was well rested, alert, and more careful on the assembly. So here in Australia, we call the better performing car, as a Monday car.
One of the best all time ringers was the 1964 GTO Motor Trend road test. Motor was a 421 tri power balanced/blue printed by Royal Pontiac, not the 389.
Thank you for taking the time to explain that stuff it's very interesting. I believe the term you are talking about is referred to as "tolerance stacking" .... in any event thanks again UTG. ✌
The 1972 TQ non EGR valve provision but first generation EGR with exhaust orifices below the carb, those have to be plugged! You can see how to grind the early Thermo Quad manifold comparing the two. That's why the newer EGR manifolds are recommended, a plate can replace the valve and seal off the exhaust. The lower plane plenum on the secondary side is improved too.
I'm building a Mercedes V8 and get a lot of great info from UTG. Cheers 🍻
Go behind the practise to the theory. Go behind the theory to the philosophy of thinking why you are going to do something with the engine. The engine is waiting. Yep this episode is one of the best ever, thanks.
It's all about massaging, polishing where applicable and basically just finger (insert F word.) Your the BEST TONY
My older brother was a mechanic diesel trucks car's and autos foreign and American. He did some stock car racing and he would perfect part's. He'd fix a water pump or oil pump instead of swapping it for another fuel pumps windshield wiper motors. Etc. he was that into it. Uncle Tony reminds me of my older brother how he talks his personality. He died and I miss him. He predicted light's would be LED. More turbos smaller engines. Smaller lighter car's and Monacoch bodies with crumple zones and he loved simpler cars. He got a 327 Chevy to get over 50 mpg tried to patent a mesh screen inside the intake manifold to atomize the air (fuel) mixture he told me I retarded the timing. They bought his effective idea and shelved it of course. He improved a coffee maker. After suing a Chinese company. He made money off suit. Because it caught fire and he improved it's design the Chinese company copied his design. He would fix any and everything he truly was genius. His name was Frankie. He worked on my motorcycle and All of my dad's car's brothers his friends. He also did HVAC/R. Service and installing. He was amazing.
I remember an article I read in Hot Rod (probably Hot Rod or a similar magazine) that discussed what Tony is talking about in this video. The article stated that many of the cars Motor Trend magazine tested back in the day were probably blueprinted by the factory to provide the best performance available in stock form. All the manufacturers wanted to look good in the eyes of potential customers and there may even been a little "enhancing" the stock cars, lol.