|
 Small Block Ford Engines are V8 power-plants sold by aftermarket
auto parts suppliers and by Ford Motor Company itself. Originally built at the
Blue Oval's engine plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, the Ford small
block is also known as the Windsor engine. The 351 Windsor block, as
its name suggests, is a 351 cubic-inch workhorse that's significantly larger
than the first Windsor engine, the 221 for the Ford Fairlane and Mercury
Meteor. Not to be confused with the 351
Cleveland, today's 351W is marketed as the Racing Boss 351, a crate engine
from Ford Racing Performance Parts.
Engine
Building and Plateau Finishing
For engine builders like Rog, an automotive do-it-yourselfer who
creates his own YouTube videos, restoring a 351 Windsor block the right way
means plateau
finishing for proper piston
ring seating. As Rog explains, the Flex-Hone tool from
Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) is designed for plateau honing, which "take
the peaks off the metal" walls of honed engine cylinders. Typically, when
engine mechanics refer to a "honed surface", they've used a rigid hone to
affect bore diameter and cylinder geometry. Honing stones are designed for
material removal, of course, and these rigid hones leave an intermediate
finish.
Plateau
Honing for Engine Performance
That's where flexible honing comes in. By using BRM's Flex-Hone tool to remove
only the peaks and rough, torn, and folded metal, engine rebuilders like Rog can
produce a plateau finish that provides an optimal surface for a new set of
piston rings. As Engine
Builder Magazine explains, "getting the rings to seat and seal
properly requires a ring-friendly finish on the cylinder bores. The cross-hatch
pattern that flexible honing produces supports optimum lubrication, too. By
removing surface irregularities, BRM's plateau
hone also helps to prevent metal shavings from winding up in your
engine oil.
Flexible
Honing - Preparation, Performance, and Cleanup
In Engine
Building with Rog, the YouTube mechanic demonstrates how he used
the Flex-Hone tool to refinish the first of eight cylinders in a used 351
Windsor block. First, however, he lubricated the walls of each cylinder -
though not with the Flex-Hone oil that we
recommend, and perhaps without as much honing oil as is best. Next, Rog chucked
BRM's cylinder honing
tool in a handheld power drill and ran it at between 500 and 800 RPM
for 30 to 45 seconds. Although Brush Research recommends warm or hot soapy
water for cleanup, Rog simply used a rag and some spray cleaner.
A colorful character, Rog concludes that "the engine is a pump -
the better it pumps, the better you feel it in your pants". Just as proper piston
ring seating and sealing are essential for engine power, flexible honing is necessary for plateau finishing.
Author's Note: This CR4 blog entry originally appeared in BRM's
Flex-Hone Blog
| 
