WOW ! A 22 year old motor with forged pistons. And a $20 timing set. And there's no goodies in there.
Ok for you to fix it there are a few things you are going to need. First you are going to need to rent a mag base drill (you can do it freehand but you probably wont be able to get it to line up with the correct location afterwards.) The mag base drill looks like this. From there you are going to need to go down to your local machine tool supply company and get a few things. First you want to get some carbide 4 flute center cutting endmills they look like this you want these for the same size of hole that you are drilling out. you can either ticin or tialin coated (gold or blue coating) Then you will need to get some Keenserts http://www.alcoa.com/fastening_systems/aerospace/en/product_category.asp?cat_id=679 now with the correct size of keensert you are going to need a drill and a hand tap, also if you can afford it get a tapguide too if you dont already have one. Ok what the procedure is, first you empty the block out, take out the crank, pistons lifters ect ect. Once it is empty stand it on end so the back of the block is sitting on the ground. Make sure that you removed the dowel pins so that the block does not wobble around. When this is done you use your timing cover to locate exactly where the center of the bolt will go, basically you put your timing cover on with one or two bolts and use some method to mark where the center of the bolt is going to be. A good trick is to use spraypaint so you get the outline of the timing cover too. Then you remove your timing cover you need the flat surface to work off of. Now when that is done you put your mag base drill on the front of the block itself keep it on as flat as possible you dont want it too wobble so you might need some spacers, the mag base drill uses a built in electromagnet so it will hold in place really good if it has enough contact points. But anyways you line the centerline of the drill motor up as close as you can to that painted mark you made earlier from the timing cover location. From there you stick one of the endmills in the chuck, run the drill as fast as it will go and start to feed it into the hole slowly, also you need to use coolant, or oil on it to keep the endmill cool, lots of coolant. I reccomend a product called Val-cool it is a synthetic and its actually blue, but in a pinch you can use things like WD-40, marvel mystery oil, LPS or something other brand of penetrating/lubricating oil. As your feeding the endmill in you will feel it hitting the hardened drills just keep working through them slowly, you will probably break an endmill or two so get a couple, one thing about the carbide endmills is if they break they shatter so you can just pick the chunks out with a magnet and a pick. When you break through to parent material you will definitely be able to feel it, but dont go too deep that you damage something. Once you have milled all the garbage out put the drill that you got that is the correct size for the keensert you got and drill the hole, simple enough again dont go too deep we dont want to damage anything else. And finally if you have the pilot for the tap install that in the drill chuck and hand tap the hole. Using the alignment of the mag base drill to keep the tap perpendicular to the face of the block. Then its a matter of removing the mag drill from the block, installing the Keensert, hammering the lock pins in place and...Ta Dah you have a block fixed exactly the way some of the machine shops around would fix it.(here are some instructions on how to use Keensertshttp://www.aircraftfast.com/keensert-inserts.htm) You really have to be careful about welding on the block because it can create weakspots because the material has been re-tempered due to the heat from the welder and it can cause cracks if one is not careful. So have fun.. and remember if you cant be handsome you might as well be handy
Anytime i've ever tried anything like this all i've ended up with is dull drill bits and broken taps.....Welds are super hard
Just tell that to Car Craft that took that short block with a hone and re-ring and some bolt on parts made 400 HP
I figured I would throw it out since he wanted to know, and thats how we use to do them in the job shop I worked in, usually took us about 10-15 min per hole. They even make kits that allot of racers use to do that to the head bolts because they are repairable. All you have to do to remove the keenserts is drill it out a little bit and pull the lock pins and then install a new one.
And that result had little to do with the forged pistons in it. They would have gotten a slightly higher figure using (lighter weight)cast pistons. It was all in the heads they used. Forged pistons do not make more power than cast. They're only tougher and more resilient to abuse.
