Rapido Assembly

[John_S]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Tony,

Did they have the smaller 305 valves or not? If you get a chance, I'd like to see a pic of the chamber side of the heads.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Sorry John...........they're already boxed up to be shipped..........I didn't measure the valves but I would imagine they were smaller.

 

[mkpj1]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Hey Tony,

Glad to see you are getting it buttoned up. IMHO I would prime it just before you blast it but thats just me. Go to Autozone and get a priming tool. You can rent it for free. Hopefullly you have a HD drill. Hook it up to the tool and connect it to the oil pump shaft. Turn it the right way, CC I think? Have someone watch your oil pressure gauge and make sure you are building pressure. Drive it until you see oil come up to the heads.

Again, as far as letting it set, I just hate letting it drain back down. I want oil in the heads and around the lifters at start up. just anal I guess.

Good Luck Man!

 

[MikDee]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Yes, you'll probably need a good strong 1/2" Drill, spin the oil pump clockwise the same as your firing order till oil is coming out the pushrods good, then drop your distributor in and start her right up.

 

[mkpj1]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Thanks for the back up Mikdee, Clockwise Tony.

 

[redjmp]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Did they have the smaller 305 valves or not? If you get a chance, I'd like to see a pic of the chamber side of the heads.

I have posted a picture of the chambers of the 059's.
I have cc'd them and they are indeed 58cc's not 64 as reported elsewhere on the web.
These heads are the same 58 cc's as any other 305.
They have 1.84 intakes and 1.5 exhausts. Can be punched to 2.02 but that is bigger than a 305 will allow....
They will work perfect with the dished pistons I have in my pre '86 305 short block.
Replacing them with 64cc on the 906's chambers will lower the compression.
I think the new vortec 5.7 L's run flat top pistons with 4 valve notches cut out in order to get the correct 9.4 to 1.

 

[John_S]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Thanks for the pictures. Not sure how they claim vortec. I'd say Tony made a good call and removing them.

PS: New merc 5.7L vortecs have recessed pistons w/valve reliefs.

 

[redjmp]

Re: Rapido Assembly

You are correct about the pistons.
These are very similar to the other vortec heads in that they have the square hump around the relocated spark plug. This hump is what causes the flame front to burn into the swirling mix rather than across it. They still use these in new 5.0L vortec engines and they are rated higher than a pre vortec motor so there must be the same type of effect going on in the chambers to give this boost in hp.
Now if this rapido block has the correct pistons for a 64cc head, and shipped with a 58cc head, then the compression would have been in the order of about 10 to 10-1/2 to1 and running regular pump gas would have caused the destruction of this motor in short order.
Way to go rapido.
This is proof you should steer clear of these guys!

 

[John_S]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Redjmp, sent a PM about further 305 head discussion, which is getting off topic for this thread.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Way to go rapido.
This is proof you should steer clear of these guys!

Well, it's probably a bit early for that, really. So far the only complaint I have about my motor is that it didn't come with break-in directions for clueless people like me, although I haven't checked the casting numbers yet to see if I have the right heads.

I have emailed Raul @Rapido to ask him about my cam and springs, which I paid extra for, and I will check the casting numbers when I get time.

I'd say so far this was more of an oversight on Rapido's part, or the work of an undertrained mechanic.

Rapido has done the right thing so far by replacing Tony's heads, and that really speaks well for them.

One problem does not make a junk vendor... don't be so quick to condemn them.

Or has someone else posted that they have the wrong heads and I missed it?

Erik

Edit: I talked with Raul in an e-mail, he's going to drop by and respond here. I won't quote his email, but he did say the 305 heads would produce the same amount of dyno power as the 350 heads, they would just do so at a higher compression. Others here will no doubt have different opinions

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Rapido Assembly

I agree Eric..........I am still hoping for a positive outcome..........hope to start the Vortec this w/e.

 

[mkpj1]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Well....I have mentioned this before. I know you guys have machinists in your area who need money. You guys seem to want to learn how to do this yourself. These shops are usually small and these guys usually don't mind you hanging out. I'm a white collar boy with a blue collar father so these guys are famly to me but some of you might be intimidated. I'm telling you..hang out....take your blown fubared engine down to them and see what they think...then plan an engine using the pros here as a sound board.

Build a solid engine with QUALITY parts!! You know what you get. It cracks me up how many guys here "core" there blown engines for the cheapest mystery crate? Where do you guys think they get their blocks to start with?? Now I say this broadly as I would never judge someone like Rapido by a forum like this. Too many variables and Newbies thinking they saw something they didn't.

Erik..Tom.. you need to get Rapido here because I think he is getting flamed and isn't even here. Certainly he could have made a mistake but he needs to have the forum to defend himself. He has a business and this can be very damaging.

Good luck to you guys with your new engines!!

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Yeah, Raul already asked me for the link to this thread, I assume he'll get here and post when he gets time.

Erik

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Let me make it clear that I am not bashing Rapido.......so far he has done the right thing by replacing the heads with the correct ones. Other than the incorrect heads the engine looked fine..........when I removed the 305 heads the cylinders look good and all pistons (dished as I requested) were stamped 0.030...........

 

[JustJason]

Re: Rapido Assembly

that's cause they are .030 over... your block is definitely a re-bore..... i'm wondering how the wrong heads got on there in the first place. That's such a n00b mistake it's not even funny.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Rapido Assembly

I know the 0.030 meant the block was re-bored...........was just pointing out that they were all the same..............others have mentioned that they have recvd rebores with different sized pistons (not from Rapido)...........

 

[Buttanic]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Well....I have mentioned this before. I know you guys have machinists in your area who need money. You guys seem to want to learn how to do this yourself. These shops are usually small and these guys usually don't mind you hanging out. I'm a white collar boy with a blue collar father so these guys are famly to me but some of you might be intimidated. I'm telling you..hang out....take your blown fubared engine down to them and see what they think...then plan an engine using the pros here as a sound board.

Build a solid engine with QUALITY parts!! You know what you get. It cracks me up how many guys here "core" there blown engines for the cheapest mystery crate? Where do you guys think they get their blocks to start with?? Now I say this broadly as I would never judge someone like Rapido by a forum like this. Too many variables and Newbies thinking they saw something they didn't.

Erik..Tom.. you need to get Rapido here because I think he is getting flamed and isn't even here. Certainly he could have made a mistake but he needs to have the forum to defend himself. He has a business and this can be very damaging.

Good luck to you guys with your new engines!!

I agree, I have a machinest I use who is more than helpful. He will tell me if he feels something I want done is not necessary for that particular engine application. He does not try to sell me work that is not needed. I have never gotten work back that was wrong. A properly rebuilt engine is as good or better than new because it offers the oppertunity to use parts that are better than stock parts.
For anyone wanting to do it this way find a small shop that specilalizes in building race engines for the local racers. They have to do it right or they don't get the racers business.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Rapido Assembly

Well, I don't have contact with a good local machinist... the shops I've contacted are expensive, and I have yet to find a custom engine shop locally that isn't backlogged with engines for rat rods and restores.

Like I've said before, I read up on reman shops and new shops for marine engines, and the experiences others have posted here with Rapido is what led me to buy from them.

I know some people here have said new engines cost just a little bit more, but frankly I've seen the smallest difference as about %30 or more. That's still a lot of cash. Usually you have to rebuild the engine with marine gaskets, and for someone like me who's still nervous that the engine will blow up in his face, the less needed to do with the block the better.

Besides, until you establish a relationship with a local shop, they're just as likely to screw you as anyone else.

Erik

 

[Rapido Marine]

Re: Rapido Assembly

THere has been some queston on Rapido Marine quality. Our product speeks for itself.We take care of everyone no mater what.We do not void warranties and we pay shipping whan there is a problem.You can't beat that anywhere. Ton, Our customer in this thread with 305 to 350 heads will leave his own thread today here stating who we are and how we take care of people...thanks Sincerely Raul rapidomarine.com
ps: all warranties now start first week of February and all I-BOATS members will get 10% off all engines.. thanks again Raul

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Rapido Assembly

I was just on the phone with Raul at Rapido..........

As the originator of this thread I feel somewhat responsible for the "bad Press" Raul is getting and, as I stated before I am not bashing Rapido. To date he has taken care of me and I have recv'd what I originally ordered.

One of the main reasons I made the purchase from Raul was the GOOD press he recv'd on iboats in the past.

My original post was a question regarding the casting numbers on the heads that were installed on the engine I recv'd..........indeed they were 305 heads instead of 350 heads........I imediately called Raul and he said he would either send me a new engine or the 350 heads.......we later agreed for him to send me the heads and I would replace them.........no problems........

At this point I have no reservations on the purchase and, again.......this post was not intended in a bad way towards Rapido........

PS.......seems like Raul beat me in this post.......