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Mark 4 bow tie block ?

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block bow mark tie
9K views 43 replies 14 participants last post by  fc-Pilot 
#1 ·
I found a new old stock, tall deck bowtie mark 4 block. It has the 4.9 bore. Acording to the gm sight it can only be bored to 4.56 and stroked to 4.25.. Any one out there know if a 4.5 stroke crank can be put in with out too much trouble. I assumed before I bought it that it could be bored to 4.6 and a 4.5 stroke would just drop in. Thanks
 
#2 ·
Well if it has a 4.9" bore, you're done already :) A 4.5" stroke will fit with steel rods. Needs a lot of clearancing but I didn't need a small base circle cam to clear. I'm pretty sure it will go to 4.6" bore, ours was 4.560 and was fine..... at least until it blew up :D
 
#3 · (Edited)
Well I guess I forgot a 4. I knew they came with a 4.24 or 4.49 bore new. This is a 4.49 version so I'll just need to have it final honed but was just making sure it wouldn't take too much to put in the 4.5 crank. It has been filled to the bottom of the waterpump holes, part of why it was so cheap. The owner has had it for about for years. He said it was the last of the gen 4s from burts. Not too crazy about the mark 4 oiling though. Thanks
 
#14 ·
Thread Hijack Alert!!!



Hey flat, looks like a nice Fender collection in your avatar. I have a couple parts-o-caster hard tail Strats built from mostly new Fender Deluxe/Am series parts. These days I'm jonesing hard over a tele after selling mine a year or so ago. Unfortunatly I'm playing mostly bass in a couple blues/classic rock projects so it's hard to justify a $800-&1000 guitar when I already have a couple I'm not playing much.
Strats-n-flats.... don't get much better than that!!!


Sorry for the hi-jack and back to your regular scheduled programming!!!
 
#7 ·
How on earth do you guys have these blocks? I have been around the performance world and never even heard of one, much less seen one.
This should be a comfortable 4.650 bore with lots of extra room. Also with the 4.9 stuff it should be a DRCE pan rail which should have tons of room for that 4.500 stroke.
I never knew they made anything like this in any configuration that could be considered a tall deck. What is the casting number on this baby? I gotta do some homework. I am so friggin' confused :)sphss
 
#12 ·
Damn, I wish I had known you had it. I'd have given you more than that if it was a tall deck.... Looking for one to use up a bunch of parts I have laying around and build a lake motor.
 
#17 ·
GM catalogue says can be bored safely to 4.500 because of no water between cyls...doesen't give a max bore. Sonic check would tell you that. I know early tall deck 427 truck blocks had seriously thick cylinders, sometimes .400+

The only 4.900 bore center GM block I'm aware of is the Olds DRCE block.
 
#21 ·
GM catalogue says can be bored safely to 4.500 because of no water between cyls...doesen't give a max bore. Sonic check would tell you that. I know early tall deck 427 truck blocks had seriously thick cylinders, sometimes .400+

The only 4.900 bore center GM block I'm aware of is the Olds DRCE block.



Hey Scott, That one deal in already in the works:D:D I think Im coming back to Cali next week:D
 
#19 ·
Sorry guys, missed the corrction post to 4.49. Thought he was talking about 4.9 blocks.
I love the bowtie deals. Had a 600 cube deal in a bowtie and it ran forever with enourmous amounts of punishment.
And to be part of the hijack, I have been making my own guitars lately so I can get exactly what I want.

Poplar body with carbon fiber tunnels, maple neck with my own profile, ebony board with no indicators, stainless frets, body mounted dimarzio pickups with both side coil taps and Ibanez lo pro edge tremelo. Finished with a little custom paint.
 
#20 ·
Whats the hype about siemese blocks? Ive heard that they are good. Just curious.....



Mike
 
#30 ·
Yea, I was told the Bowties would go 4.625". I'm kinda looking for a decent tall deck block to use up all the spare parts I have laying around.
 
#33 · (Edited)
The Fenders back in the day that Leo was making them has a single coil sound like no other. The only pickup that has absolutely blown me away with single coil sound recently is the Dimarzio Eric Johnson series. They are a full humbucker but go absolutely hog wild when you split the coils. Run an amp with way too much crushing distortion and split the coil and turn the pickup gain to about 1/2 to 3/4. The thing is incredible!! Tones that people have gone broke to find. Never thought that pulling gain out of a humbucker pickup with megadeth distortion could create those lost tones from the likes of Gary Moore, Hendrix, Clapton and Robin Trower. I put them in one of my other guitars called 'Flying Perfection'. Absolutley amazing!!

And my bodies are not Steve Vai bodies. I took what I liked from many guitars and made my own. Basic Ibanez RG outline with a Vai monkey grip. But vai does pick guards and I like custom paint and rear routing. So I do that then put the knobs away from my pinkie so I don't bump it. Also a little more shaped for comfort. Also with the splitting option, I get rid of the senter single coil and run both pickups with their own volume and split for unique sounds in the center position. I am vain, and like my guitars to look great, so I also put pickup rings on them even though the pickups are mounted to the body and sit on foam rubber to bring body tone in through the pickups.

And then the newest one, Mel is getting the old Reb Beach Voyager cutout in mahogany.

Should be finished by March.
Also, if you look closely on the guitar in the previous posts, it has a 25th fret. Mel will also have a 25th fret. I figured I had the room and wanted something a little different.
 
#34 · (Edited)
leo got it right, tone




below
here is a custom v serial number strat with seymour duncan antiquity texas hots w/ acme electronics with only clear lacquer extra thin.. super light guitar @5.5 lbs tremo is a 1955 pat pend setup super thick 1500.00 for the tremo alone, the neck is almost a inch thick

these pickups are the best single coil tone i have ever heard. and i have heard and seen the best, stevie ray vaughan.

it's the great pumpkin


here a lacquer in lake placid blue there is a million cracks in this paint ill try and capture it.





 
#40 ·
leo got it right, tone.....
Man, you got that right!!! When I was younger, it was all about humbuckers and Mesa Triple Rec distortion. Had Ibanez's, Schecter's, and of course LP's. As time goes on, HB's started sounding muddy and I started using more coil taps to get purer tone. I'd hate to have to choose between one or the other, but I'm more into single coils these days and that's when I started playing more Fenders.... It took a while to get used to thinking of a Tele as something other than a "country" guitar, but man, do I dig their tone these days.
Flat, damn you got some high $$ stuff there. Love the look of the big head stock Strats. I'd be afraid to take any of them to some of the dives I gig in though!!!
Me in the back with my Tele:

My current band. I think we got a chance at getting signed.
 
#35 ·
oh ya like i said wannabe you got some skills, love the puprle flake mind telling what kind of paint?
like i said i getting old and have seen some of the greats in blues rock
buddy guy
srv
joe bonamassa
warren haynes
kenny wayne
clapton
robert cray
bb king

too many to list i guess,they have all got one thing in common and thats tone, think ill go play a while
thanks for the pics..
 
#42 ·
1500 is not too much for one of these blocks, unless you are talking about it running all the time - enduro style. 1500 in a drag race type of thing is O.K. For endurance I would like to see the number be closer to actual 1000-1200 or so.
I use nothing but X-otic paints. They broke off from House of Kolor when Valspar bought them out. Simplified versions of house of kolor type of stuff. The purple guitar is black basecoat with the first layer of purple candy having fairly thick metalflake in it. Then a few more coats of purple and some clear. Nothing too trick. Just simple stuff but in the lights this guitar comes alive. Same idea with the red one but a silver base rather than black. Some extra flake in the first few coats of red. Adds a dynamic touch and charactor when moved.
And you have some amazing axes there!
 
#44 ·
On a side note (about blocks, not guitars:D), if you are planning on putting that much HP to one of these blocks I would definitely plan to have a schedule for inspecting the block along with the rest of the engine parts. I (along with Wannabe) have abused our bowtie blocks, but have seen some situations where the block cracked over time (luckily not ours).

Now back to guitars, I wish I had one of my guitars painted by Wannabe.;)

Paul
 
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