Hank

So -- thanks everyone for your help over the last ten months. I have the 502 back in the 66, thanks to a very busy 4th of July weekend... Now with ported Brodix heads, 2 1/8 headers exiting to 4" sidepipes under stock covers, and a bigger roller cam. While I have not dialed in everything yet, it DOES run, and it's great to hear that sound again. Still need to get the jetting right, and get the overall tune right. "Running on 7" (a valvetrain problem, now fixed) it still felt pretty robust on a short break-in drive. Neighborhood cats are all scared since first firing. Wife reports that sons (ages 4 and 2) cover their ears when inside the house and the car is started in the driveway...will need to upgrade those "mufflers"... Thanks especially to ML67, who's provided both parts and advice, and the Lars series of tech docs, which got my ignition, BG carb, and valves set up...

A few random comments based on "learning the hard way" -- basics that I learned by doing. Many of you know these points, but I have read a lot and haven't seen these issues well covered... some are just "bone head first time mistakes to avoid" -- for what it's worth.

1. When considering aftermarket intake manifolds, don't be aftraid to consider milling the carb pad a little, if it doesn't cut too much into body of the manifold... this is casting specific but worth looking at. In measuring the "stack" height I found that 0.170" off the carb pad gave adequate clearance to my setup, despite Edelbrock saying the BB air gap manifold doesn't fit a vette.... I used the heights listed on the supplier websites vs. my old setup and determined the milling requirements... simple. A cam degreeing kit has the dial indicator needed to explore how much milling is plausible before you cut into the port roofs' safety zone.
2. Especially with a gen VI (blind holes block) -- if you tap the block head bolts to clean them, be sure to really wash the holes with solvent/air/a wire brush in a drill -- the junk deposited in the bottom of the hole can make the head bolts get to the 70 ft lb torque spec and still have daylight between the head bolt washer and the head.
3. If you are combining used / milled heads or block or intake, expect the fit to require some adjustment... in my case: std deck block, milled heads, new intake -- required tons of material to be milled off the manifold to fit (two trips to machine shop) --- machining cost almost as much as the manifold. And distributor length fit is a key issue too. And heater hose bosses (drill/tap). And the "extra" bolt holes at the top center of the ports have to be epoxied shut if using aftermarket ported heads. And the ports have to be matched... all of this no big deal but plan for it. The "bolt on" manifold is a lucky thing if it exists.
4. If you have two silver (lightest) springs in the centrifugal advance weights of your distributor, they may not get the weights back to full retard at low speeds after a rev up -- causing a high idle. Swap in at least one stronger spring.
5. If you want to avoid stripping bolt holes in aluminum heads, and treat the castings well, there are at least three golden rules. a) use a torque wrench. b) use antisieze. c) (for me the aha) -- if you shim bolts for alignment using washers (eg for alternator pulley alignment), you must think through the thread engagement of the bolt -- 40 ft lb against 4 threads may strip, but against 8 threads it won't. Basic but I didn't think it through.
6. Proper pulling / installing tools (eg for pitman arm, for harmonic balancer, for determining correct pushrod length if non-stock) are cheap investments. 7. If you do a major upgrade that affects systems dynamics (eg, heads/cam/intake/exhaust/intake/pulley setup/etc.) you should budget some time to dial in the fit -- absolutely everything may need adjustment. I found to my surprise that simple stuff (custom length pushrods, fan hits shroud, dipstick doesn't fit to heads, alternator bracket doesn't mount to Brodix heads, valve covers needed thick gaskets to clear rockers, etc.) were SIMPLE to fix but time consuming... budget time to work through it all...
8. Overcommunicate with vendor phone customer service reps. There are lots of ways to get things wrong. "What is said is not necessarily heard, what is heard is not necessarily understood, what is understood is not necessarily believed." I would now ask for playback of the order every time -- I have had FAXED WRITTEN information screwed up more than once, and simple mistakes are too common and cost everyone money and time (sent centerforce clutch, but not dual friction; or distributor kit, but for HEI not MSD; or mistook QUANTITY of custom pushrods for LENGTH of custom pushrods).

Save the wave,
Gerry

427Hotrod

Fantastic to hear you have it going! I goofed off last weekend and took wife motorcycle riding to the mountains so you're ahead of me. Maybe THIS weekend!

You really bring up some good points. It takes a LOT of work to assemble all these high end aftermarket components together. They are designed as no compromise performance parts, so everything must be tweeked, modified, measured twice to get it all right. OEM stuff just does not work right!

Keep us up to date on your progress!

JIM

kyosho

Wow. Very good advice. Should be a sweet running ride. :)

HoCoDave

Glad it all came together for you! :cheers: I still think you should have joined me at Bloomington Gold, and then finished assembly of your car one week later.:yesnod:

I look forward to hearing those pipes in person. :thumbs:
Dave

ML67

Great news -- keep us updated on your progress. There is nothing like the sound and feel of a sharply tuned 500+" engine. Especially in a mid year!

Think of the life long memories you are imparting on your 2 sons! Not such a a bad legacy...

Take care,

Mark