74 LS4-454

Finally have somewhat of an update to report. Not being able to get out to the Vette as often as I would like, any progress made is good progress, no matter how much or how little. That being said, decided to start the engine teardown on the 454. Including some pics and also some questions for the engine experts here.

The 454 as it sits on the engine stand for over 2 years now....lol




the underneath of the intake


the inside of the engine...looking clean....


all 4 openings to view the cam....

74 LS4-454

RS head off showing #'s 2-4-6-8 pistons...









some of the bottom of the lifters....not great focus, but you can make out the wear pattern on them....some seem worn on one side as compared to the other......some have the round circle in the center of the lifter....did not put a staright edge on the bottom....but did not look overly uneven going across.



this is as far as we got yesterday....all in all, a good day considering we had to stop at 3 PM and start to load the car up with items that will be gretting sandblasted and ready to paint. They include the the rear crossmember, the trans crossmember and other larger parts......

Now the questions on the engine????
Again the engine has 10,254 miles and was never on any long trips, all short mileage runs.
1-how do the pistons look? I know they have a carbon build up on them.
2-when you look into the valley, you can see the cam and some wear markings, which I would presume to be normal wear. do you see anything that looks odd?
3-the inside of the cylinders appear to look good to me, feel smooth and only the slightest ridge on the top. I know they have to be measured properly, but feeling that they may not need to be bored, is there anything specific I should be looking for in there?
4-very simple question.....during engine assembly at the factory, did they use thread sealer on the head bolts???? because as I pulled the head bolts out, they had thread sealer attach to them....

Forgot to get a pic of the underneath of the head, but that also looked very clean, the intakes were slightly darkened, as the exhaust have the grayish-whitish color to them.

thanks for checking out the thread, any thoughts or opinions are always welcomed & appreciated.....................Tom

Happy Memorial Day to everyone, as we keep all of the Vets, past present and future in our thoughts and prayers for their service to our country.

LS4 PILOT

WOW !! Great Thread for me anyway, I have a first cousin to your car, my M21 LS4 . I'm watching with real interest as you open up the motor. Mine has never been apart . Yet.

I had the heads rebuild on my 12K 74 Z28 350 . I can tell you the springs were TIRED, none had proper pressure, it was weak running . It was alot of work, I had them completely overhauled and the carb restored . The result was amazing difference in reving and overall performance. I left the bottom end alone.

I'm think of doing the same top end rebuild for my 454 in the next year I believe . Don't think I'll mess withthe bottom end. Not using oil or smoking .

I bought my car over 20 years ago and have put about 40K on it since . Never get tired of driving it.

74 LS4-454

Well since I had pulled the engine, it was just as easy to tear it down, since it's out of the car. I now have 3 sets of heads for this engine.........the original set, the other LS4 (781) set that are rebuilt and for sale, and the 68 427 "215" closed chamber set that are redone with 2.19's and 1.88's installed and other upgrades that will go on this motor. Also changing out the intake with the factory aluminum low rise 427 version. And I found a NOS 70 454 Factory replacement Quadrajet Carb sealed in its original box that I may be using, or I just may rebuild or get the original carb rebuilt.
Still alot to do, cleaning some other parts now, to get them ready to repaint. Also have small containers to let the bolts soak and redo them also. Always so much to do and not enough time....
Glad you enjoy the thread, your LS4 Vert looks great..........

Timsride

That motor appears to be in great condition. I would be tempted to use the new carb and keep all original carb intake and heads together. Looks like a great build keep us posted. nice to see another vert coming back.

LS4 PILOT

HI,

The heads that you'll be going back with aren't the stock ones If I'm reading correct.

Are you expecting a compression increase ?

When I pull the heads off mine , I was hoping there would be some way to increase the compression to 8.5 or 9.0 reusing the same heads. I was hoping maybe a thinner gasket could help this.?

Not sure , how the compession was droped to 8.25 in the LS4 from the 72 's LS5 of 8.5 . Maybe it was a gasket? I thought the combustion cambers were the same cc.
Freddie

74 LS4-454

I hear you on that, also very tempted to do what you mentioned. But I guess the older I get the more I change my mind more often...
Just have to get out to the Vette more and get things done. I have alot of the small parts at home, which I am starting to get organized, cleaned and rebagged for a later time.

Freddie,
Correct, not putting the stock ones back on. The "215" heads were measured @ 100 CC from the person that I purchased from. Their shop did alot of work on them, and they look great, they are ready to bolt on, whenever I get that far..... From another member here who has been a great source of info, feels I will gain around a point or a point and a quarter increase with these heads and the stock style pistons, so that would take me to around 9.5 There are still many things to figure out once I get the rest of the motor disassembled.
Can't remember what caused the change, it may have been the gasket..........Tom

74 LS4-454

Today's accomplishments..... anything I get done when I am out there is an accomplishment.....
Can't locate my harmonic balancer puller so did not do anymore disassembly of the motor other than the windage tray and the oil pump....went on to bigger and better things....

the bottom end....

Number 1 Main Cap & # 2 Rod stamped from the factory....

Another view of # 2 Main Cap & Rod

Windage Tray & Oil Pump

Some more bottom end pics....

74 LS4-454

pics with the top up.....the original owner leads me to believe that this is the original top.....so for those in the know, is it????
Markings on the back of the lower LS rear window....
something to the effect:
Vinyl 74 with some type of marking in front of the # 7
AS-6
UCC- M-28
Do Not Rub Dry
Wash With Water Soaked Cloth

And the "Dealer do not remove" Label

I can't remember if these labels came from the factory when new???



small hole in top on the right side, and some discoloring along the bottom of the top

top down...


interior then....

interior now....



this carpet was replaced due to a leaking heater core and a vistor at one time, although no damage was done......but the shop that did the replacement left a lot to be desired. The best thing that they did was not to glue it down in alot of places, which will make it easier for us to add the insulation and possibly replace the front sections as they were cut short in places.....

74 LS4-454

can't wait til we get it in there..............

LS4 PILOT

Hi Tom,

Just checking in , making sure your not over doing it and working to fast on this thing.

The top...yes thats the original one, mine rotted out years ago , rear bumper fell off the car one night in the garage ( just brittle) , the front rubber bumper flew over my head driving the car few years back. And last but not least ...I replaced my saddle carpet last year , I had the heat core go out THREE TIMES, this finally was more than I could stand.

Interesting to see what the inside of the LS4 engine looks like.

Carry on....

Go Vette Go

Yo Tom - nice pix and nice paint booth! I just re read this entire post and can't believe it has been 2 years!!!

We should talk when you have a couple minutes! I have that tumbler and media for the bolts if you want to use it.

John

74 LS4-454

No way Freddie, you will go through a ton of popcorn before I finish this restoration.

Glad to hear it is the original top from another source, the weatherstriping on the top is in like new condition, the underneath of the top, pads, rails, etc., also look brand new. As the owner,s son had told me, they very rarely ever put the top up on the 74. In fact it has shrunk since then, as I would have to let it sit outside in the sun for quite a few hours to have it expand once again. I am not to worried about the hole in the top, or the markings on the bottom, as it will not be a show car. Right now the top seems in too good of shape to spend the $$$ to have it replaced. And the back window is almost perfect, with only a few slight scratches where it has been folded.
Although the hardtop is in really good condition, the weatherstriping is worn, and the headliner is apart from the front, as it just needs to be snapped back into placed and clamped for awhile to hold.

The carpet will come out next and that insulation package that I purchased from MadVette will go in. It's really a pleasure to do the work on the inside with no top on the car.
I know I'll replace the front sections again, have to think about the rear and of course be concerned with color matching if I decide to go that route.

Have to say as being a first time BB owner in a Vette, that the bottom end is pretty impressive even though it is a two-bolt main. They just look massive when you are looking at them directly, and I think they are more than strong enough for a nice performing 454 with some added goodies.....

All I need to do is either learn how to take proper engine measurements, and or find a good machine shop when I'm ready for that stage...stay tunned.....

Hello John, thanks for the kind words. 2 years!!!!! you mean 2 1/2 years!!!
I will take you up on the tumbler, will be talking to you real soon.
Later................................... .........Tom
PS sent you a PM.....

High Altitude Vette

That's a great project you have going there

Yes there are stronger blocks available now..but these are pretty massive. I keep thinking how great a aluminum block and head motor would be in one of these
Gary

74 LS4-454

had some of the parts sandblasted and primered and ready to paint or get powdercoated, although I don't know if they can powdercoat over primer, paint may work out to be good enough. if you go back to post #13 you will see some of these parts as they were disassembled and what they look like now....little by little....progress being made....





another view...


of course the valve covers, may still need some light sanding to smooth out some things, and the radiator support needs the same, but am happy with how they turned out so far.......

74 LS4-454

Thanks Gary, it's taking a while, but I am getting more done as time goes on.....

That would be to many $$$ for me... but I am excited about the 68 427 "215" heads that will be going on this engine. With the advice and help from others so far, I think it will turn out to be a strong performing 454 putting out some decent HP

High Altitude Vette

No, powdercoat has to go on bare metal, plus there is the 375+ temp to go through.

Couldn't agree more, those big blocks have torque to spare
Gary

74 LS4-454

today's weather was perfect to paint some parts for the 74.
here are a few pics of how they turned out from primer to the finished look they now have......

Radiator support....what is interesting about his piece is that when it was dismantled awhile back, if you would rotate the support, you would hear the loose rust inside bounce around, although there is no outside evidence that the part is rusting at all. In the third pic, look at where the topside of the support meets the side, you may not be able to see it, but there is a very small opening where the metal was put together. It is here and at the bottom holes where I rotated the support back and forth where the rust bits came out of the support. I spent over an hour doing so, as I didn't want to drill a hole to make life easier. Now that about 100% of the rust bits are removed, no bouncing pieces now when I rotate the support. I need to use a thin tube hooked up to a spray paint can and just shoot some paint in there to coat that metal.
I figure if I can do that, this support just might last another 37 years before it rots and by that time my grandsons will have fun doing a rebuild.




trans & rear cross members primered and painted....




fuel tank support primed and painted



also did the front coils......small progress today, but progress made..
Sunday is bolt day, as John T. dropped off the bolt tumbler, so we'll see how that progresses.......I should have fun with that....

LS4 PILOT

Very nice detailing.



I see I'm going to have lay in a good supply of popcorn for this adventure .

74 LS4-454

You got that right, I need a supply of my own it might take me another 37 years before this is completed......

and thanks, just trying to make the parts look good before they get reassembled.....