Brandons72vette

My 1972 Corvette has sat 2-3 years now due to a knock in the motor and weak compression. This car is all original and has its original paint, spare tire, papers, tank sticker...all of it. It has 49,778 miles on it and today my dad and I started pulling the motor apart to gear it for an engine overhaul. I will update everyday as far as progression and questions goes.


Here are a few photos to get it going.

In 4 hours time we managed to remove the air cleaner down to the heads, radiator, alternator, etc. It is just the block now..

Brandons72vette

gdh

What are your plans ie. hp/torque increase etc. ? The '72 looks great btw.

Brandons72vette

I will rebuild it .60 over, this is a virgin block but I want a little extra power. It is a L82 block 4 bolt main with 202 heads. I will mill the heads. The cam will be a 69 350 L82 cam, as my old 69 clucked quite a bit more than my 72 did. I will get new lifters, valve springs, roller lifters, rebuild the original radiator which is im good shape with little to damage. I will rebuild the alternator as well. For the most part it will be a stock 350 and I will rebuild it using factory parts, but I will also do a few hidden tricks that will add power, add torque, make it sound better but unless it was really broken down, then nobody would know all that lies within the motor. I don't know specific HP or torque numbers yet, but I plan to get my 72 dyno tested at Dallas Mustang. They do more than just mustangs, and oddly enough they sell more than just FORD products. I have taken my 2012 Camaro there, great staff. I also have bought $25 K of restoration parts for my 1970 428 Mustang. Anyways lots to do on all of my projects, but I plan to detail my Corvette's engine bay and polish it all up to NCRS standards. I am torn between restoring my car or just leaving it original, after all it is a "Survivor." Thanks for the comment.

Brandons72vette

mwm1993

Sweet looking vette! Can't wait to see your progress

Mike

Dustup7T2

birdsmith

Just an observation...there are screw-in studs with guideplates on those heads. Not exactly 'virgin' stuff. Those pistons don't look stock either-is that the reason for the .060" overbore? Most engine builders wouldn't recommend that much unless cylinder wear necessitated it.

VERY nice looking car, BTW...my '70 was that color when I bought it and if the paint had been in better shape I might have left it that way!

rvazquez

If you have to deck the block, be careful you don't loose the numbers on the stamp pad.
Regards
Roy

Alan 71

Hi Brandon,
That looks like a very nice 72 you're working on.
Since you mention polishing it up to "NCRS standards" have you considered buying the 70-72 Technical Information Manual and Judging Guide? That info may give you some ideas about what you might want, or not want, to do with your car as you work on it.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

Matt Gruber

some tricks to increase street power:
1. advance cam 4-6 degrees.
2. hand fit crank scraper.
3. fill in divider on intake manifold if it was cut down, and block any cross passages between the 2 planes. use felpro #1905 4 hole carb base gasket if it has a q-jet
4. use lightweight pistons with low drag rings.

Brandons72vette

Thank you! It is really a pretty car in person and is just amazing in the sun. I am taking the heads to Dallas tomorrow along with other parts and having them rebuilt.

Brandons72vette

Thank you and as far as the internals go.....I have learned that the intake is from a 74, the block is a 71 (but it was built in December 1, 1971) and as for the heads they are original too but since the intake is not matching, maybe the studs are not original either....who knows. I plan to get a matching intake though, and I have not yet decided if I am going to keep the same set up or not. No the micrometer shows it to be standard bore, I just wanted to a get a little more power out of it. Something is broke in cylinder #1 and it is either a connecting rod or part of the piston. It rattles and knocks when it was running and compression was very weak. As far as my paint goes, it is original. It has chips, scratches and faded areas. I would love to have a new paint job but it shines really nicely once it has been detailed, despite the imperfections. I can't decide if repainting it or leaving it the way it is hurts or improves value.

Brandons72vette

Thanks and I will keep this in mind. I am not sure if I will or not but the heads up is appreciated. Thanks


Brandon

Brandons72vette

Well I am not sure if I have one for my 72 or not I will have to look in the library. I know that I have one for a 58-60, and one for a 65. I will look and see, I have 100's of books on cars and Corvettes. Well I have assembly manuals for the 72 I know because I had it out the other and reviewed some things prior to tearing into it. If I don't have it I will look into investing in it. I do want to have my car judged as a survivor car.

Brandons72vette

Thank you, I will keep this in mind. I ported the heads already and tomorrow when they get dropped off to be rebuilt I plan to mill them and increase the compression. I will for sure keep all power adders in mind.


Thank you


Brandon

Brandons72vette

I dropped the radiator, intake, and other parts off to be rebuilt/ sand blasted. I also dropped by City Motor Supply in Dallas, Texas and if anyone is looking for a machine shop or a motor shop to buy parts or to rebuild anything motor related......THESE GUYS ARE THE GUYS TO GO TO! I came in and said I had 202 heads from a 72 CORVETTE and EVERYONE froze and went over to look at them. Turns out that they are extremely HUGE fans of Corvettes! So they have always been a friendly staff before, but today they just were outstanding. A guy came in with a worn camshaft from 4.6 Ford motor and they had built a replacement cam for it. It looked identical. Anyways, just wanted to say that these guys rock and they love Vettes. Most of them have Corvettes, one guy has a red 64 coupe with a BBC and a blower that was impressive. So here is are some specs on what all I plan to get.


Increase compression to 10.5:1 or 11:1

Milled heads, new springs, roller lifters, port/polish, etc.

The block will be pulled sometime before next Friday as I have to go and pick things up and drop off the short block to be rebuilt.

I think that the car will have somewhere between 350-360 HP verse the stock 200 something.


More updates with specific parts and details to come.

aussiejohn

Brandon,

Corvettes never came with a fuel line like yours. I suggest you ditch that one and buy a stock one piece steel line between the pump and the carb. What you have is a fuel line fire waiting to happen. If you must have a filter, put it somewhere between the tank and the pump where it's hard to see.

Your project is looking good, keep the updates coming.

Regards from Down Under.

aussiejohn

Brandons72vette

Yes I know, I lived in Hawaii where it rains 200+ inches a year and the fuel was often trashy. In 2 months time I had to rebuild the quadrajet twice. I added that to try to prevent it from clogging the carb. I never moved it and shortly after moving to Texas, I parked the car. I have plans to put it back stock. Thanks for the tip!

Ibanez540r

Brandon - I'm surprised no one has chimed in on this yet..

Going .060 on a virgin block just to "make more power" is not a good idea. The cubic inches and power gained between .030 vs .060 is negligible. The only reason for a bore is to make the cylinders fresh again. It is not for making more power. By going .060 you are rendering the block to be on it's last leg AKA no more rebuilds. The .030 will cover what you are doing and leave room for issues in the future.

I'm sure your machine shop will advise you the same.