gingerbreadman1977

a few weeks back i started a thread on here about pulling my motor apart . i planned to strip it down to a bare block and replace the dished pistons with some flat tops then put on my big collection of goodies that i have collected such as manifold,carb,cam,dizzy etc etc but before i got that far things went horribly wrong as when the heads came off cylinder 6 was sleeved.i did not want to risk building a warm motor on a damaged block even though im sure it would be fine.

so here is plan B . i bought a 383 short block and now i can start again where i left off 4 weeks ago before i hit this little hurdle.so today is sunday night and i plan on having this motor fully assembled and going back in the car by next sunday night. im going to post up pics each night as i get more and more done so watch it come along if you like

here is sundays pics and the the 1st installment ...the new block

'75

Lookin' good, keep the pictures comming.

RunningMan373

NHRalph

Should be an interesting thread.

gingerbreadman1977

monday nights work is done. it started with painting the block and sump. next to go on was the heads. i installed the oil pump and tac welded the oil pick up . for tonight i just placed on the manifold and valve covers to keep it sealed up for next time. tomorrow night im hoping to install the cam,timing chain,sump,fuel pump.if i have time measure up what size push rods ill need then i can do rockers wed night.

RunningMan373

Using roller rockers, i'm sure. If you don't mind, could you cover the measuring of the needed pushrods a bit, as i will need to do the same soon, and haven't done it before,, thanks, C.

Actually, if you don't mind covering the rocker arm and cam install that would also help,, thanks.

gingerbreadman1977

no problem running man.i have been keeping the info fairly brief so far so that it doesnt turn into a read-a-thon but i can certainly get detailed on that section . i will be using crane energiser roller rockers on this motor. i originally had crane gold roller rockers to use on the vet when i did that up but with a combination of roller cam ,guide plates my geometry did not allow them to work. the underside of the rocker contacted the head studs. the energisers have slightly more clearance underneath and are 90% as good as the gold line in quality.in this engine even though its not a roller cam like the vet i will still be using guide plates so just took the easy option and will go with the energisers once again knowing i wont have any clearance issues.im off to work on the motor now so tonight some time ill load the pics of pushrod and cam install.

69/76Vettes

Nice looking engine. Where did you get that throttle linkage bracket? I have been looking for something like that for my speed demon carb.

Gordonm

Nice motor. I see you are a Camaro man also. A 67 or 68 red one and an early 70s RS. I had a 69 Pace car and a 70 RS a few years ago. Is the motor for the Vette or Camaro.

flyingman21

This is cool!

gingerbreadman1977

69/67vet both jegs and summit have them. i like the holley brand one the best as it has the most adgjustment(thats the one u can see on this motor). on the vet i have the jegs brand one and it is almost identical but i had to file an edge of the kickdown part of the bracket to make it work.

gordon yes i love vets and camaros. my dream car is a c2 but they are out of my price range..one day i hope to have one.both the camaros are RS (68 &71)and i wouldnt have it any other way.this motor is for the 71 camaro. i sold its old motor on ebay- it was a slug.

wnmech

Shane good looking engine. Is is for your camaro or the vette?

gingerbreadman1977

its for the camaro. its similar to the vet engine with same carb,dizz,heads but the vet is just a 350. im interested to see how a 383 compares to it but i wont be able to read too much into it but because the vet is a 540/560 roller cam but this engine will be a 490/490 hydraulic with a 108 lobe centre.

ED69ray

Very nice to see a sb decked like that with flatops

68 RS is a cherry car - only other hardtop thats close to it is the '67 Malibu SS

lets see more

Quil

Very cool man...you must be pleased with those heads, since this is the second motor you've built with them. I like mine pretty well...still getting the carb fine tuned, but they feel like they are making good power. Love your valve covers, too.

gingerbreadman1977

firstly to ED..... i certainly wouldnt say no if a malibu was to come my way.nice choice !!!!!! QUILL yes i love fastburn heads. i think they make awesome power and the raised runner design seems to be the difference.the only bad thing i can say is the stock springs they come with arent capable of much pressure. i did have to change the springs to heavier ones on the corvette.

now im glad TUESDAY is done with.this next section is mostly for running man. im not a mechenic but have done a few motors now and none have blown up yet so i will prob leave out some details but this is a rough sketch on what i have done tonight. please feel free if you see something i should be doing differently or needs attention .i had to work late so it didnt leave me alot of time to work on the motor tonight.once i did get home i got stuck into installing the cam straight away - i like to use penrite cam assembly lube on all lobes and cam bearings as its nice and thick and wont drip off over time like the liquid comp-cam lube i have used before. i use it excessively. this job is alot easier with a cam installation tool you can see in the picture.some people may use the distrubuter loc-down tool but thats more difficult as it only holds the cam with 1 bolt but it can be done.
once you slide it in gently past each cam bearing and seat it flush with the front of the block you can move onto the timing chain.im very sorry but i should have taken a picture of this next part of the installation as it would make more sense. it is critical to install the bottom gear with the 0 mark directly up on the keyway. your timing chain set will come with instructions on this but if you have never done it before can be easy to fall into the trap of installing it with 2 degrees of advance as there is actually two 0 marks on the gear.when you open you timing chain set be sure to not remove the chain from the larger top sprocket becasue every chain link is a slightly different length and can throw out your timing marks ( this is just a good habit but not critical ). now with your bottom gear pressed on you line up the keyway on the cam to the keyway on the top gear. it may take many goes to get the 0 mark on the bottom gear lined up with the 0 mark on the top gear. you just have to keep jiggling with the chain links until it all lines up and you have the two zeros perfectly in line and the cam bolts in position. its very hard to explain in words i am now finding out so tomorrow ill take a pic of the installation paper and it will be alot clearer.once it is lined up you can install your cam assembly collar and the 3 bolts. once set to 20nm you then bend the tags over with a screw driver. i noticed the rollmaster set i used came with a shim now that goes in between the block face and the timing chain ( im assuming this is to prevent the block face from being chewed up ) could someone please chime in with what happens when this thin brass shim chews up and possibly grabs or does that not happen eventually?????? . once installed now be sure to rotate your crank a few times and check for smooth operation and there is no clearance issues.
its now 11 pm here and im half asleep so im sure i forgot a few points. fill me in if i have. the rest of the jobs tonight were the easy ones. i installed the water pump,sump(yes i like lots of silicon as in the picture when its for a camaro as you cant remove the sump without lifting the motor because of the chassis rail) , timing cover and a pulley. i have been looking for my push rod measuring tool without much luck so hopefully tomorrow ill find it get onto that section. here are tuesdays pics in order. hopefully still on track for next sunday to start this thing up.

69vettester

Oh Crap you left the waterjacket Hole by the #3 Piston Plugged, Gotta take it apart or it wont flow coolant!! jus Kidding,
Its a Genuine Beauty

Shirley1978

very nice!.. ill post up the pics to my 383 next week, keep an eye out for it

RunningMan373

Thanks for the pics,, I've done the timing chain once before,, but never the rocker arms, nor measured for the needed push rod length. I understand it in principal, but would like to see it done, so i don't miss anything. Installing and adjusting the rocker arms/push rods,, that would be a a big help. thanks,, C.

gingerbreadman1977

well boys im way ahead of schedule here. its wednesday night and all i have left is the rockers , lifters and pushrod installation which will come tomorrow night. i will try my best to do a detailed description and pictures of how i do mine as i have a formula i like to use. tonight i just installed the balancer ,bottom pulley, fuel pump, starter and a few bits and pieces...i then had about 10 buds to celebrate( no work tomorrow) . i need to source some extractors that will fit and thats not very easy over here.