Put the engine back into my '77 over the weekend, here are a few pics for anyone contemplating doing that. It went smoothly, no issues at all. That is a Bowtie 700R4 hanging off the back end. I did have to massage their crossmember a bit to get it to bolt to the frame but now all is well.

I think the photos load newest first so it might look like I pulled the engine out, don't be fooled by that >;-)

http://tinyurl.com/gvl5vxl

 

Sharp-looking engine/transmission. I had 200,000 miles on my 700R4---they hold up well if they are wired to lock/unlock the torque converter properly.

 

Very nice! Hoping to get my new engine together in a couple of weeks and start the same process. What specs on the engine?

 

Thanks guys.

Doorgunner - right and also the TV cable setting and coolant flow. BTO makes it very clear in their guidelines that those must be correct in order for them to honor their warranty.

Metalhead140 - I call my car a resto-mod but it is probably more "resto" than "mod". The only original parts left on my engine are the block and timing chain cover, everything else is new.

Specs:
Cylinders bored out .040"
Block, heads, head gasket and pistons make for a 9.2:1 CR
ZZ4 aluminum Intake manifold
AFR aluminum heads
Lunati 10120702LK cam/lifters, Intake 219, Exhaust 227 at .050", LS 112 deg
Comp Cam roller rockers
Original Quadrajet modified to Cliff Ruggles Recipe 2
Hedman 68301 headers (the only legal option in California)

I think that is all of it, Desktop dyno rates it at 386 hp, if that is anywhere near correct I will be very happy. Other mods are a Borgeson steering upgrade and a Vintage Air heating and AC system. This project has been a lot of fun, the guys on this forum have been great. My one piece of advice, I was lucky to find a local engine builder who not only know SBCs inside and out, he was a pleasure to work with and all my conversations with him were two-way. Good luck!

 

I think you mean more "mod" than "restoration" then Im in the same boat although much on my car was butchered up and missing when I bought it.

I used the same lunati cam in my build... it did much better at lower /mid rpms in all the software dyno programs than any other option I tested. I beleive it also lowered my dynamic compression down to a safe area for 89 pump gas since the flat tops and 64cc heads made for pretty high static compression if I remember right.

 

augiedoggy, that is exactly what I am looking for from that cam so sounds great. Can you tell me what the other dyno programs you used are? I recall that Desktop Dyno was not real specific with respect to the head options.

As for "resto" vs "mod" I guess it depends on your perspective. I was telling a friend of mine about my car and he said, "Oh so that's more of a resto..." Course at the time we were standing next to four of his cars, 1) totally customized VW bus, 2) '32 Ford hot rod with a SBC and more chrome than paint, 3, 4) two black Impalas, a '62 and '65, lowered, both with 409s. ;-)

 

Nice install.....keep pics coming.

I have you at more than 400 horsepower with your combo....
A ZZ4 made 355.....you are easy 50 ahead of that due to your heads.

Have fun

Jebby

 

I used "dyno2000" software.. it let you input head flow numbers...

as far as restoration vs modified.... In my mind that means restoring the car which would be stock parts... aftermarket non stock performance parts would be modifications so to me that would be Modded right? I only thought you mixed them up because you stated it was more of a restoration but then stated the only stock original parts are going to be the block and timing chain cover than listed all those modifications so...

 

I downloaded Dyno 2000, couldn't get it to run. I'll try again.

Thanks guys, I will post all major progress. Still lots of work to do on the car.

 

That's a good looking motor. Looks like that vintage air setup frees up quite a bit of space on that side of the engine bay.

 

Yes it does, the evaporator, heater core, and fan assembly are all gone. They are now under the dash in the VA module.

I see you are in SJ....Go Sharks!

 

Yeah, I live in the same city as you and also have the same year car haha.

My AC leaks and my heater core is shot, I wish I had the money to put that setup in my car. Do they make factory style controls for '77-'82?

 

The Vintage Air unit was a bit of a budget buster but I think it will be worth it. They do not make factory controls for a '77 you have to use their universal control module and fit it into the console. You also need to fabricate some transition pieces for the center dash vents. Rotonda did a writeup on this a while back.

http://tinyurl.com/hzgfc52

I may go a different route on the vents. Good luck