We got the engine out. We have to do a some little things before we take the engine to the machine shop. It had the original rings and bearings. It will go in this week for hot tanking and so forth. There is a local guy who can polish the crank. Another place to resurface the flywheel. It had a luck clutch. It looks like there was a rear main seal leak at some point. The bellhousing was full of thick used oil.

Now, I have to get my son to understand its time to clean and detail the accessory parts and the engine bay. He needs to replace the heater hoses since one blew out. Also, I want to polish the headers and side pipes. Por 15 the frame parts. Tonight, I am going to make a list.

 

Ha Ha Ha Ha.
Once you start making a list, you’ll be in trouble.
Get a pad of paper, not just a single sheet, and an extra pen, just in case the first one runs out of ink.

 

Not my first at this... A man has to know his limitations. In my son's case its the ole craigslist rebuild. Some paint to spritz it up. Clean here and clean there. Then slap it all back together. Might as well have him do something while we are waiting to get the block back.

 

The block is ready. New cam bearings and bored out to .030. Today, the pistons and rings have arrived. I have to take the rods over to the machine shop to get the pistons installed. Anyone need a set of used flat top forged pistons? We are replacing the pistons with hypereutectic pistons. We are not throwing huge RPM, supercharger or NOS. Its a mild street car. It works fine for the girls we date.

 

Just remember it is critical to add up to 30% to the top ring gap when using Hyper's...consult the piston manufacturers chart.....the top ring gap should be about .026 assuming a 4.030 bore.

Jebby

 

Already covered... The kid is gonna learn how to build an engine.

 

That's terrific that you are willing to teach him, and he is willing to learn!

If he wants to regularly drive an old classic car, he will be way ahead by learning how to fix most things himself.

 

Yeah, He kept asking me why can't we just put it together once. I told him a few times we have to go through everything mocked up to verify tolerances. The last thing I want to happen is we get to install it and we wipe a cam or spun a bearing. Lots of prep work and verifying is worth the wait. He wants to drive it now. while I understand how he feels but its best to take our time make sure it is built right. Before I used a DVD from a rebuild book. Really helped me to know where I left off from the previous day. I plan on using the same DVD for him to go through building the engine himself with me supervising his work.

Heck, I will be honest, I made my fair share of mistakes. The first time I accidentally had the timing set to the retard mark. Well, it did not go as planned. All, I heard was pinging 8 times as all of the exhaust valves slapped the top of the pistons. So out came the heads. I reset the timing to the correct mark. New exhaust valves and push rods. The piston tops were scuffed a bit so I sanded down the top of each piston. Slapped it back together... Then realized I had the wrong intake gaskets (internal leak and water out the *** end). So out came those gaskets...

Two other mistakes accidentally shorted out the main harness and almost burned down the 62 corvette before I even got to drive in it for the first time. My bad... Bought a new main wiring harness and replaced it. That was a fun job.

Next screw up. Let someone work on my corvette who accidentally shorted the engine harness to the ignition shielding. I was pulling wires as it was smoking. It shorted at the coil hot lead. Not my mistake just should have done the work myself.

Installed a new to me low volume standard oil pump. Only to find out it would not go above 3 lbs. I was told to pull everything apart and check the clearances. So out came the engine. Checked everything once more. Reinstall everything same issue 3 lbs. Well still had the HPHV pump so installed it. Sure enough oil pressure gauge is pegged beyond 60lbs. WooHoo after replacing all of the gaskets and reinstalling the engine.

Forgot to tighten down the oil line in the back of the block. What a mess! Luckily, I was able to get it off the road and fixed the mess. Talk about valdez spill... On the bright side everything in the engine bay had been lubed up by covered in oil

Oh, I accidentally dropped the one piece bell housing. It cracked on the bottom. Luckily, I know some good tig welders. Battle scar.

Next one, did a body drop on my 62 corvette. It split the fender. The hoist broke when I had enough people to lift it up. I was over thinking that the geezers could not lift a fiberglass body, I was wrong. The fender is still screwed up but hey I do not care if someone parks next to me since 62 needs a respray. The crack is fixed and is in gelcoat for the last 15 years.

The last thing, kept throwing belts because the pulley alignment. Fixed that problem but did enough damage to the water pump shaft. It was very wobbly. I used a newer style pump so I had to engineer the top pulley so it would fit (drilled out the center dowel alignment hole and drilled 4 new holes since the stagger is different from a C1 to a C2 or C3 water pump. Replaced it an now the heater core leaks. Bypassed the heater for now.

I have learned from my mistakes so my kids do not have to do the same.


Oh yeah, I have a fusible link installed at the starter.

 

We are getting closer to getting it back on the road... This last weekend, I went to a swap meet. and picked up a never used SBC performer intake for QJET. I got a heck of a deal $80.00. I am going to plug off the EGR ports.



This week, we are going to finish porting the heads, lapping the valves, replacing the valve step seals and springs. I bought a set of LT1 Z28 springs which will take up to .500 lift. The valve springs will work fine for this application. My son has to clean up the alternator and all of the various wire connectors. We have to remove all of the exhaust oxidation and buff the headers. My son still needs to clean the bellhousing some more. I want him to work on the dowels and clean the inside really well.

This weekend, I am hoping we can start building the engine since all of the parts will be ready to go. The shop did not remove the timing gear on the crank so that will have to wait until we check the bearing clearances.

 

Some pictures...

 

Pull the gear off with a two jaw puller......hold it with one hand and use an impact.....

Jebby

 

Yes, we have a new timing chain and gear for it. That was the plan... Also maybe some butane heat to get it going. Also, we need to remove the rear pilot bushing. Might as well get that out there too. Now, that part next to is for a 4L60E. My son is in the process of rebuilding his transmission too in the same three car garage.

 

No need to remove the bushing if going from manual to automatic....
And the gear should not be on there that hard....no heat needed....

Jebby

 

yeah, I have taken off the gear before on other engines. I just did not do it when we took it off. It went to a machine shop for a good polish. Its going from manual to manual. It has a newer LUK clutch in it. Not sure when that was put in. The clutch looked really good.

 

If the pilot bushing is good....reuse it....no need to change it unless it has damage....or worn out of round....

Jebby

 

I will take a look at it.

 

All of the bearings clearances were good to go. The rings have the right gap so now its installation time. I still have to finish lapping the valves. My older son wants to take the heads to his work where he has a parts tank. I am thinking we could just brush out the inside of the valves and run it. I can tell the heads were rebuilt already. The valve stem seals were pretty much gone from sitting out in the dry climate. We have new valve springs to install. I cleaned up the deck surface. I have been thinking we could just place the engine with just the heads on into the engine bay. Then put the intake on and prime it. Nothing really changed as far as the geometry. We can verify the oil pump shaft and the distributor will work. I am replacing the oil pump shaft with one from ARP. I marked alignment of the oil pump screen before removing it so the new one will be at the same location.

 

One head has been installed. Tonight, we are going to get the other head assembled and installed. Hopefully, we can get it to the point where we are ready to drop it in. All of the lapping and porting has been completed. My son has a prom date for Saturday evening. I am trying to get the engine running by this Thursday. The bottom end is all together. What we have to complete before he can take it for a spin:Tonight
Assemble the drive side head (clean the parts)
Install head
Install lifters
Clean Install push rods
Clean and Install rockers
Set the lashing
Prime oil pump
Install intake
Check the distributor to oil pump alignment
Install water outlets/inlets on intake.
Install harmonic balancer and bottom pulley
Install valve covers

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday:
Lube pivot ball and throw out bearing arm
Install flywheel
Install and align clutch and pressure plate
Place headers on blankets under the car.
Install starter while it is in the air
Install engine (bellhousing bolts and engine mounts/grounds)
Install clutch cross shaft
Install fuel pump (take off fuel hose clamp)
Install distributor/coil
Install power steering and check fluid level
Install plugs and wires
Install headers and side pipes
Install fusible link if missing.
Install alternator
Install carb
Install radiator/shroud
Install fan and belts
Hook up vacuum lines
Add anti-freeze and water
Bypass heater for now (will get the heater hoses done later)
Install lower tie rod
Add more fuel for the break-in
Break in/Check timing
Check for any leaks
Check lights and turn signals
Install hood
Might have missed something but I do not think so... Certainly, there will be some leftover bolts!

 

You dont want to break in your engine with the chrome headers,,,Good chance they wont look good when your done.

 

You might add:
Order corsage, get a haircut, rent tuxedo, shine shoes, clean finger nails, shower and borrow moms car!