Project update!
Awesome Kevin. Budman and I knew it was going to be loud but loud is good. Tomorrow will be clear and that means plenty of roady time. Congrats
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 9,078
Likes: 7
From: DFW TX
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Now lets go to the track. I told you those pipes are loud, but stereo to vette lovers ears. I've got a neighbor with them on a 66 and you know when he starts it up.
Originally Posted by Kevin_73
I drove it!!!!
Sky cleared up this afternoon, so I was able to pull the car out of the garage again and get the timing set properly.
Even though the roads were still a little wet I decided to drive it around the block a little just to get used to it.
All I can say is WOW!!!
I like my 383, but I have a feeling the neighbors aren't gonna feel the same way about it.
More pics coming later.
Sky cleared up this afternoon, so I was able to pull the car out of the garage again and get the timing set properly.
Even though the roads were still a little wet I decided to drive it around the block a little just to get used to it.
All I can say is WOW!!!
I like my 383, but I have a feeling the neighbors aren't gonna feel the same way about it.
More pics coming later.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,804
Likes: 4
From: Standing still with all my might Texas
Cruise-In X Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09-'11
The celebratory brewsky!!
To save time I went ahead and pulled a vacuum on the AC system while I was hooking up everything. Due to a small leak in the supply hose on my gauges I was only able to get 20" hg of vacuum, but I kept the pump on there for about an hour and a half, and sealed it was still holding steady another couple of hours later. I guess that means I didn't screw up when I rebuilt the VIR.
To keep the neighbors happy I didn't want to crank it up for the first time at 11:00, so I put went ahead and put my last 1/2 can of R134A into it. Gotta go buy more of that stuff.
Due to the confined area in my garage this is the best shot I could get of the passenger sidepipe after I installed it:
Rear view:
The mostly finished car:
It sure is nice to have gotten this nasty knocking worn out POS out of the car
And installed this:
To recap everything I did in this project,
I built a new 383 with the following specs:
>4 bolt main, one peice rear seal block
>4340, nitrided, internal balanced forged crank.
>Forged H-beam rods
>Probe forged, flat top pistons
>Comp Cams XR-270 hyd roller cam
>AFR 195 heads with 68cc chambers (10.2-1 CR with my pistons)
>Weiand Action plus intake (trying to keep stock cowl induction air cleaner)
>Weiand Team G water pump
>2100 stall torque converter
I removed the transmission and old engine
I scrubbed 31 years of grease and grime from the bottom of the car and the engine compartment
I painted the frame rails, crossmember and engine compartment
I replaced the transmission tunnel insulation
I replaced all the wiring harnesses from the firewall forward
I replaced the brake booster
I replaced the radiator and core support
I replaced the governer driven gear in the transmission
I replaced all the outer seals and gaskets in the transmission
I installed the new engine, headers, and sidepipes
I finished building the engine at the end of October, so it took about 3 1/2 weeks to do most of this work.
Whew, I'm tired!
To save time I went ahead and pulled a vacuum on the AC system while I was hooking up everything. Due to a small leak in the supply hose on my gauges I was only able to get 20" hg of vacuum, but I kept the pump on there for about an hour and a half, and sealed it was still holding steady another couple of hours later. I guess that means I didn't screw up when I rebuilt the VIR.
To keep the neighbors happy I didn't want to crank it up for the first time at 11:00, so I put went ahead and put my last 1/2 can of R134A into it. Gotta go buy more of that stuff.
Due to the confined area in my garage this is the best shot I could get of the passenger sidepipe after I installed it:
Rear view:
The mostly finished car:
It sure is nice to have gotten this nasty knocking worn out POS out of the car
And installed this:
To recap everything I did in this project,
I built a new 383 with the following specs:
>4 bolt main, one peice rear seal block
>4340, nitrided, internal balanced forged crank.
>Forged H-beam rods
>Probe forged, flat top pistons
>Comp Cams XR-270 hyd roller cam
>AFR 195 heads with 68cc chambers (10.2-1 CR with my pistons)
>Weiand Action plus intake (trying to keep stock cowl induction air cleaner)
>Weiand Team G water pump
>2100 stall torque converter
I removed the transmission and old engine
I scrubbed 31 years of grease and grime from the bottom of the car and the engine compartment
I painted the frame rails, crossmember and engine compartment
I replaced the transmission tunnel insulation
I replaced all the wiring harnesses from the firewall forward
I replaced the brake booster
I replaced the radiator and core support
I replaced the governer driven gear in the transmission
I replaced all the outer seals and gaskets in the transmission
I installed the new engine, headers, and sidepipes
I finished building the engine at the end of October, so it took about 3 1/2 weeks to do most of this work.
Whew, I'm tired!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 856
Likes: 2
From: Tyler Texas
Kevin: Give us an update! Any problems since engine installed and fired up? Everything back together and working? Anything you would have done different?
Any of your neighbors moved since you installed the side pipes?-Patrick
Any of your neighbors moved since you installed the side pipes?-Patrick
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 9,078
Likes: 7
From: DFW TX
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Originally Posted by Patrick73
Kevin: Give us an update! Any problems since engine installed and fired up? Everything back together and working? Anything you would have done different?
Any of your neighbors moved since you installed the side pipes?-Patrick
Any of your neighbors moved since you installed the side pipes?-Patrick
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,804
Likes: 4
From: Standing still with all my might Texas
Cruise-In X Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09-'11
Update!
Five tanks of gas? Not quite, but I have burned a little over 1 tank so far.
Neighbors are still in place, but several of them have given me dirtly looks as I drive by.
As Budman said, it fires up on the first crank and runs very strong.
It is still a little cold natured, but once it warms up it purrs like a kitten (well, more like a young lion).
I have been going pretty easy on it so far. The highest RPM it has seen so far is about 4,500 rpm, and I have been trying to vary the revs as much as possible to get the rings seated.
It runs cool, the needle climbs up to 180 degrees and just sits there. I still need to pull out my digital thermometer and confirm that the gauge is accurate, but so far I have little reason to believe there is a problem.
There have been no oil leaks from the engine or the transmission
This is the first time in more than 3 years that my garage floor has remained dry for more than a day.
I have found that the heater hose and temp sending unit connections in the intake manifold leak a tiny bit after it is warmed up. I am sure it is due to the different expansion rates of the aluminum manifold and the steel in the hose fitting and brass in the sending unit. I think I just need to re-wrap them with teflon tape and get them in there a litte tighter next time.
It is running pretty rich, so I need to dust off my copy of Lar's quadrajet tuning paper, but I've been through that routine before so I don't expect any trouble getting it tuned pretty close to where it needs to be.
I hope to get it on a dyno in a couple of weeks (after the carb has been tuned) and find out exactly what I am getting from it.
The sidepipes are still louder than I would like, but I absolutely love the way they make the car look. I am going to stick with them for a few months to see if I get used to them or if they drive me nuts
In short, I am having a blast!!!!
Five tanks of gas? Not quite, but I have burned a little over 1 tank so far.
Neighbors are still in place, but several of them have given me dirtly looks as I drive by.
As Budman said, it fires up on the first crank and runs very strong.
It is still a little cold natured, but once it warms up it purrs like a kitten (well, more like a young lion).
I have been going pretty easy on it so far. The highest RPM it has seen so far is about 4,500 rpm, and I have been trying to vary the revs as much as possible to get the rings seated.
It runs cool, the needle climbs up to 180 degrees and just sits there. I still need to pull out my digital thermometer and confirm that the gauge is accurate, but so far I have little reason to believe there is a problem.
There have been no oil leaks from the engine or the transmission
This is the first time in more than 3 years that my garage floor has remained dry for more than a day. I have found that the heater hose and temp sending unit connections in the intake manifold leak a tiny bit after it is warmed up. I am sure it is due to the different expansion rates of the aluminum manifold and the steel in the hose fitting and brass in the sending unit. I think I just need to re-wrap them with teflon tape and get them in there a litte tighter next time.
It is running pretty rich, so I need to dust off my copy of Lar's quadrajet tuning paper, but I've been through that routine before so I don't expect any trouble getting it tuned pretty close to where it needs to be.
I hope to get it on a dyno in a couple of weeks (after the carb has been tuned) and find out exactly what I am getting from it.
The sidepipes are still louder than I would like, but I absolutely love the way they make the car look. I am going to stick with them for a few months to see if I get used to them or if they drive me nuts
In short, I am having a blast!!!!
