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I didn't notice if your motor is out, but I had to do the same. I threw down plastic/cardboard/whatever...and went to town. Stood IN THE ENGINE BAY and cleaned everything I could reach. Used a rattle-can to freshen up a few places too. (The plastic is to catch drippings/debris so you don't have to lie in a cesspool during reinstallation.)
Didn't really take THAT long either. Just need a couple good wire soft-bristle brushes and a bucket/bottle of degreaser. And, a few rags of course. Some use simple green. I think I used something in a purple jug....more of an industrial degreaser.
Yeah buddy it's out and I'll be knee deep in engine bay!. Gonna get to cleaning this week. Good idea with covering the floor, already planned on laying down some tarp and go to town with some purple power!
Yeah buddy it's out and I'll be knee deep in engine bay!. Gonna get to cleaning this week. Good idea with covering the floor, already planned on laying down some tarp and go to town with some purple power!
Hello again!
I finally dropped the motor in the car, got the motor mount bolts in and am struggling to get all the bell housing bolts on! A couple of them are difficult to get to but I'll figure it out.
When I pulled the motor I tried to take everyones advice about labeling and taking pics but I definitely didn't take enough pics and thought I labeled plenty of bags of bolts but for some reason I feel like I don't know where anything goes! I know I'll get through it but if anyone has some install pics they could share it would be much appreciated!
Also any pics of the bracket assemblies and wiring to the motor would be helpful. As you can see from my pics I've installed the Mini Ram system and can't wait to fire this baby up!!!
Joe
If you got time, I would take out the front radiator assembly. I found a pile of road grit and lots of garbage on my rad, was almost plugged. I degreased mine and installing a larger pusher fan. You might want to do the same thing for the AC condenser.
I was surprised that my car wasn't over heating last year with how bad mine was.
Last edited by Mike Holmen; 03-09-2018 at 10:41 AM.
Hello again!
I finally dropped the motor in the car, got the motor mount bolts in and am struggling to get all the bell housing bolts on! A couple of them are difficult to get to but I'll figure it out.
When I pulled the motor I tried to take everyones advice about labeling and taking pics but I definitely didn't take enough pics and thought I labeled plenty of bags of bolts but for some reason I feel like I don't know where anything goes! I know I'll get through it but if anyone has some install pics they could share it would be much appreciated!
Also any pics of the bracket assemblies and wiring to the motor would be helpful. As you can see from my pics I've installed the Mini Ram system and can't wait to fire this baby up!!!
Joe
Looking good. I really like the look of the Mini Ram.
Come on people, the guy needs under-hood pics of an '90 car. I'd help with the pics, but I have a '93 Vette. Our set-ups aren't the same.
They say you want .090 between your valve seal and spring retainer and .060 before coil bind in the springs. You should check both.
I always hear 0.050" for coil bind and with beehives I think you're a bit safer running on the tighter clearance side because coil surge is less of an issue with Beehives, right?
The porting on your runners looks great though it looks like you only radiused the entrances? Basically, since the tubes are 1.45" (throughout) they are inherently too small. If you weren't aware, they were developed for the SBC 305 and "leveraged" for the 350 builds to avoid additional manufacturing costs.
Aftermarket runners are anywhere from 1.6"(SLP, to 1.65" (Edelbrock, Accel, ASM) to 1.9" (FFI).
[edit] I should've read the whole thread! I see you swapped to a miniram- well done! Way better match to the cam than the TPI intake. Rest of my post is now jibberish.
The 280XFI cam IS probably too big for this build. If you go with bigger runners with a larger inside diameter that will help tune the intake for a higher peak RPM a bit (increasing diameter changes the tuned rpm upward, just not as quickly as decreasing the runner length does). -That will help the intake tuning match the cam a little bit, but the cam is still a bit big.
-You can install it advanced to keep cylinder pressures up to help it out, but if you can go with a step smaller cam it's better.
Having said that, I've got a FIRST Fuel Injection tpi-style intake and I'm using a 230@0.050" cam (same as the 280 XFI); the lobes in my cam are a little more aggressive than the 280XFI (Mike Jones), but my intake runners are 1.75" in diameter and my intake ports on my heads are 195cc.
Adam
Last edited by NewbVetteGuy; 03-09-2018 at 01:13 PM.
Hope this helps but like I said the FSM would be better
Keep in mind the bracket on the back side of the alternator that goes to the headers is not stock, it was fabed up from a jack handle to work with the headers.
If you got time, I would take out the front radiator assembly. I found a pile of road grit and lots of garbage on my rad, was almost plugged. I degreased mine and installing a larger pusher fan. You might want to do the same thing for the AC condenser.
I was surprised that my car wasn't over heating last year with how bad mine was.
Great idea man! I never thought about crap getting underneath the radiator like that.
Great idea man! I never thought about crap getting underneath the radiator like that.
I'm was in the process of trying to build my own cold air intake. I took apart the radiator cowling/ducting and found quite a mess of trash, road grit and tree fuzz that collected inside. Found a bunch of lower ducting was broken. I'm now in the process of redesign that now as well.
I swapped in an LS 05 LQ9 into my car last year. Next year I plan to build-up an engine for my 85 vette
Have to say your doing an awesome job with your build.
Last edited by Mike Holmen; 03-11-2018 at 12:15 PM.
I'm was in the process of trying to build my own cold air intake. I took apart the radiator cowling/ducting and found quite a mess of trash, road grit and tree fuzz that collected inside. Found a bunch of lower ducting was broken. I'm now in the process of redesign that now as well.
I swapped in an LS 05 LQ9 into my car last year. Next year I plan to build-up an engine for my 85 vette
Have to say your doing an awesome job with your build.
Thanks man! Can't wait to start making more progress. I really wanted to drop an LS like you did but I couldn't find a good deal on one at the time.
Probably could have bought a couple LS's after adding up all the money I spent on modding this one! LOL
Hope this helps but like I said the FSM would be better
Keep in mind the bracket on the back side of the alternator that goes to the headers is not stock, it was fabed up from a jack handle to work with the headers.
Thanks again for the pics and advice! I got one of those dvd's on ebay that claim they are a full service manual on pdf but I think I should have just paid for the real thing! Looking at the pics I posted at what point do you think I should install the headers? I'm trying to get a grasp on what to do next; wiper motor,starter, alternator, brackets, power steering pump distributor, wiring???? I'm probably overthinking it but wasn't sure if there was a certain order! lol, thanks!!
sorry I took so long to get back to you been busy. Best thing to do with the headers is to lay them to the sides of the engine compartment wile you lower the motor in but since you already have the motor in I would put the headers in before you do anything else, the passenger side is the worse and depending on what make headers you have you may have to lift the header and starter in place at the same time. the windshield washer motor I may leave for last it will make getting to your fitting for your oil pressure switch and other wires easier.
sorry I took so long to get back to you been busy. Best thing to do with the headers is to lay them to the sides of the engine compartment wile you lower the motor in but since you already have the motor in I would put the headers in before you do anything else, the passenger side is the worse and depending on what make headers you have you may have to lift the header and starter in place at the same time. the windshield washer motor I may leave for last it will make getting to your fitting for your oil pressure switch and other wires easier.
Sounds good man! Thanks for the tips. I test fitted the Hooker headers tonight and they fit great. I decided to take the radiator and fan out and clean everything as suggested by other members. I just hope I wire everything back up correctly!
12-17-2017, 10:42 PM
