James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

I'm talking about complete nightmares, where nothing seems to go right and
the project either ends up canned or so expensive you wish you had never started it.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Years ago I put in a GM847 cam and different springs using my LPE heads and learned A LOT (even though it took a long time because I'm a retard) about valve train geometry/spring rates/installed height. Let's just say I've been through a few valve guides.
It was still able to eek out a 12.1 @ 115mph even though power dropped off dramatically after 6000rpm.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

James, I like the topics you come up with! My only nightmare was owning a
P1sc procharger kit, that was one pain in the *** after another. I am now lookin at one of realquicks turbo kits for this spring!

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

I remember in the mid 90's they were considered NOChargers.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

Exactly!

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

In March of 2008, I purchased a freshly rebuilt forged 355.
I paid $1350 for it, plus gaskets, bearings, rings, etc ......
A pretty good deal for being decked, studded, girdled, forged and otherwise ready to run.

I later found out that it was build using modified pre-87 SBC crank and rods (forged).
(which is why the bearings didn't fit and had to be reordered)

I planned to reuse my LE2 heads and LE1HL cam, because they had worked so well with the stock bottom end.
I felt like the extra compression and RPM would help me be competitive in the 11.70 bracket.
I fully intended to participate in the VAMP races this year.

The nightmare started that night, I was pulled over by officers who mistook me I was a known armed felon.
The nightmare continued when I got the motor in and found that I had broken valvesprings in the old heads.
After fighting though a few more items (brakes, Ujoint, lost governor clips), and getting
the whole thing back together, we found that the motor was NOT in fact neutral balance.
I tried several other flywheels and flexplates (including the one from the previous owner's car)
Nothing worked, it vibrated like crazy.

In the end, I'd wasted a lot of money and most of the racing season.
I was so angry it wasn't even funny. The car has been sitting ever since while I
has a much more aggressive replacement 383 built using my original block.
(the 355 is still in the car, waiting to be removed)

It cost me $1000 in machine work and parts to repair the motor.
All because someone put two main caps on backwards... ruining bearings, rings, rods and cracking the crankshaft.
The motor has been restored and is now performing very well in a friend's camaro with my old LE1HL cam and a set of LE2 heads.

On the bright side, I was able to salvage some of the upgrades I installed as part of the project
to be used with the 383. (Kmember, poly mounts, etc ....)
The paint work on components were pretty much ruined though, I should have powdercoated them.
The polished rims still look good though and I ended up selling my LE2 heads.

Build Details
[copied from my cardomain page for reference]

Forged 355 Shortblock----------- Private Sale 03/18/2008
- Zero deck '94 LT1 block, bored +.030" (fresh)
- Arp main studs
- Eagle H Beam Rods
- Ross 4cc Pistons
- Custom SBC crank, lightened, balanced and machined to fit.

Tri Armor Rings----------------- Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
Clevite bearings---------------- Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08

Spohn Kmember w/poly mounts----- Spohn.net 02/18/08

Intake manifold gasket set------ Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
58mm TB gasket------------------ Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
Timing cover gasket------------- Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
Water pump gaskets-------------- Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
Valve cover gaskets------------- Musclecar Specialties 02/22/08
PCV Valve ---------------------- Local Vendor 03/10/08
High Volume Oil Pump ----------- Local Vendor 03/10/08
NGK TR55 Spark Plugs ----------- Local Vendor 03/10/08
160* Thermostat ---------------- Local Vendor 03/10/08

Prothane Engine Mounts --------- Jegs.com 04/04/08
Prothane Tranny Mount ---------- Jegs.com 04/04/08
.026" Head Gaskets ------------- Summitracing.com 04/04/08
Percy's Header Gaskets --------- Summitracing.com 04/04/08
1350 U Joint ------------------- Local Vendor 5/23/08
Timing Chain ------------------- Local Vendor 5/23/08
Master Cylinder and Line Lock -- Private Sale 05/27/08

Head Refresh ------------------- Lloyd Elliott 04/11/08
KMotion 800 Springs ------------ Lloyd Elliott 04/11/08
New guideplates ---------------- Summitracing.com 04/11/08

Painted Intake Manifold -------- Blue99TA
Painted Acc Bracket ------------ Blue99TA
Painted Water Pump Housing ----- Blue99TA
Polished Rims ------------------ Blue99TA

Installation-------------------- Hale-Bent Performance 5/29/08
Updated Tune-------------------- Ed Wright @ Fastchip.com

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

Well i have done my best to forget the details BUT..


Circa 1999
add procharger 9Psi
blow ring lands even with conservitive settings
Build new 355 blower engine and move to 14psi at 6,200
completely gut new B&M torque converter(trans OK)
loose Opti
work with Modern Muscle cars to dail in tune with MAF translator
blow up idler bearings and four belts at $48 each
finally get things going good.
Get busted for 145MPH in a 55 while doing over 160MPH

Head out on girl friends(now wife) Birthday and have ProCharger let go through new forged engine and loose it all. The Blow off valve stuck closed and when i lifted the impeller came in contact with the housing at over 55,000RPM blower speed


Game over. Buy used short block from Jason Short, almost did not happen, and put cam in with stock heads and go mid 12s.

Park the car for a year to pay off the over $12,000 I had just spent


BTW OH yeah she only had 36,000 on th eclock when I parked it....well after the streering colum fire...

riceburnerZ28

iTrader: (20)

My nightmare started back in 04 when I brought my lt1. I pulled into a gas station and hot coolant came out of the reservoir. It pretty much drained the radiator...so instead off filling up the radiator I attempted to drive home & ended up overheating the engine and cracked the cylinder heads. Few weeks later I sent the heads to a shop for repair and got new gaskets and put the heads back on ! Being a newb I forgot to read the most important step of cylinder head install .....using sealant on the head bolts. Long story short I ended up with a seized motor, broken rod bearings in the bottom of the pan ! 4 years later this past april I got enough money to get the lt1 built .This build was intended to be a mild build up so It didn't take long to it get back into the car. Thats when my problem began ! I lost my job and my brand new car (repossession!) so I didn't have much money to finish but to this day I'm making it happen! The clutch/flywheel & transmission was pita to do by myself (newb) and it took me a week to get it bolted down. I was missing every damn bolt to the engine ...had to go to the parts store everyday to match up bolts. After getting the top end bolt up, I started the valve adjustment ! OMG this is the worst sh*t I had to do. I thought it was the way I was adjusting the valves (tdc method) was the reason for backing firing...maybe I had them to tight...so was I reading a few threads on this site and I figured out the valve geometry was off. Stupid 7.200 in pushrods were to long so me being so anxious I ordered shorter rods without using a pushrod checker and its still to long. Yesterday I got my lazy *** up and actually took the time to measure for the correct length ...I need 7.050 rod thats the last part I need to get my freakin car running...but the sad part is I am broke now..so its gonna be another week before I can buy the rods. If I had to do it all over again I would have never drove my car without coolant !

street demon2k3

iTrader: (3)

My car in sig started with bolt-ons then right after I swapped in a cam everything went to ****.

New cam = broken starter, 2 new optis, new set of wires, tuning and finally spun bearings after 100miles.

After that my car was parked while I built a 355, when I dropped it in the problems never stopped.

New 355 = 3 optis, 3+ sets of wires, 6 sets of plugs, tuning, fuel pump, injectors, new converter, new trans, many misc sensors, and long nights of trouble shooting.

Finally sold the car in April '08 after I literally spent every penny I had on the car. Fast foward and now I have another nightmare of an LT1....LOL!!!

94 Z28 6-speed/4.10's cc306

So far its got really bad ignition issues(opti) so its not moving anytime soon...LOL!!!!

Michigan Skip

Every time I work on anything, it's a nightmare. I am living proof that there really is a Murphy's Law.

lifeisgood

iTrader: (4)

same here. i built a forged 383 which was rebuilt by me after a pro built it. it took 500 miles b4 the engine started to smoke bc the piston to wall clearance was way too tight. after the second build the procharger burned oil.
it made good power but is way gone now.
i have other toys on the build platform

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

my failed build was using cast pistons in a 383 lt1 with spray, holley tb n20 + novice tuning and reckless driving=

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

I had the Oil Pump fail in my first build of my current 402..so I had to re-build that..

Then I've thrashed 2 Built 4L60E's and 1 Built 4L65E, and the Aftermarket 10-Bolt in the past year, so it's been about $5200 invested and all it's seen is the Moser 9" and a whole lot of Garage time..

I wouldn't call that last part a nightmare, just depressing..

Beaflag VonRathburg

iTrader: (176)

I never got to run it and it's an LS1, but oh well it fits in this category. I bought a used short block off of here for $200 and planned on building a forged 347 for my Formula after it blew up. I already had a set of pistons that I got off of here also for $250. I saw a for sale thread that a guy had the exact set of rods I wanted for $250 so I bought them or so I thought. I payed $275 with shipping and never got the rods. I traded the rest of the parts and $400 for my 93.

Stroked96Bowtie

iTrader: (22)

Big Block (468ci) C-10 project that never got finished....4 years and sold it before it was complete. Tried to upload photos but they are too big for this forum I guess. Motor was done and in the truck, 700r4 trans built, 12bolt rear...was almost there just couldnt get myself to finish it. So I sold it...ohh well...happy with what I have going now

Pampered-Z

OK, I've been building engine for nearly 30 years, 80% were big block mopars. but I've done about 15-20 SBC. So I do know the basics of putting a SBC together. I used ARP studs before, and I always used Permatex Marine grade bolt sealer on all my engines, never had a problem......

A) took over a year to get the shortblock from Nutech. had to custom order the pistons 3 times.
1st) domed, not inverted
2nd) wrist pin wrong position
3rd) wrong diam. ( .30 over, needed .40 over )

B) Block done, got it without the sprayed caps. Sent back, caps installed.

C) Assmebled engine, Piston to valve clearance too close for what I had targeted. (zero decked blocked, 590 lift cam).

1st) Order another cam ( custom ground with less lift )
2nd) Order Commetic gaskets .55 for some additional clearance.
3rd) Heads needed to be sent out for proper finish per Commetic's specs.

D(1) Fill engine with collant, leaks!

Call Commetic, told I need to cut rivets off heads ( there was "suppose" to be a notice with them ) Fix.

D(2) Fill engine with collant, start, white smoke!

Reseal studs using ARP sealant.

D(3) Fill engine with collant, start, white smoke!

Switch to ARP bolts, pull the commetic gaskets apart and spray with copper coat ( way we did em on the mopars, even though everyone said you didn't need to.

Car starts, runs. Need to get tune finished, running rich.

Tuner I was using disapeared with all my chips and tune files. Jerks me around for mearly 6 months.

At this point the engine has been in the car for nearly 18 months and I have a toal of 6 miles on it!

Hook up with Alvin from PCM4Less, within a month I have a tune and the car drives great.

After about 400 miles, I put the SC belt on and start REALLY driving it. take it to the track for some soft passes ( no hard launchs. 2.20 60' on Nitto Drs, but make 2 passes, snap an alxe on the 1/2 shift. fix, few more passes, broke posi in burnout box. fix, few more, maybe 10-12 passes oin car now, snap posi in half on the 2/3 shift. Fix

Now about 550 miles on engine:

One morning I start the car, let it run in the driveway for about 10 minutes, drive to the track ( track is 1 mile fom my house ). I get to the track and I hear a noise, thought the SC tensioner or somethime was loose, so I decide no racing, take it home.

Hear noise is coming from pan, drain oil,,,,,


It's got pretty silver sparkles in it! Pull engine apart, the 3 mains center mains ( they ones that weren't originally installed???? ) have spun bearings.



Engine is being fixed by another builder, crank had to be ground .10, new caps and being installed and the block rebored.

Next failure = Match in gas tank!

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

Anyone else?

joelster

I have a longish story that I will try to tell here.

Back in '91 or '92 I had a '79 Z28 with a pretty crazy (for that time) 350. It was .060" forged TRW pistons, big cam, victor jr, 700 dbl pumper, gear drive, etc, etc.....

Every winter I would tear the whole motor down to the block and just look at stuff, and inspect it and whatnot. This particular year I had taken the crank to the machine shop to get polished and then install new bearings for the new year. I spent 2 days building the motor from the bare block and installing it into the car. Upon initial startup ( I primed it) it starts to develop a "knock". I'm thinking "oh ****", as you give it a little gas, the knock gets faster, so it is rpm dependent. I was totally bummed. I had literally spent 20 hours over 2 days, only to be ground to a halt inside of 3 minutes.

So..........out it goes. 4-5 hours later I have the motor on the stand, intake off, heads off, flip 'er over, pan off, start taking out pistons....hrmm...........all the rod bearings look good.......must be a main. Get all 8 slugs out, start on the mains, off come the caps......hrmm..........they all look mint, nothing spun, no wear marks, NOTHING!!!!!!!!

Then I notice that the flywheel is still bolted on, as I had forgotten to take it off yet. I was anxious to look at the mains first so I left it on. As I get the impact wrench on it I notice a shiny spot on it by the teeth. The damn thing had a hairline crack in it, and was just slightly warped and the teeth were whacking the snout of the starter. UGH!!!!!!!!! All that labor I just did for a $30 bent flywheel. The metal-to-metal flywheel hitting the starter sounded exactly like a knock. I was out a shitload of labor but thankfully not too much $$$$$$$$.

creepingdeath94

iTrader: (1)

I had a Pontiac 6.6 400 build years back now I am still trying to forget as it makes me cry to this day :-( Long story short, I got a junk yard 400 block for $300 and had to spend a small fortune fixing it from the years of apparently sitting in a mud puddle before I came across it. Who leaves a 6.6 Pontiac 400 outside in a mud puddle anyway!!?? O.K, moving on, once that was done, I proceeded to spend another small fortune on Pontiac engine parts, which for anyone who has built a motor back when Pontiac and Chevy were actually separate and different companies, and has now tried to build one today, knows how expensive Pontiac parts are in comparison to small block Chevy parts. Finally got it all together and pretty. Yaaay!, right?

Wrong...it then sat on a roller dolly for a year in my living room before I finally got the garbage can rusted terd of a car it was going in "ready" to drop this beautiful expensive pretty motor into. The car was from from ready. The trans. I had wouldn't work and I ended up finally locating a Powerglide for it. By this time, the brakes and other work I had done had gone to hell and all had to be redone. The rust on the body has worsened. And the interior had not even been looked at yet...and was basically one step up from a rat's nest.

By this time, I probably had close to $10K in this '79 Firebird and there it sat rusted, non-driveable, and in need of more money to go back through everything that kept sitting as I went in waves of time and money to work on it. The last straw was when I went to do my weekly start-up so at least the engine wouldn't seize up just sitting there all the time and the carb. was gunked up and garf and wouldn't run.

At this point I threw my hands up and parted the car out. Lost my ***. Probably ended up with $1500 total by the end and sent the car off to be scrapped by some mobile salvage guy.

The moral of this story everyone, BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET! Make damn sure you either have the time and money to finish things you start or at the very least have a place to store the car out of the weather/elements to keep the work you do from getting destroyed as you go. I was a dumb kid and learned fast what not to do...unfortunately not fast enough.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

Well a long time ago, a buddy wanted me to swap a Yank SS4000 into his '99 procharged SS. I told him I had never messed with auto's before, but I'll read up and do it, he said cool.
So we get to it, tranny comes down, slide the stock stall out, put in the new stall and I "thought" that I had it clocked correctly. Tranny goes up, bolt the stall to the flexplate, however, when we start bolting the tranny to the engine, we hear a loud pop! Not knowing what it was, we continue on. Get the car started and it doesn't move at all. We check fluids and its fine. So after several hours of trouble shooting we decide to drop the tranny. Out comes the new stall and we discover peices of metal in the bell housing...we broke the teeth of the tranny pump.
So we get a hook up on a supposedly low mileage, good running 4L60E. We drive 40 miles to pick it up at 1am in the morning. Get it back and install it with the tranny. Car drives great! Drive it around for 2 weeks and then all of a sudden, it won't move or go into gear. We drop the tranny AGAIN and discover the when we bolted up the old tranny and cracked the pump, we also bent the nose of the stall, which broke the teeth of the pump of the new tranny. So my buddy buys a pump repair kit for his old 100k tranny because he wanted that one to go back in. We repair it and install it with the stock stall, all goes well until we realize that we forgot to put the torque arm housing on the tail shaft before we install it. And my buddy having a completely welded exhaust means that the tranny won't sag at all, so we have to lower the whole tranny just to get the housing back on. Then we bolt it all up AGAIN and drive it. Car runs great for a week, then the clutch packs went out.
Ending of the story, my buddy got his tranny built up and his stall rebuilt and it's all in there now, car runs great and has been running great ever since.
What a nightmare!