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Honestly, I'd go buy a cheap 5.3 long block and plug it in and keep going, you'll still have a boat load of fun with a stock 5.3, E85 and a billet 78mm turbo.
How did Terry offer to help?
I feel like he sold you a defective product and needs to make it right?
i agree , don't give up yet . Swap in a sbe and have some fun
Honestly, I'd go buy a cheap 5.3 long block and plug it in and keep going, you'll still have a boat load of fun with a stock 5.3, E85 and a billet 78mm turbo.
How did Terry offer to help?
I feel like he sold you a defective product and needs to make it right?
I'm sure it would be fun, but I'm over working like that again- especially for a SBE LS.
Terry didn't sell me anything- he gave me most of the hard parts, plus his labor so I don't have a single complaint.
After all this went sideways (the first 3 times), he offered to build an iron block 5.7 for me. I declined his gracious offer.
He and I have been friends for 25 years, he stands by his stuff. I've seen him take it in the teeth when I would've told the customer to pound sand.
Originally Posted by GMCGreg
i agree , don't give up yet . Swap in a sbe and have some fun
Thanks for the kind words, but I'm at peace with my decision. If it doesn't sell, I'll light it on fire at some point after selling all the hard parts. Honestly.
My only regret is that I didn't start with a GM product to begin with, or put a turbo Coyote and Glide in it. Speaking of which: all I'd have to do is change the motor mounts, but I'm not even doing that.
I'm sure it would be fun, but I'm over working like that again- especially for a SBE LS.
Terry didn't sell me anything- he gave me most of the hard parts, plus his labor so I don't have a single complaint.
After all this went sideways (the first 3 times), he offered to build an iron block 5.7 for me. I declined his gracious offer.
He and I have been friends for 25 years, he stands by his stuff. I've seen him take it in the teeth when I would've told the customer to pound sand.
Thanks for the kind words, but I'm at peace with my decision. If it doesn't sell, I'll light it on fire at some point after selling all the hard parts. Honestly.
My only regret is that I didn't start with a GM product to begin with, or put a turbo Coyote and Glide in it. Speaking of which: all I'd have to do is change the motor mounts, but I'm not even doing that.
Ah okay, I'm glad I didn't jump to any conclusions regarding Terry's integrity. Vendors with that kind of integrity are hard to find, does he sell parts like cylinder heads online, would be good to have his info for others who may be interested in his products.
Ah okay, I'm glad I didn't jump to any conclusions regarding Terry's integrity. Vendors with that kind of integrity are hard to find, does he sell parts like cylinder heads online, would be good to have his info for others who may be interested in his products.
Terry's work is present in a lot of $$$$ builder's products, including vendors on this site. Call him- his cell number is on his website, Wilke's Performance dot net.
Billet LS / SBC / SBF shaft rocker arms, someone else's high dollar retainers, cylinder heads, CNC programs, builds, etc.
Thanks for the encouragement, brother. That's a good one I had not heard.
I hear you, I do. To run a recently assembled engine with Lucas assy lube in it for 8 minutes without oil is one thing- there was little damage at all, even to the dreaded cam bearings- but to run one like I did trying to figure out the coolant leak (it would run flawless up until ~160*)? No one is going to convince me all bearings are not trash. It's a boat anchor or coffee table.
So have you pulled the heads off and had them checked yet?
I just saw your For sale and and the build thread related to this thread...
You would be surprised. I just worked on a engine that the owner assumed had low oil pressure because of the O-ring pick up. Turns out it had a blown head gaskets and was mixing water. After swamping the head gaskets and a fresh oil change it was back up to 40PSI. No issues spotted in the old water contaminated oil or the oil filter.
I hope you don't give up on it. Sometimes it's good to take a break from the build.
I've had a lot of challenges with my '67 Camaro many of which I have not shared, burned up relays, really lousy brakes..
I agree with John, don't make a rash decision, step away from it for a while and go do something else.
Like John I chased a couple very, very aggravating issues with my current car so I stopped messing with it for a full month.
Came back to it and figured it out within a few hours and kept moving forward.
It will all be worth it when you drive it and feel the boost come in, its a wonderful feeling for sure.
I hope you don't give up on it. Sometimes it's good to take a break from the build.
I've had a lot of challenges with my '67 Camaro many of which I have not shared, burned up relays, really lousy brakes..
Oh yes- I've done that numerous times with this build, too many to count. Everything is paid for; as we say down South: "it's not eating nothin'".
If it sells, great. If it doesn't, I'll get to it when all my injuries heal and I've played a few (like 45-50) rounds of golf.
Originally Posted by The ******
I agree with John, don't make a rash decision, step away from it for a while and go do something else.
Like John I chased a couple very, very aggravating issues with my current car so I stopped messing with it for a full month.
Came back to it and figured it out within a few hours and kept moving forward.
It will all be worth it when you drive it and feel the boost come in, its a wonderful feeling for sure.
Dreading this build for the last 3 years, then being over it didn't come overnight; I'd call it wisdom. In 38 years of building (some of them really fast for their time) street cars, I've had my share of big issues- I've never "hated" a single one. Until this truck. I'll walk away for a long while. Andrew has already told me if I decide to come back to it we'll finish tuning it- but I seriously doubt I'll be coming back to it. I've built 4 cars in less time than I have in this truck, and it's just a "fun" toy.
I told my youngest daughter when she was taking accreditations a few years ago to remove her timeline: "remove the timeline, remove the stress associated with the task". Good advice from a Dad, huh? I've removed this particular timeline for 8 years, and I'm just sick of working my regular job, then working 10-12 hour days in the heat and cold on this project.
Thanks for the encouragement, fellas. I appreciate it.
In a moment of lucidity, I decided to clean the assembly lube and coolant from the area really well, pull the single head stud and run the water pump (the head is torqued- I just removed the one stud that the leak came from).
It didn't leak after 15 minutes of running the WP (recall that it would leak with no temp in the engine; all I had to do is run the WP, it would leak). WP at full blast, no leak
I re-installed the stud, this time with teflon paste. No leak. Stud installed finger tight with teflon paste, no leak. WP ON.
As soon as I put as little as 25 ft/lbs of torque on the stud, it leaked like a sieve.
Cracked head at the boss, just as most of you suggested (thanks for the input). 799 castings, NOT Castec.
Wilkes Performance is building another set of heads for me, so I'll at least get it tuned and make a few passes (you can bet your lunch money I'll send it).
Thanks for the great forum and advice- it's nice to know this was one thing I didn't goof up.
In a moment of lucidity, I decided to clean the assembly lube and coolant from the area really well, pull the single head stud and run the water pump (the head is torqued- I just removed the one stud that the leak came from).
It didn't leak after 15 minutes of running the WP (recall that it would leak with no temp in the engine; all I had to do is run the WP, it would leak). WP at full blast, no leak
I re-installed the stud, this time with teflon paste. No leak. Stud installed finger tight with teflon paste, no leak. WP ON.
As soon as I put as little as 25 ft/lbs of torque on the stud, it leaked like a sieve.
Cracked head at the boss, just as most of you suggested (thanks for the input). 799 castings, NOT Castec.
Wilkes Performance is building another set of heads for me, so I'll at least get it tuned and make a few passes (you can bet your lunch money I'll send it).
Thanks for the great forum and advice- it's nice to know this was one thing I didn't goof up.
Well done!
This had me smiling ear to ear, can't wait to hear about the drive!
Ah ha! That's all I'll say. :-)
Those cracks can be welded, but likely pretty tricky.
Older YT rockers? They look skinny compared to the latest and greatest. Just curious, as I had several of those fail on my vette.
I know, right? Thanks for the help (again), @RonSSNova When I get them pulled, we're going to jack up the heat and pressure on the tester (probably 70psi or more). Needless to say, I was floored it was the heads.
No welding when there are a couple hundred 243/799 castings laying around
Maybe? They are the YT6645 model listed on their website. I'm not too concerned; if they break, I'll put a set of Wilke's billet versions on- the only reason I didn't to begin with is I'm not running a lot of spring pressure or rpm.
I had a bad set of those. They fixed it later. And I had 420 lb open springs.
The very latest 6645 are fat. I have them on the C5 still due to the AFR heads.
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