Finally starting my rebuild.
06-07-2011, 08:52 PM
#41
Yeah I bought the ARP-2000 rod bolts. Which once you pull out the stock rod bolts you'll understand why you need to replace them. The stock bolts only go about halfway through the rods. As for the hone GM recommends using a 4" flex hone between 220-240 grit. I confirmed this with an LS1 tech manual, the MX department at a couple stealerships, and then used Ondemand (still have a password). So then it took me awhile to find the flex hone but I was able to locate a company and used a 240 grit silicon carbide hone. I think that the pics actually make the cylinders look ruff, but they actually feel really smooth.
You'll be surprised at how much "grey" the towels pick up when the ATF does its thing...and you don't want that in there when the pistons & rings go in.
06-07-2011, 08:59 PM
#42
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Crainholio good call, already did that lastnight. I will do it again before the pistons go in for their final time. Tonight was pretty useless, cleaned the crank and went to go buy new main bearings. I installed them with some plasti-gage, all the clearences were 0.0015. Im pretty happy with that. I plan on running 5w30 so, a little tight on the clearence here isnt a bad thing. My books all say 0.0080-0.0210 for a moderate build. Hopefully tomorrow the crank will go in for its last time and maybe get around to fitting some rings.
06-07-2011, 09:01 PM
#43
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Alex41 ws over tonight and he checked out the bores, thought they looked too rough. But its just the pics I think. I have a POS camera, for all my garage car pictures.
06-08-2011, 07:06 PM
#44
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Today I was actually able to get a $hit load of work done after I had to go buy 2 new torque wrenches, with the help of BigDave and Alex. We finished installing the crank, rear main seal & cover, plasti-gaged all the rods & bearings, cleaned the pistons, file fit the rings, installed the rods and pistons. I used the ARP 2000 bolts. Installed the cam, new cam retaining plate with the chamfered bolts, installed the timing chain and oil pump drive. I used a double roller timing chain, a lot of people bitch about them. But I bought it new, cheaper than a C5R chain, and its stronger and they dont stretch as fast as a single chain and I got luck and the good chain came in the set. So I figure good deal.
06-08-2011, 08:48 PM
#46
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looks good steve... i'll be over when ever i can to keep helping out with everything. definitely a learning experience for me that's for sure. come next motor rebuild/swap it should be a breeze....
hopefully if we keep up with the work we can have it in by the end of next week
hopefully if we keep up with the work we can have it in by the end of next week
06-09-2011, 10:08 AM
#47
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Thanks for the compliments. I am hoping to finish the motor this week. Then this weekend and next week I can concentrate on prep and paint of the engine bay and undercarrage. Then move onto installing the engine and finish my suspension parts.
06-09-2011, 08:43 PM
#48
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Today I finished putting the motor together until it goes inside the car. I installed the oil pump. Had to grind a bit off the inside of the timing cover, just to clear the timing chain and oil pump. Then i installed the pickup tube and oil pan.
06-10-2011, 02:29 PM
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why isnt the block baby blue? I thought about the old school Pontiac colors. But I thought it would clash with the rest of my build scheme. Besides it is a chevy block so I at least used the proper color there.
06-10-2011, 07:04 PM
#54
06-10-2011, 09:47 PM
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More cleaning and painting today, cleaned the alternator, painted the starter, sanded and painted the headers, and then I starting cleaning the engine bay.
06-12-2011, 06:56 PM
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Well day 11 was wayyyy more productive than I thought it would be. I finished painting the engine bay this morning and thanks to Jesus(everyone needs a little Jesus in their life) I was able to drop the block into place. I think the orange and black look good, even though I'm sure a lot of folks wont. But the block really stands out and with all the other nice parts going in it should look good.
