ahawes

So I bought a 5.3 last fall and am finally going to get to start tearing into it. The engine is going into a 73 Monte Carlo, stock heads for the time but that may change during the build. I've acquired an LS6 intake and throttle body, doing the accessory modifications to make that work. I will be doing a cam (228R or similar) and timing set swap, plan to use upgraded hardware putting it all back together.


The question I have is what kind of inspection should I be doing on the engine before dropping it into the car. I planned to check the cylinders with heads off with a micrometer for round and making sure there are no glaring issues there. What kind of inspection can I do on the bottom end, visually or otherwise? I know these engines have a well documented history of taking tons of miles extremely well. I have no history on the engine, I would assume it is very high mileage. Basically I am just trying to save myself the trouble of having to pull the engine immediately for a problem that would have been more easily dealt with before dropping it into the car. Any insight would be much appreciated.

svslow

Don't over think it. If it ran fine before there is no point in spending a bunch of money on new parts. Maybe pull a rod cap and if it looks good run it as-is.

ahawes

I never heard it run personally, truck it came out of was badly wrecked. I'd have a lot more peace of mind if I had heard it run but the price was right on it so I bought it anyhow.

IDriveChevy

iTrader: (5)

If the heads are still on it put a starter on and give it 12v so you can do a compression check / leakdown test. If that comes out fine then I wouldn't really worry much more.