I'm thinking of covering all the head except the bolt holed with tape. Spray the hole with PB Blaster, let it sit perhaps overnight. Use something like this ( ) with a reverse cobalt bit. But I need an apparatus that is relatively short to spin the bit. A traditional sized drill is probably too tall to fit in the area. Maybe something like a right angle drill except less expensive. I just need to source the right combo of tools.

 

Let's make this an excuse-free zone.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauke...2390/309634715

 

I got it out. B1 cover is off so I can replace those bolts too (going back to new GM bolts). I may need to re-use, at least temporarily, the old valve cover. Old cover my coils bolt direct to it, new cover needs a coil mounting bracket. Unsure of correct bracket for combo of my coils & cover.

When we setup the pushrod lengths on the engine stand, we didn't stick something into the chamber to find when the lifter was on the base circle. That seems easier to me than sticking rope, etc, into chamber but I don't recall the details. Something to do with correlation of pushrod and rocker position?

Both pieces of bolt

Surgery

Right angle adapter w Ryobi door hinge bit set. Replaced bit w cobalt reverse bit. Needed to dremel exterior of ryobi to help fit in bolt hole.

Assembled. Once the top of the bolt was near flush, i used a slightly larger reverse bit to pull it out the rest of the way. Used magnets all around inside of head to pickup debris.

 

Old (12605344) vs new (12611021) R cover, Delco 12611424 coils. New has a taller metal lip at the bottom. I don't want a mismatch between banks.

 

It's back together, but at least one of the issues that originated after the broken clutch master line continues... that being it now stalls unless I add throttle.

immediately after getting it back from the line repair, driving it obviously has an issue with rpm falling faster between shifts, and idle quality.

I've only tried to let it idle today, didn't drive it.

 

Boy, I bet you were excited to see that thing come out.

 

No need to fool around with sticking things in the cyl to find the cam's base circle.

2 good ways to locate it, either of which is plenty accurate enough:

The 180° from the other cyl method. Recall that the engine makes 2 revolutions for each cyl to complete its cycle; 2 cyls have their pistons moving the same at all times, and the cam is 180° apart (1 full crank rev, ½ of a cam rev) for each valve for those 2s. The pairs of cyls are 4 apart in the firing order. So for example, the #1 & #6 pistons always move the same; the #1 intake valve is exactly 180° different from the #6 int, when one is firing the other is "crossing over" from the exh cycle to the int, etc. When one of them has its int at full lift, the other is at zero, and the same for the exh. Watch #1 int for full lift, at that point #6 int is on the base circle. You only have to find this position once; after that, each next cyl is exactly 90° of crank rotation from there. So if you find #1 int zero, #8 int zero will be exactly ¼ turn of the crank from there, then #7 int ¼ turn more, etc.

The EOIC method. Recall that as the engine goes through its cycle, the int valve begins opening right at (actually, just slightly before) the int stroke, and closes near (just after, actually) the end of the int stroke; and is at max lift at about the middle of the int stroke. This means that the lobe passes through zero lift at exactly 180° from that spot, which would be, the middle of the power stroke. The exh opens at the end of the power stroke, so the int valve's zero occurs just before the exh starts opening. Thus, measure a cyl's int valve when the exhaust is just barely opening (EO, Exh Opening); it's a little bit later than absolute zero, butt plenty close enough, usually no more than a couple of .001"s from perfect zero. The same logic applies to the exh valve, with its max lift coming at the middle of the exh stroke and its zero occurring about halfway through the compression stroke, which occurs just after the int closes. Measure the exh valve just after the int closes (IC, Int Closing). Like the other more accurate method, you only have to find one cyl's event for each valve type, then the others are at exactly 90° intervals from there, in the firing order.