it would really suck to do it twice. that also cost twice as much!

I always suggest replacing the valve springs on motor over 100K, most who listen come back to say how much better and stronger the car feels. Hope this helps you to Not make a bad choice.

 

Thanks for all the concern. We have things well under control. Cant wait to post more pics and maybe even a video of the first start. =)

 

that be great. Keep this updated.

 

Heres some more pics! So the gasket wasnt "blown". it could very well still have a leak but this means that getting these heads checked is an absolute must.

Enjoy the pics!

 

a few more. sorry if a double post some pics. Check out that big *** wrench lol.

 

It's sometimes hard to tell on the gasket alone. Pistons 3 and 5 looked to have been thoroughly steam cleaned (unless you cleaned them) from coolant breaching the gasket and making it's way into the cylinders.
Yes, get the heads checked/pressure tested and cleaned. Makes the install so much easier.

 

All we did was wipe the coolant out of the cylinders. Devin also ran water with coolant system cleaner and ran it for a while before we did the gasket. so maybe thats why those 2 are clean?

Edit: ^ thats me agreeing with the fact that it was leaking lol. sorry it wasnt very clear.

 

before I cleaned the inside of my car....

 

My car after the cleaning..

 

I hate it when people have good cars and take it for granted by not taking care of em...

 

Hey guys. So i got the heads back from the machine shop today. The heads were warped 9 one thousandths of an inch. Quite a bit. These guys are hardcore and have an outstanding reputation and said they could get them back like new. They are also very familiar with the LT1. They measured the heads. Milled them down. Did a pressure test and checked the valves. They said everything checked out. =) Only charged me $120.

So everything is in place to start the build process early monday morning. We plan to spend all day on it and hopefully be driving it late that day.

here are some pics. Even one of my buddys sweet stang. =)

 

pics didnt go the first time. here they are.

Edit: oh here we were installing new valave guide seals. final step before the rebuild.

Edit2: He used the old seals between the new seal and the hammer. worked great!

 

good progess ..when it working good.im sure u and u buddy have a race pending ..RECORED it and post it here ..lol

 

yea, I had one blow at 12k miles, couldn't see anything obvious on the gaskets, but it must have been the gaskets because the heads were magnafluxed and no cracks or warpage was found.

 

My sister has a 99 mustang GT that was hydrolocked from coolant and the gaskets looked A ok. Checked it all, put it back together and everything was fine. Had a 96 Saturn SW2 that blew the HG to the outside of the engine, it was leaking down the back side of the block. When I got it apart, the only part of the gasket that was intact was the cylinder sealing rings, the rest of it looked like swiss cheese.

Moral of the story, head gaskets are weird.

 

I noticed you have the head bolts layed out so you know where they came from, do you know you should use new head bolts? And they should have sealant on them. Just pointing out something I learned on this forum. Maybe someone else will post and confirm this.

 

We were actually talking about racing last night. We plan to hit our local strip "75-80" and have someone record a race bewteen us. Will post it here.

As for the head bolts, we plan to use new however incase we feel the need to just reuse the original "bomb proof lol" bolts we kept them in order. Its not really a major deal. you should always use new where you can.

 

Well the engine is complete and as promised, I have a video of the first start. Fans dont seem to turn on and we need a coolant temp sensor. both easy fixes.

View the video below.

http://youtu.be/LmaN3U8WSXc

Edit: There is some noise interference that sounds like a clicking noise. Thats not the motor lol. it sounds very smooth and clean. =)

 

What did you do for head bolts?

 

I'm wondering with that kind of sludge what the oil pan looks like...