Albert96TA

I have read through your entire thread and am VERY impressed in the build, there was a lot of awesome info there and answered some of the questions I had for the future of my build. I could not find the link to the runs at the track and on the street though.
I am looking to get some ARP head bolts so I can avoid TTY bolts, any help here would be great, and a top end gasket kit as well. Everywhere I look for a gasket kit it gets really confusing on what company is worth a damm.

Thanks for the help, I can use it..

Albert96TA

So I have been looking at this setup from AI:

http://www.advancedinduction.com/LTX...rtStrpHead.php

With this cam....
Ai 228 / 234 - .614" / .614" - 108 LSA•An excellent choice for 3.73-4.10 geared M6 cars. Typically makes peak power at 6400-6700rpm on 350-355cid short blocks. A4 cars need 3.73 gearing & a minimum 3000 rpm converter. Usesd by both F-body & B-body Stock Shortblock Record Holders.

My question is what other supporting mods will I need to make this reliable? I am on a fairly tight budget and know I will need a tune. Things like injectors, TB, intake port, push rods, rockers, ect....?
Thank you for any and all help.

Albert96TA

So I have been busy today since I was off work. I managed to get the heads and oil pan off. I have some good news and some bad news. So basicly I am at a stand still and need some help and advice. As mentioned at the beginig of this thread the whole reason I am doing this is because of a head gasket. I found the issue, #7 cylinder..
The plug, it had a sweet smell and some nasty crap at the base of the hook.


Here is the head..


And the cylinder..


Well to my suprise as I looked closer at the pistons, I noticed it said .040 I was not expecting that, .030 mabe but .040 thats a lot for me. I know its not that bad but it makes me wonder about a lot of things.
Here is a concern for me, when I tried to remove the head bolts they would NOT move at all, I was forced to use my impact gun and it still put up a fight on "some" of them. So I am sure they were overtightened, now I am worried about the overall condition of the heads and wether or not they can be reused. The engine did overheat several times while I was narrowing down the problem. The gasket blew letting exhaust gases in the coolant chamber, I ended up changing the entire cooling system, some parts several times.
One other concern I have is the bottom end, no noises or smoke and the cross hash marks from the honing are still very visible with no ridge at the top either. Where I am concerned is the bearings, based on the heads being overtightened I am not confident in there ability to torque the important parts either, rods, caps, ect.. Like I said, I have been given no indication of an issue. I can only hope they had the machinest assemble the bottom end and they screwed up the top.

Now I also had a oil pressure issue when coming to a complete stop at a moderate speed, it would lose all pressure but would regain it in a second. So when I removed the oil pan this is what I saw..



So I am at a loss here. How poorly was this engine assembled? What else is not right that may screw me later?

Now here is another legitimate concern, the cam, what size is it, could it be stock with a .040 engine? The PCM tune, does it need to be tuned since the over bore? How can I check to see if the cam is stock?

I know I am rattling a million "what if's" at you guys but I am unsure of where to go with this now. My plan was for a little top end work not a complete rebuild. I do not have the coin to overhaul and mod the engine.
Any help here would be huge. Thanks

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

blown head gasket is normal with these cars espically if they're assembled incorrectly.....when i bought my car 7 years ago it had two blown gaskets.......step one is have the heads milled i can guarantee they are NOT flat after an issue like that, step two is weld that damn pickup on the pump, step three you could pull a rod and a main cap off and inspect it just to see what you got

Albert96TA

Thank you for the step by step... My mind is going a million miles an hour...

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

you can reuse the bearing be careful to keep it all clean and do not ding or scratch it when its out.......as for torquing you can go over the mains to check them but i wouldn't loosen and re-tighten them no need to put the bolt through another cycle........also if using gm hardware use oil NOT moly lube on threads and head gm torq specs are not with aftermarket lubricants like moly lube

Rob94hawk

iTrader: (1)

Do you plan on having that block hot tanked? Check the deck for straightness. Heads aren't the only thing that warp during overheating.

Albert96TA

I want to use ARP bolts, so what is the process?
Thanks

You are right, now I need to get the block in the back of my DD to run it up to the machine shop to have it checked, thanks for pointing that out

Ok, the guy at the machine shop checked the heads for straightness and said " I am having a hard time getting .0020 to drag anywhere on these heads" and also " they look be low milage" which lines up with what the guy I bought it from said, about 20K miles. He recommended a milling, cleaning, and vac/pressure check. So thats what they are getting and will be done tomorrow.
I asked if they look like the guy put block sealer in it and he said "Yep". So thats really nice, I took it in the . It could be worse I guess...
I am also going to have the intake tanked and blasted so it all looks good going back together. I will report back after I get back with the block.

Rob94hawk

iTrader: (1)

On the ARP head bolts I used Permatex Indian Head shelac on the threads and ARP ultra torque lube in between the bolt and washer.

Used the Indian Head shelac on the rocker studs cause some were exposed to the intake ports.

Edit: for the ARP mains use ARP ultra lube.

http://arp-bolts.com/pages/arpultratorque.shtml

Albert96TA

Never heard of this, Indian Head shelac ... What is it?
Thanks

Rob94hawk

iTrader: (1)

http://www.permatex.com/products/pro...ompound-detail

Albert96TA

Great news, the machine shop guy said the block is perfect. So tomorrow I will have my heads and intake back. I have to revamp my plan now on my build and budget. Please forgive me for asking for advice on a plan.
Thanks for the help so far. I will probably need some more help on my reassembly and plans for the future.

1961ba427

iTrader: (26)

It sounds like you can just do minor refreshing and have a good foundation for your upgrades. That's always good news. Perhaps you should look at it as knowing in the future that everything is fine with the shortblock instead of doing upgrades without having it checked and then wondering how long you shortblock would last.

Albert96TA

I see a Stroker build in my future... Since its already bored out.. That's what I have been tossing around the last few days anyway. I have paused on all engine building/modding for now this year. My new plan is to put it back together and do some much needed suspension upgrades this year, I guess since I definitely don't have enough money for a Stroker build.