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I had my Z28 sitting for years too! I ended up putting mine back to stock (except for intake/exhaust) so I could pass emission and back on the road. Most people in my area don't know anything about 4thgen f-body specially the younger population. Some of them in new 5.0 Mustang and 5/6thgen Camaro's are shocked when they hear me WOT. They all think my car is a 4 cylinder lol
I had my Z28 sitting for years too! I ended up putting mine back to stock (except for intake/exhaust) so I could pass emission and back on the road. Most people in my area don't know anything about 4thgen f-body specially the younger population. Some of them in new 5.0 Mustang and 5/6thgen Camaro's are shocked when they hear me WOT. They all think my car is a 4 cylinder lol
Im guessing new generation just dont know about cars from the 90's. At few meets, ive been asked if my car is a 4 cylinder or 6. Guess they don't know till they line up next to me lol.
In my area less and less 4thgen's. Lucky to see any around.
Moving forward on the new engine. I'm picking up a 355 with 13.8cc dished forged probes with ARP 2 bolt main studs, ARP rod bolts and a stock crank that may have a cracked block. The compression ratio at best will be between 10.6 and 11:1 with an 0.026 head gasket all depending on the CC of my chambers of my heads, I need to measure them. It's where I would have been anyways if I just rebuilt my spare motor with ARP rod bolts and stock rotating assembly. Not ideal as I would have liked flat tops, but I can't pass up the deal. The pistons are 489 grams instead of stock 532, and the rotating assembly looks to have been balanced. The motor was bought used by the guy im buying it from, and when he installed it it ran and he drove it a little but he had some random issues, then it sat for a year, then he found coolant in cylinder 4 and pulled the motor to go LS. He suspects the block has a crack as the head gaskets appeared fine. I plan to pull it apart, send it to get checked for cracks, and if it's toast, have the spare block in my garage taken 0.030 and line honed for the ARP studs, then put the rotating assembly in my block with new bearings and rings. This will be the definition of a budget build with very low goals mostly just learning and tinkering so if I **** it up I'm not broke. I literally when all is said and done due to years of dealing **** on Craigslist should have almost nothing in this motor, so I'm considering it disposable. My backout procedure is if everything is trashed, I can sell the pistons and ARP hardware and get all my money back. The heads are hand/garage ported stock castings that look very heavily worked, with 2.02/1.6 Manley stainless valves, and dual springs that I need to have a machine shop verify spring pressures. The cam is 230/240 .600/.602 lift 107.5 LSA.
Goals:
put it together myself and with a few friends, keeping tools I buy, but realistically I may not have time and may have the shortblock assembled by someone else and just watch.
Modify and tinker with the base tune myself learning the software
Clean up the wiring harness and engine bay of all the old HVAC and emissions wires
Be faster than it is now with a stock motor
NO LEAKS exhaust or fluid
Be able to drive it to work
Take pictures and document the process
Be back on the road by April 2017
My car is a big lego set that until the day I die will keep taking apart and putting back together. It's a TOY. I will need another 9" before long, if this motor runs and makes any sort of power. My original plan was just to rebuild the stock shortblock with rods resized for ARP bolts, but I think this is a better starting point.
Pictures of the victim:
Last edited by bufmatmuslepants; 11-18-2016 at 05:47 AM.
What a c class looks like with a shortblock in the trunk. Apparently Mercedes engineers didn't plan on a small block Chevy being shoved in the trunk, no tie off points. Had to wedge a board between it and the back seat so it didn't roll through the car and crush me on the 200 mile trip home.
$20 stainless steel ring. I don't get nice things. It's scratched, dinged, dull, just how I like metal to look. I only ever take it off if I'm doing work close to 480 and can't wear a 40 cal suit because I need dexterity in my fingers.
And now I'm starting to think maybe it was the head gaskets that caused the coolant leak on this motor as it was posted that VR 0.026 gaskets sometimes have issues if the deck wasn't perfect on just a head swap (not checking block for flat). The PO stated that the longblock was fine when he bought it, and all he had done was swapping heads and head gaskets by a shop that ended up going under because the builder got hooked on meth. When he found the coolant in the cylinders he had another shop pull it apart and the second shop said the head gaskets looked ok, so they assumed the block was cracked. I had started guessing from another thread debate about putting black RTV on head studs because all head studs hit water vs using ARP assembly lube that the methhead builder either didn't use anything or used ARP lube, causing the leak, since it was on 2, 4 and 6 cylinders, but now thanks to Caseys thread I'm thinking maybe it was really the gaskets on a used/non flat deck swapped by a guy who visibly showed the early effects of meth addiction.
Either way I'm going to pull the block apart, send it to a shop to be magnafluxed and see if a light enough hone can clean it up without requiring another overbore or coating the pistons like SSSRR had to do on his to get rid of a scratch. The pistons being -13.8 cc won't give me the 11.5:1 I wanted with an 0.026 gasket, .009 in the hole and 0.035 quench, the best I can get is 10.6-11:1 depending on what my head CC is. I havnt calculated dynamic CR yet, I have to dig up the cam card. Best case will be the block checks out for no cracks, can be decked to 0.009, and a light hone. If it requires more than a light hone, but no cracks, I'll have to price out either coating the pistons vs using my other block and get it taken 0.030, line hone for the main studs and decked. But I've now got 3 things to guess which caused the coolant; no sealant on head studs, non flat deck with thin head gaskets, or cracked block.
The block kind of looks like it has a coating on the timing area and the lifter galley, I havnt cleaned it to really look. I did see a nicked cam bearing, and the key on the crank looks smashed, hopefully its salvageable. I see balancing marks on the crank, I wish I knew if it was internally balanced or if I need a stock flexplate, how do I tell?
Last edited by bufmatmuslepants; 12-14-2016 at 05:36 AM.
Whelp, shortly after this last post we found out my wife was pregnant again and all this got sidelined like so many projects do. Figured I'd update this post since I disappeared for the past year, hoping to have it better suited for a DD next spring, it didn't get driven this year because it really needs new tires, the oil leak from the intake fixed, a quieter exhaust so it doesn't wake the kids at 4am when I leave for work, and the flywheel resurfaced. Baby boy Sam is now here happy and healthy and the Camaro sat all year getting eaten by mice under a cover. Winter is now here and I have the itch again, but Im going to have to minimize the cost if I do anything. A dingleberry hone is on my Christmas list to see if I can clean up the 355 block, if not I'm probably not going to do all the block work necessary to make the other block a 355 and get the line hone necessary for the ARP main studs. I'm going to pull the current motor and evaluate just shoving the heads and 230/240 107.5 lsa cam into that stock shortblock, if the 355 can't be cleaned up myself with the dingleberry hone and reringed myself. The current running motor needs a new intake gasket and the flywheel needs resurfaced, and if I'm going that far I might as well pull the heads and cam.
Man, just read though this whole thread going with all the ups and downs of DD'n a street car. Glad to hear you and your family are doing good and your still able to tinker. Was wondering,do you have any pics of your car with the wagon wheels? I'm assuming you had two sets of rears to get your square set up. I have a set of staggered wagons right now to go on the car but looking for another set of rears to make it square. Did you have to run spacers or anything, I'm on strano springs and Str.t shocks. I'm also "right" down the road from ya in Chantilly/Fairfax area and work as a fleet tech if ya ever need a hand, feel free to holler.
Those are the wagon wheels painted black in the first page posts. I'd love to get a bunch of people together for a test n tune in spring, I really miss those track days, it's too bad old dominion in manassas is gone now, Wednesday's used to be $10 and you could get 20 passes then drink a beer in the parking lot when it got dark and bullshit with everyone.
11-12-2016, 04:41 PM
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