Stingray69

Stumbled into this thread while cruising a search for swapping in screw-in rocker studs, and I have enjoyed it more than any I can remember in a long time! Thanks for the time you spent in taking AND posting the pics, thanks for the laughs I got from your good sense of humour and thanks for showing others that there isn't anything to be scared of, just do the research, and go for it!

I was just wanting to find a way to NOT buy the stud pulling tool... ;^)

Good luck on the motor, and good luck with marriage; I got married at the Little White Chapel in 2000. Standing under the carport...we got OUT of the limo.

Wish mine would scrape crud off my cars...writing on tape is too much for her...

1986Z28OWNER

id just buy the tool, your goingt o need it anyways when you tap the holes(it also aligns the tap)

InfernalVortex

Very cool thread, I learned a lot!

si_camaro

Well I'm happy to hear everyone's learning and laughing, becuase that's what this thread is all about!

I trust everyone had a nice Christmas etc. My car has suffered due to the after-Christmas post-wedding pinch (did I say pinch? Vice Grip seems more appropriate) but yesterday I did a little tiny bit which has made the engine look more like....an engine!

The engine has a new home. It's currently residing next door to my Dad's project, a Ford GT40. His project is more interesting than mine, so you get one picture and then we move on :



The timing cover is on :



The harmonic balancer and crank pulley :



And finally, the oil pump pick-up :



Next I'm going to purchase a tapping set and tap the heads for screw-in studs. With new springs fitted, the heads will be ready for painting and fitting!

1986Z28OWNER

you will also need a alignment tool for tapping the heads because if they arnt tapped straight youll have nothing but problems

si_camaro

Yes, a couple of people have mentioned some kind of alignment tool. I better get looking, as I want this project finished for the summer. I need to drive up and down the seafront with a V8 burble at the rear, some good tracks on the MP3 player up front and a big grin in the middle. And you don't get it from a Renault 5 1.4i Campus.

1986Z28OWNER

make sure you get the paint off the oil pan gasket surface, it may cause leaks, along with the deck of the block, it dosnt take much to cause a leak
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and the W/P surgaces too!

The Project

Where are you at now with the project?

__________________


Member of Camaro Country F-Body Car Club - www.ccfbg.com
Member of Muppet Motorsports

1989 Camaro RS (Z28 clone) •305 TPI swap with LT1 cam & modified air intake •700R-4 w/corvette servos, boost valve, 3-4 full shift kit & 1800 stall •Jet Hot coated Edelbrock TES headers •3" Flowmaster cat back exhaust (w/ dual low restriction cats.) •Accel coil •3.42 Strange gears •Auburn diff. •UMI sub-frame connectors •UMI A-arms •UMI wonder bar •UMI adj panhard rod •UMI lca & UMI lcarb •BMR battery relocation •92 gfx • IROC hood, rims, grid tail lights, steering pump •custom paint... May the GAOTU protect you!

si_camaro

Well, Wednesday is my birthday and I think I may be receiving a couple of bits for the engine. I haven't been able to do much for a little while, except for cleaning the crud off the sump. I should have some more pictures on Saturday though!

toxik IROC

cant wait

R1UK

All round to yours for beer and cake then.

Have a good day.

si_camaro

Hello one and all

It's been a while, but I finally managed to find a few hours away from the cruelty of real life and decended to the grimey depths of my rebuild for an afternoon. Well, the sun was shining and I had beer.

My dad bought me a 7/16" tapping set, so I set to work on my heads





I had been looking around for a guide so that the holes were tapped straight, but with a taper tap it was no problem at all without one



Next came the tedious task of lapping the valves. My hands haven't been this red and sore since I was a teenager...





A new set of valve seals



A spanking new set of super duper strong valve springs



And yes, the old caps and rotators. I had to let the budget step in at some point, or this car will never be on the road.



Apart from screw-in studs, there's nothing left for these heads...



...apart from making them match the block



Which reminds me. Anyone know where I can find some collarless studs? I really don't fancy milling the stud bosses for normal ones.

Dr G

Love the sore hands comment!! I had the same lapping in the valves on my Lotus engine last summer - same number of valves as the SBC!

Si - I also just wanted to say thanks for such an enjoyable thread with so many informative pictures.

R1UK

Its a while since i have done all that, you can cheat if you use an electric drill, keep the valve stem well oiled as you lap it in, but you cant beat the old methods.

si_camaro

Right. Now I can almost taste the exhaust fumes.

Here I have bolted the heads back on and fitted the water pump. Oh and the fuel pump. And the starter motor. Ok so I forgot my camera last time.



This must be the most painful purchase of the lot. £45.00 and yet it looks like something out of the pound shop.



Screwed in with a blob of thread lock



A spot of white lithium grease on the bottoms of the lifters



New pushrods



I have heard mixed opinions on the china wall gaskets versus silicone sealant. So I used both



I went for the Edelbrock Performer manifold as mine was on it's last legs



Looks good on the top. I think I'll leave it there.



Rockers fitted but not fully adjusted yet



A sneak preview with the rocker covers and air cleaner "installed". I have also fitted a Sprite injection system. Tastes good, and 35 limes to the gallon....




In the next couple of weeks, the engine goes back in the car. Watch this space!!

andrew91rs

coming along very nicely!

CYARS92

Evidentally, You were the useless one! And to think, you won't even get to ride in the car when it's done.

1986Z28OWNER

white lithium was not the thing to use on those lifters, you should have used assembly lube or what should have come with the cam, carne also has this grey moly paste, flat tappets are tough to break in very easy to wibe a lobe... where are your intake gaskets, guarantee without em your gonna have leaks, did you re-use the water pump or fuel pump, i hope you didnt, it preventative maintenance to replace them when its apart

__________________
1986 Z28
-355 ci
-Brodix aluminum heads
-Comp Cams XE294HR hydraulic roller cam
-Speed Pro 0.030 over forged aluminum flat tops
-750 DP HP carb
-Victor Jr. intake
-Comp Cams pro magnum stainless rockers
-Moroso 7qt. pan and pump
-Built TH350 with manual valve body
-Moser 9", Full spool, 4.10 gears
-Lakewood drags shocks and struts
-Weld Prostars with 28 x 10.5 slicks on the rear
-Aluminum rad and electric water pump
-Full UMI suspension package(LCA's, Panhard bar, SFC's, A-Arms, and transmission mouted adjustable torque arm, K member and A Arms)


Hopin to see 11's

banker

Top job fella, thoroughly enjoyed the thread and strangely felt quite involved with your re-build. I guess your itching to get it running again.
Hopefully i'll see you around as i'm just down the road in Southampton.

__________________


Pontiac Owners Club UK
Hampshire Rep
www.poc-uk.org

si_camaro

Ok, think I must have missed something there. This eejtagain must have no life of his own if he needs to poke his big nose into other people's....

Wiping a lobe is one of my biggest worries, so I have spent a long time on the boards researching this one. I did coat the cam with the red lube stuff which came supplied with it, but wanted something on the bottoms of the lifters also. I installed the lifters a long while after the cam, so naturally the little pouch of lube has gone...


They are definitely there, I just didn't take a picture as I had paste on my hands!

I considered replacing both items, but as they are so easy to replace when the engine is in the car I decided to cut back on the spending a little and get the engine back in and running.
----------
With cars like ours, it's not hard to be seen so I'm sure our paths will cross!

I went and collected the seats from my brother's shed yesterday. They stayed in my runabout overnight, and when I got in it in the morning the car smelled like my Camaro. That made me want to get it running more than ever...

si_camaro

Well, the day came. The weather held (just), and the engine has finally been reunited with the engine hole.

When I arrived at my dad's GT40 garage, the fairies had very kindly hoisted the engine



Thanks to my brother, we had access to a van. So the engine was placed to the right, the hoist in the middle, and me to the left stopping it from sliding around too much.



We removed the hood and wheeled the engine over the bay.



Memories of the engine removal came flooding back, and it soon became apparent that the engine-pulling-out-forwards issue could not be easily reversed, no matter how hard I pushed. So we did this;



The pools on the floor are my tears.

I opted against photographing the ensuing couple of hours, as they brought frustration and injury. No matter how hard we tried, the engine refused to drop in. And it was only by half an inch or so each time. The engine mount bracket would rest on the mount, or the exhaust header would rub on the steering rack (don't even tell me I should have fitted them afterwards, because I did that when they were new and I nearly torched the car in frustration)

Finally, after just the right amount of persuasion, in she went.







I have attached the bumper with half the bolts, as I plan to remove it again and treat some of the rust before permanently fitting it again. I have learned 2 things from this experience:

1. Remove the bumper when lifting the engine
2. Don't leave the gearbox behind and then think it'll "just line up"

banker

Great to see the heart back in your car. Are you considering going to the Summer Nationals at Billing as a maiden voyage for your car?

__________________


Pontiac Owners Club UK
Hampshire Rep
www.poc-uk.org

fin170703

Great work mate. just imagine the day you turn the key for the first time

si_camaro

I'll certainly consider going if the car is ready by then. I may stick to something more local as a maiden voyage though, just in case I break down!

I know, and the closer I get the more I think about it. It's been 2 years since I last turned the key (and anything happened). Here's where I'm at after a long hot Saturday. Carb is on, along with a few more bits and pieces. I've fitted the radiator on with cable ties for now, as the old viscous fan shroud is long gone and I plan on making a stainless steel one for the dual electric fans, once I can get the car to my dad's garage!