si_camaro

Hey all. It's been a while since I was here last. Haven't really driven the old girl for quite a few months now, and a big relocation has taken up most of my time. Still, the nice weather is upon us and I intend to use it well. It's time to breathe some life back into the Camaro.

I have avoided the word "restoration" in the thread title, because this is not going to be as expensive, nor as long-winded as that. A bit of a power injection, and a lot of tidying is what's on the agenda for now, and I thought I'd document it here for everyone to follow, advise, and maybe learn. I'll be hotlinking so not much server space will be required, admin team!

My plans at the moment are sketchy, but the engine will receive :

1. A new cam. Probably a comp cams XE262 as I want to stick to the stock converter but get a reasonable boost in power.
2. A mild port/polish job on the original 416 heads.
3. Screw-in rocker arm studs (for all the extra lift)
4. Performance intake manifold (undecided on specifics)
5. Rochester carb tuning. No computers here!
6. Hedman Hedders which are already present, but some exhaust work required.
7. New piston rings, main bearings, all gaskets, probably a new water pump, oil pump and pickup
8. Uprated ignition coil (undecided)
9. And of course the obligatory chrome rocker covers and thermostat housing!

The rest of the car is ok, but needs bits and pieces. Not to mention a tidy up, rust treatment, MOT and a damn good polish.

Wish me luck, and watch this space!

Si

si_camaro

Ok, here's day one of the serious stuff. Me and my Dad started by taking the hood off. A good idea I thought, seeing as it was in the way and all.




I didn't take any pictures of my swear words or bloodshed, but after all that we stuck the hoist in. Without removing the front bumper we couldn't get the thing directly over the engine.



I had to hold the engine back to stop it taking the slam panel with it, whilst my Dad jacked the hoist up. Note the headers stayed in the vehicle. This is because all the y-pipe bolts rounded off. More swearing prevailed....





We got the engine safely attached to a stand and ready for dissasembly...




...and placed it in it's new home.

si_camaro

The following week, I started the disassembly. After years of working on this car, I have never known the pleasures of standing upright to strip the engine, always having to lean over and put my back out for the following week.


Bit of a build-up of assembly paste and crud in there...




Thankfully all the bores look great. They'll need a bit of a light honing before installing new rings, and I'm yet to check for a ridge at the top of the cylinder walls.

si_camaro

Without a lifter removal tool to hand, I decided to move on and turn the enigne upside down

Off came the oil pan and on close inspection, everything LOOKS clean.

si_camaro

Today, the weather looked a bit rubbish so I decided to work on the heads. All I got done today was the removal of the push-in rocker studs, for a later installation of screw-in studs. How do you like my stud removal tool?





Done!

R1UK

Great pix, must admit anything and everything gets in the way when the motor comes out.
It does look nice and clean at the bottom, most of the sludge always forms at the top, good luck with the rebuild.

RMK

This will be a fun thread to watch. It would be interesting to see how much power you gain. Did you ever put it down the trach in the past? btw, you have the smallest garage I have ever seen.

si_camaro

It is a little pokey isn't it?

I never put my car down the track, but when I got her she was mechanically bone stock. The LG4 is from 1985, so it is the upper end of rubbish, what with the flat top pistons and 9.5:1 compression ratio. I'm trying to base my modifications on Sitting Bull's sig list, only I'm going a little milder and I'm not putting a horsepower figure on it. Not until I have a slip to prove it anyway!

si_camaro

Yesterday was a horrible day to be outside, so I retreated to the shed again, armed with a valve spring compressor





They all came out without a struggle

si_camaro

In fact, they came out SO easily, I decided to test my dremel and have an experimental porting session.




<P>
Anyone know the best place to buy dremel bits?

RMK

B&Q sell dremel bits. I wouldn't attempt to do a full on porting job with a Dremel. You'd be far better with a die grinder.

si_camaro

Cool thanks...I'm not doing a full on port job, really just gasket matching and polishing.

Once the 350 block comes along and I decide to prep these heads for the transplant....

....THEN I'll buy a die grinder and you won't see me for days

si_camaro

Hey all. Just a quick note to say I haven't given up and the project still plods on. Just getting lazy with the pictures, but so far I am down to a bare block and am calling some engineering firms this week for information on hot tank time.

As far as the heads go, they are slowly taking shape but it's hard to show in photos. Think I need a long-reach burr to finish them though, and then a tapping set to install the screw-in studs.

Pics to follow soon, I promise!

88blkbird

make sure you use a tap guide to get the studs in straight, I think summit racing sells one, they're reasonably cheap.

RMK

Thanks for the update. I was just about to post for an update.

si_camaro

Ok. Here's a little more progress...

Porting/polishing progress so far





And engine progress so far.

My newly bent harmonic balancer removal tool, complete with balancer


My stretched timing chain complete with nylon gear teeth


And a bare block which I'll have to photograph next time

fin170703

hello again.

Nice to see someone in the same position as me. Here's how far i am



As you see from my thread in the tech section i'm about to purchase heads and a comp cam XE274 . I've also gone with forged con rods and froged pistons. I've also got shed loads of pics of the engine pull , i had the benifit of a forklift




I pulled my engine and trannie out together cause i couldn't be arsed to detatch it under the car
----------
I had my block bored .030" and also reground my crank just for safe measure , there was some light marking ,.

Wht sort of figures are you hoping to get out of yours

si_camaro

I don't like this game. Guessing a power output will probably lead to disappointment. I've seen people in the States get 300+ hp from the 305, but they tend to do a little more here, and a little more there, than I'm willing to do to a 305. I'm not reboring as there is hardly any ridge on the cylinder walls, and I don't want to buy new pistons. The headers I'm using are for a 305, whereas the 350 headers have larger pipes and a larger collector. I'd be happy with 250hp but that's not to say I'm expecting it. I doubt I'll even get the car dyno tested, except for the trusty butt dyno.

When I've finished, I'll start my search for the 350 block and start spending the money where it needs to be spent. Right now I just want a car that goes as good as it sounds without throwing money away. The cam and heads will probably be reused on the 350, but things like pistons can't be.

si_camaro

Here's my progress for today.

Crankshaft out


The worst camshaft in the world out


The cam sprocket, complete with broken teeth. I think it was about due


A dirty piston. Anyone suggest a good cleaning solution/method?


And a bare block


The block is off to the machine shop next week to be cleaned and honed. I'm also getting them to remove the cam bearings as I don't have the tool and don't wish to damage the block with my clumsy hammer-and-tongs approach.

88blkbird

check with the machine shop on cleaning the pistons, you can clean the tops with scotchbrite but you've got to be careful on the skirts... the machine shop should be able to tank them which should to a good job of cleaning but wait until they clean the block, if the cylinders require cutting the pistons will need to be replaced anyhow. I am waiting to hear from the shop on my block, I already honed it and removed the cam bearings and after honing it became apparent there are a few small pitted areas that may need to be cut out. When they have evaluated it I will know whether or not to buy stock or oversize pistons. ( one of mine was cracked from detonation ) I decided not to trust any of my pistons and replace them all.

R1UK

That sprocket is a real chamber of horrors special, you junked that just in time.

fin170703

I here what your saying but if you know the components your putting in and the CR your running then really you'll have a rough idea of what bhp you'll be running.

250 out of a 305 sounds good to me si and i bet your torque will be preaty good too. My timing sproket and cam was as bad as yours , my engine was effectively running on 5 cylinders as 3 of the lobes would not have done anything and the other 5 were crap.

One thing that has been more important than anything else is the amount i have learned stripping the engine down , i've read loads of books but nothing compares to getting your hands dirty.

where abouts in portsmouth do you live mate , i was born in st. marys and lived in paulsgrove for 4 years . Alot of my family still live in Portchester.

Keep up with the good work si , i will follow your progress with interest , i'll send ya some pics when my block has been built up ( it should be going off to realsteel for balancing in the next few weeks )

si_camaro

I live in Gosport, which is where the car lives too. Due to space limitations the engine lives in Milton and the Cylinder Heads live in North End. I'm looking forward to the next reunion!

Just a small update - I'm collecting the engine from the machine shop tomorrow. The final bill is very cheap, so I'm not quite sure what kind of cleaning and honing to expect. If it's done properly, then it's the cheapest machine shop ever and I'll be singing their praises forever more. If not, then I've wasted 2 weeks of good weather...

andrew91rs

Hello, just wanted to say this is a great thread and good luck with the rebuild. Thanks for all the pics. I will be following this one closely.

si_camaro

Wow thanks. Nice of you to say so.

Well I got the block back on Thursday. And what a difference! Here it is now:



Here's the underside...looks like a new block, apart from the cam bearings still in situ:



The lifter valley has some small pools of gunk which the machine didn't shift. Won't take long with a bottle brush and some degreaser:



Here's some honing:



And some more:



And as I was on my own with a Renault 5, here's how I got the block out. Shortly after this pic, I attached the engine stand to the end and let gravity "lever" the block from my car. Worked pretty well!



Not a bad job for £23.50 including VAT. Banda Engineering 02392 828224, located in Southsea, Nr Portsmouth.

Next I'll be ordering some new bits. Hurrah!

RMK

I take it you did not get it bored. Was there much of a ridge on the cylinders?

The rebuilding is the fun part. I loved seeing mine come together.

si_camaro

No, didn't get it bored. There is barely a ridge there at all, thankfully.

I can't wait either. I'm going to start ordering parts this week, in the revers order of taking them off. First will be the freeze plugs, XE262 camshaft, bearings and shells. Whilst I'm waiting for delivery, I'll be working on the empty bay where the "new" engine will be fitted !

Here's why. Looks like a long standing oil leak :



Go take a look at the 5th image on the thread, and compare it to a gallon of Rust Remedy and Gunk...and I'm still not finished:









When it's ready, I'll be coating the bay with Hammerite Smooth White. It'll match the Ford Diamond White on the body close enough, and I think it'll be easier than preparing for a spray coat which I'll only destroy when the engine goes back in. Plus, this is only the interim rejuvination. Wait til I have a firebreathing 350 to put in there....don't tell the beloved though!

RMK

I take it beloved is your car? Keeping the 350 as a surprise for her? I love mine too. In fact, I'm just on my way out to massage the rubber door seals...

si_camaro

The beloved is the special lady in my life who seems rather tolerant of my project. So tolerant in fact, that she's actually helping me lift the bonnet off and degrease the engine bay. She also helped me label all the parts when I removed them from the engine (piston numbers, etc)....what a girl!

Massaging the door seals? I thought I had issues...

si_camaro

Ok, I have now taken delivery of my camshaft and various bearings etc.

New camshaft. Real Steel were out of XE262...so I "accidentally" ordered an XE265. She's gonna be a handful!


The lobes are stonking compared to the wiener cam that came out:




Main bearings:


Freeze plugs:


Con Rod bearings:


Cam bearings:


Piston rings:


I think I'm going to be busy!

R1UK

Wey-hey, lotsa new bits, they are deffo the best bits.

88blkbird

Looks great.. I'm waiting for gaskets and assembly lube to begin assembly of my motor. The cleaning is really a pain if you don't have a solvent tank, and I dont. I haven't pulled my motor yet, still driving my car , when the motor is together and I've got all the wiring schematics together then I'll pull the 305. Best of luck with yours.

si_camaro

Hey thanks!

Right, here are the back freeze plugs installed:



Here are the front and side ones:



Camshaft (and of course bearings) installed:



And the block in it's new coat:





Before any Chevrolet purists ask why I went for Ford blue instead of GM orange, I decided to match the engine to the interior colour. White car/blue interior...white engine bay/blue engine. Should look nice.

The pistons and polished heads are off to the machine shop for hot tanking, and the stud bosses tapped for screw-in studs. All being well, I should be re-ringing the pistons and installing them next weekend.

fin170703

really impressive work there Si, your realy cracking on,.

what weret the freeze plugs like to fit ? , did you have to file a burr down. i have read that they can be a bit of a nightmare to seal properly


looking forward to seeing the end result.

si_camaro

I have to say I had no trouble at all getting the freeze plugs in. I lost a couple of the old ones down inside the block and had a bit of a do trying to fish them out, but they're all out now, and the holes were already nice and smooth. I gave the surfaces a quick once over with some wet 'n' dry, and applied a thin layer of silicone sealant around the new plugs, before hitting them with a bloody great hammer to seat them as you see them. They were a lot less troublesome than the new cam bearings, I can tell you!

R1UK

Looking really impressive m8, nice you can take the time to post some photos.

si_camaro

Always time for the fans...even the ones who drive F*rd

Anyhoo, here's some more progress. 8 cleaned pistons :



And newly ringed pistons :



Next they're going back into the block to be reunited with the crank. Hurrah!

R1UK

Next time i pull a motor i'm sending you the bits to clean.

Looking good.

si_camaro

Remember the dirty old engine bay?

Meet the clean new engine bay!

fin170703

you could eat ya tea on that surface

si i've been looking into head linning as i need one. give me the year and model of yours and i'll see how much it is. we could always split the shipping .

si_camaro

It's an 85 Z28, hard top. Thanks, that sounds like a plan.

si_camaro

A piston ring compressor



A block



Remove, and presto! (hammer not shown)



All present and correct



All with new bearings



I have decided to run the GM transparent crank shaft ® and GM transparent timing set ®.

Only joking. I forgot to take my bottom end gasket set with me, so for one piece of rubber (well two, it's a two piece rear main seal) I couldn't fit the crank today.

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

ive been follow ing this thred for a long time its awsome .good luck to you man and good job

si_camaro

Wow thanks. I can't believe how many people have viewed this thread and how many are chipping in with support and nice words.

I'm ordering oil pump, spring and shaft, and the timing chain set this week so in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed) the bottom end will be pretty much done!

AllenGTA

si_camaro,

Great thread, you've got me planning a rebuild for mine now!

Some of your photos have answered a question nobody else could or would for me. There is a core plug behind the engine mounts where I've got a coolant leak. Its good to know what the problem is, now all I've got to do is fix it. SO thanks for that

Looking forward to seeing the finished article!!

1986Z28OWNER

iTrader: (1)

not trying to be a pain or anything, projects looking good, feel like jumping accross the pond to clean my engine bay? didnt think so, but im just wondering what kind of end gap you had on those rings, i was going to suggest these little nylon cleaning discs for the pistons, but then saw that they were already cleaned, you upgrading any of the bolt(main, rod and heads) believe me arp bolts are well worth the money, did you have the crank shaft polished?, you replacing the guides and seats in the heads? new valves maybe=) ok im done

ps PAINT THOSE HEADERS!

si_camaro

I've seen enough cleaning to last me a very long time thanks.

I used some of those nylon discs, they were great until the little nylon wires started flying everywhere. I used scotchbrite and lots of degreaser for the tops, and a cut-down piston ring to clean the ring grooves of carbon. I didn't check the ring end gap because the shop I got them from said they were correctly gapped for standard sized pistons.

I didn't have the crank polished, no. I'll clean up the old valves and lap them in, and I might change the guides yet but I don't know at the moment.

Here is my new true roller timing set :



And here is the crank sprocket next to the old one. Quite a difference :



I decided to advance the cam by 1 degree to allow for chain stretch and to try and move the torque down the rev range a little. Here's the new sprocket mounted at the 2A keyway :



Crankshaft refitted and all pistons attached :



Timing gear fitted and camshaft marking lined up with 2A on crank :



And finally for today, new high pressure oil pump fitted :

91CamaroRS305

iTrader: (2)

Dont ask me why or how i wandered into the Europe section of thirdgen, BUT very nice rebuild, altho I have one suggestion, when you install the pick up on your oil pump put a small amount of weld to hold it on, JUST incase it were to fall off, nothing worse than no oil pressure with the engine reving hard

Also very nice engine/underhood color combo, big props on your progress and rebuilding a thirdgen, cause I can only imagine what parts cost overseas for American cars

And one of these days I am going to visit my aunt in London.....I would LOVE to see a thirdgen car cruising the streets

si_camaro

Ello. Thanks for the tip.

Funny, I saw one today through the travel agent's window whilst booking my Vegas wedding. If you happen to be in London on the first sunday of a summer month, then pop down the A3 to Guildford. You'll see a few there...

Well the holiday booking and Christmas has put a bit of a dampener on my buying power. BUT, Christmas is an excellent opportunity to buy me stuff for my car. Leaving several photocopies of my parts list lying around various people's houses should have gotten the message accross

1986Z28OWNER

iTrader: (1)

^LOL i do that too