First off, I just want let the people who make this site work know that you've done a great job of making ThirdGen.org a pleasant and productive environment for everybody involved. This site has practically been my Bible when it comes to my car. It's great to know that there's a place where, when I have a question, I can go to a board and ask. It's even better to know that I can get some serious answers from knowledgable and helpful people without the constant fear that discussion will always degenerate into a flame war. That's got to be one of the toughest things to overcome on the Internet, and everybody has done a great job of making it happen. Keep it up!

Now for my suggestion: what about creating a section (not a board, per-se, but more of a gallery) where people post pictures from their engine rebuilds?

I can give a practical example of where this would be helpful from my own experience: My dad and I are in the process of rebuilding the engine in my '89 IROC. We tried very hard during the tear-down to make sure that we keep everything in order, but now as were starting to put everything back together, we're running into lot's of small problems. My dad is in no way a novice when it comes to cars, but he's one of those people who came from the days when everything was carbuerated (as I'm sure is the case for many of the other people here). Back when he pulled the engine from his El Camino years ago, he could have it out in less about an hour and a half, with mabye four wires going to the engine. But pulling the L98 out of my Camaro took almost fourteen hours, tons of labels for all of the connectors, tons of bags for all of the accessory screws, and nearly a hundred pictures of the whole process (not to mention a very-detailed, step-by-step book just on rebuilding small block Chevy engines), just to insure that we could put it back together the way it came apart. And now, putting it back together, we're still running in to issues about where stuff goes!

Mabye we're just not qualified to do a full-blown rebuild and shouldn't have tackled it ourselves, but there's a first time for everybody (this is our first). I don't really want to take guesses on this sort of thing. And I could probably put in a post for every time I don't know where something goes ("Where Does this Bolt with the Star Shaped Head Go? On the left or right head? On the front or the back? In which of the three holes?" etc., etc., etc.), but that'd probably get annoying, if not even a little redundant.

I'm sure other people have pictures of their rebuilds. That's why I think it would be helpful for many of us "less experienced" builders to have some sort of a pictoral reference.

Now that I think of it, it wouldn't even have to be limited to engine rebuilds. That sort of thing would be helpful with front-end rebuilds, dash-board work (heater core change, anyone?), and the like.

There's even freely availiable gallery software on the 'net that would be easily adaptable to ThirdGen.org. (see http://gallery.sourceforge.net/ ).

What do you think? Would it work? Would there be enough people out there with pictures willing to post them? Would those on the administrative/moderating side of things be willing to entertain such an idea?

Anyway, I just wanted to throw that idea out there...

 

Thanks for the idea but I don't think it will make it and here is my reason. If you run into problems during a rebuild, post your problem in the Motor Swap forum along with a good description of your problem and pictures if available inorder to get a good response. If the swap pertains to a TPI, or TB then do the same in the TPI or TB forum. If it's a missing bolt e-mail or PM Vader with a picture asking....I'm sure he'll know where it goes.j/k Altho I'm sure he would know...post in the General Forum maybe someone can help. Best thing is to do as you stated and label or mark everything. Organization is the key.

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