Well, the bottom end in my camaro is finally starting to go, i'm guessing that the stock 73 truck rotating assembly didn't like being spun to 6500 rpm all the time...it's blowing smoke now. Pretty sure the rings are fryed on at least a cylinder or two.

So on to better things. I'm sending my other 350 block off to the machine shop monday, having the cylinders honed, new freeze plugs, new bearings throughout, hot tanked, and having the deck checked. They'll also be assembling the pistons on the rods. Their gonna charge me $300. Does that sound about right?

I'll be keeping it pretty basic, stock rods and crank, Speed pro forged pistons and ARP hardware throughout. I'm not having them put the shortblock together, i wanna learn to do it myself, with the exception of putting the rods on the pistons.

Are there any tips or tricks to putting this all together? things like torque sequence for rod bolts, lubes or lockers to use, any ring compressor that is better than another...things like that.

Also is there any online resources around that go over the basic steps of putting a short block together?

Thanks for any help, i wanna make sure i do this the right way, the first time.

 

might as well spit some money out for some better rods atleast if you're gonna be turning some RPM's.

 

i'm looking at a set of used pink rods out of an lt1 right now. these work with no problems correct? this is an older 2pc block if that makes any difference. I'm not gonna be spinning crazy rpms so much anymore...gonna go to a NX268 cam i think, and run a decent shot of nitrous. shouldn't have to spin past 6k, so it should be alright. According to the folks on the power adder board, as long as you use good hardware, the stock crank and rods will hold up to a lot of punishment...

Eric

 

my fault, i meant to say PM rods there....any problems using these on a 2pc 350 crank? I assume the crank would have to be balanced since they're lighter than the stock rods i have now???

Eric

 

Yep, that sounds like a combo that will easily hold 6000rpm spins. I have pretty much stock type components in my motor and will see if it can handle the punishment of 6500rpm runs with boost.

 

Not sure about this one, i'd ask your local machine shop for advice.

 

next question, how do i tell the difference between the regular forged rod in the early lt1's, and the PM rod?

 

well balancing to me is somthing i'd like to practice on all motors from now on..... ture you can match the weights by measuring the old peices, pistons etc, but if ya really want it to last, then balancing will most defanantly help longevity......

measurmants are critical...... find a good manual or do a search for the toque specs and oil clearence specs if you don't have a manual, if you want to be very precise then mic the crank and inner diameters of the mains and rods, then plastigauge also to confirm your mic reading...... if you can have the machine shop put the rings on the pistons if you are afraid that you might break them...... if they are the kind where you have to set the gaps, then again preciceness is what it's all about.....

but among everything, if i can give you 1 peice of advise that i had to learn the hard way on, is inspection of every part thats going into the motor.... cleanlyness is next to godliness in a motor, and it's somthing that will bite you if your not very carful.. trust me i learn't that the hard way.......

 

good advice. With the addition of the pm rods, i was planning on having the entire assembly balanced. I didn't think that putting the rings on the piston was that big of deal, don't they make a simple plier like tool that makes this simple?

 

starting in 94 they changed the rod for a forged peice to the PM style..
i was wondering how to tell the difference between them, other then having both and weighing them

i have a 94 LT1 motor im putting together...so im curious aswell..

use a generous amout of assembly lube..
take your time
double check all your work
then double check your double check

then cross your fingers when its time to fire it up

 

forget the plasti gauge, only a fool would use it to check the accuracey of measurements taken with a mike. pm rods have a little dot, about 3/16ths near the big end. if you've never done an engine before have someone do it, or hwelp watch you do it if you can or you might end up with a expensive bunch of parts that don't work, like badgta did. don't waste you time priming the oil system. read and do a little reasearch on assembly before you jump in to it.

 

Yes. A piston ring expander. Everything these guys are saying is true, with regards to the engine building. Just this week I put the 355 shortblock together. Yesterday it became a longblock. By Saturday it'll be in the car and with any luck.....Sunday it'll fire. With regards to the shortblock Check Check Check EVERYTHING. After the shortblock, assembling the engine is a piece of cake.