Hey guys, been a while. I'm finally getting around to my overhaul that I was planning out several months ago. To make a long story short, the camshaft bearings were wiped out, which has really extended the timeline for the entire project.

To summarize what all has been done and will be done, I'll make a series of bullet points with pictures:


Pulled the full powerplant out through the front over a weekend with my buddies help:







Pulled the timing set and camshaft. Bearings are wiped, but on the bright side, it has its original nylon timing gear, so I know the car is probably sub-100k miles!



I also inspected the TQ converter and determined it was a replacement high-ish stall converter (~1800-2000 rpm stall).

I will also be/have the parts on hand to:
Rebuilding the transmission
Changing all gaskets and seals on the engine
Changing the differential gasket and inspecting gears + changing the oil (9 bolt posi w/ 3.27 gears or G92 Package)
Checking all Camshaft journals and crank bearings and journals.
Changing crank bearings if necessary
Porting and polishing the original heads (#416 Heads whoohoo!)
Porting and polishing the upper and lower intake manifolds
Installing and degree-ing a new mild cam and lifters (224-224 duration, 114 degrees of LSA and .450/.465 lift with a 1.5 rocker ratio)
New pushrods
New valve stem seals and springs
Installing an adjustable fuel pressure regulator
Installing new headers and fabricating a 3" exhaust with a magnaflow muffler (no cats)
Installing a new cast iron double roller timing set
Bypassing the TB coolant passage
Greasing all steering/suspension joints
Installing a new cooling fan switch
Installing a new speedometer gear, odometer gear and dash lights
Installing new window motors and lock actuators
Installing new headlights
Reasealing windows and t-tops
Changing rear hatch struts
Rotating tires

I've probably forgotten some stuff, so if I remember it I'll throw it in here, but I think it's safe to say I'm going to take this as close as I can get to having a brand new 40 year old car!

 

Not that you need anything more on your list, but with an empty engine bay it would be a wonderful time to update to a later ECM and harness to support the injection system more effectively. The 1985 ECMs were almost crude compared to the later, slightly less crude variants.

 

Which ECM would you recommend? I know the '86 ECM is a big upgrade in terms of processing power, but will the harness mate up to all the original sensors? If not, what would I need to replace? Thanks!

 

You need a 1227165 and good used 86-89 maf with a calibration chip for your engine/transmission combo.


https://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/ecm_swap/

 

Been a while, here's an update of everything so far. I apologize for the mess, all my work has been done in my shop, and I've done 3 other project cars before this, and I'm past due for clean up/reorganization.

Transmission is done:


I've ported the heads, LIM, and plenum.




I've stripped the everything out of the block, and checked all bearings and cylinders. Camshaft bearings have already been swapped, and I'll do conrod and crank bearings tomorrow after I get 2 of my pistons back from the machine shop (I broke a couple skirts during dissasembly.)




I'm working on the new exhaust, just a couple finishing touches left. I'm fabbing it in 2 seperate pieces with a coupler where it threads past the axle. It's 3" vs the OG 2.5", so this should support my other mods as well. Excuse the birdshit welds, I'm not an experienced welder yet.


I'll get the engine buttoned back up tomorrow, and then I plan on painting it Pontiac blue which fits with the car a little better than Chevy orange imo even though it's a sbc.

There's obviously more to do, but I plan on having the car done by the 20th, or at least drivable enough to ship up when I move so I can finish it at my new place. As for the ECM. I will definitely think about a swap in the future, but I'm on a shoestring budget, as well as a pretty tight time constraint (I move on the 25th, and I'm only in to this project for sub-2k at the moment including tools) so I'll have to worry about it in the future. Maybe when I step up to a 350 or 400.

 

Following up. I checked clearances on the crank and conrods. Evrything checked out okay, so I reinstalled the rest of the bottom end, got the heads installed, cleaned up the valve covers, and painted the engine.




Tomorrow I'll get to work on dropping the engine and trans back into the car, get the exhaust finished up to the headers, and start the first break in procedure if I still have time.

 

i knoiw its a budget thing, but id throw that entire engine in the trash and pick up a later model vortec engine.
the best heads GM ever made, roll cam, 1 piece rear seal..