Whats involved?

[billybob]

I'll add some background info, in one of my other posts I had posted a few images of my engine (rust and all) and after a hurtful comment from vigman "Based on how rusty things look" :t

Comment

I decided to do something about it! I'm doing an in car teardown of the engine and having certain parts replaced where required or refinished where part condition allows for it.

So there I was minding my own business when the exhaust manifolds decided they were going to have to leave. To make room for the hooker headers.



After a recommendation from Tom73, Jack, ccflorida and others

Stewart Pumps

So of all things the water pump/fan and fan clutch said see ya.



Next eyeing how nasty looking the intake manifold was, it yelled please . But alas to help it out off comes the distributor.



With a nice open view of the intake manifold it was time to sweet talk it into coming off with the use of a 16oz hammer and a number 2 flathead screw driver to break the seal.
The intake manifold is in good shape so it will go get ceramic coated.


And here is the exposed interior



Not really wanting to have to remove the heads, I don't think I have much choice left at this point, but seeing the rust on the interior worries me. So I guess they will have to come off as well.


But having gotten this far, I noticed something else I didn't like the looks of which you can sort of see in the above picture, but is shown more clearly below



Are those cams on the rise? on the drivers side there are 2 noticeably lifted, and the passengers side there are 3.

The rods are in good shape, but some are incredibly loose.

How should I go about fixing this new issue?

And when/if I take the heads off are there any issues I should be aware of? Any gotchas? And can they be ceramic coated as well?

Bill

OK, Billybob, I just did this last Christmas and I'm into my header install and fuel system referb, so I feel like I can give you some good advice.

First, YIKES!!!, I thought mine looked bad until I saw your pic's. Go ahead and pull the heads and get a good shop to vat them and do a valve job. Replace what needs replacing. Leave the lifters in place and mark each push rod to make sure it goes back in the same spot. The valve lash is easy to adjust later on.

Dump the intake. Its heavy and huffs. Get an Edelbrock Performer EGR to replace it. It will fit under your stock hood with the original carb. That and the headers will definately freshen everything up.

CLEAN, clean, and clean some more. Make sure you do not get anything in the valley (Put lots of shop rags in there and in the piston bores. Get a good thread cleaning set from Summit and clean every bolt hole. Make sure that you also get some ARP thread sealant to put the heads back on with .

Lastly, if its an L48, just pull the block and get the bottom end done now as well. You will have everything off of it except the trans. If you have any plans to freshen the bottom end, bite the bullet and do it now. While your at it clean and paint the engine compartment. OK, I'll shut up now.

[Eric]

Well Billybob, those pictures are disgusting so I think you're doing the right thing.

However, those pictures are a bit large. Would you mind reducing the size a tad? We try to keep the forums running as quickly and efficiently as possible so that our members who have to rely on slow dialup internet connections, can cruise through the forums as painlessly as possible. If you have any questions or need some assistance resizing, please let us know. Thanks!

[billybob]

Hijinx,

I was tryin to avoid having to pull the heads, but it doesnt look like I will be able to avoid it any longer.

But questions, pardon my ignorance, what is VAT?

The valve job is definately in the cars future especially with all the play in the push rods and the rising cams.

What if I decide to replace the heads completely what would I buy as bolt on replacements? Not a pysical performance upgrade.

I'm taking my time as I'm attempting to do this myself, with as little out sourcing as possible. (I already have a 454 getting blueprinted and $$$'s are a bit of a concern to the wife)

Engines dont scare me in the way of swapping and changing / renewing parts. Aside from actually breaking something there isnt much that time and knowledge cant solve.

71shark,

Sorry about the size, I thought they were pretty small, but adding them all up at one time raised the bar a little to high. They have since been cut down by another 50%. If they are still too large let me know.


Bill

Bill,
A machine shop will vat any parts you give them to get them clean. Basically, they boil the grime and rust off and machine the rest.

If you are not looking for a performance upgrade, just have the stock heads rebuilt. If you want to get better flow, and plan to replace the intake, you can get a set of Vortec heads from Scoggin-Dickey for under $500 ready to bolt on. However, these heads require a different intake bolt pattern. If you plan to swap the intake (and I would suggest that you should) and want some better flow from the heads on the cheap, get the Vortec heads and an Edelbrock intake with the right bolt pattern. These heads are getting a lot of press in most automotive publications. They flow better than stock Bow Tie heads!

Those heads, with your headers (they should bolt up fine, but you should check) and the Edelbrock intake and your talking about some good horsepower increases.

[Tim73454]

Billybob, Where is the 454 going? I assume not in the vette if you are cleaning the one that is in it?

I pulled mine and it is on a stand in my garage but I haven't had the time or money to clean or freshen it up. While doing the swap I had engine bay cleaned and painted. Well worth the money while the engine was out.


Tim73454

[Eric]

Thanks Billybob!

- Eric

[billybob]

Hijinx,

Thanks for the definition on the VAT, I was lost

Replacing the intake does sound like a reasonable mod, I strained my back a bit when I pulled it out, damn thing is heavy. And would love to offload a bit of the pig iron.

The heads, I dont think I'm ready for a do it yourself head swap I may be crazy , but I'm not insane . It could be an option later on once I get it all cleaned an happy again.

Tim73454,

I was actually toying with the idea of dropping in the 454, but lack of information of what else I would have to upgrade has put this idea off in the back of my mind. I'll wait till the block is back from blue printing, If i can gather enough information by the time I get it back then I'll drop it in if not then it goes in the other project. (65 rustang.)

Regardless the 350 needs a good cleaning, and since its up on blocks it seemed a good a time as any.

71Shark,

I aim to please, I often forget of those individuals with low BW.


Another sideline question, the way the block is currently sitting.. looking at the above pictures, how much would you guess it weighs?

I ask because with the intake off I have no cherry picker hooks, and the cramped quaters the vettes stored in doesnt allow for a side pickup ( 3 feet per side ), would have to remove the hood and grab from the front (8 feet in front).

Bill

A bare block (nothing in it) is plenty heavy. With pistons, rods and crank it weighs a bunch. You will have to use a cherry picker to get it out.

On the heads, just get them freshened up and get you a Edelbrock Performer from Summit. Cheap and much better than the stock POS.

The heads, I dont think I'm ready for a do it yourself head swap I may be crazy , but I'm not insane . It could be an option later on once I get it all cleaned an happy again.

Its not all that bad, I removed my heads and put in a new cam for the first time. Wasn't all that bad. I had the manual for my vette and a " How to rebuild Chevy Engines" book my fiance gave me for Christmas. Both give the the bolt torque pattern and the torque specs for the 3 different stages in which they need to be torqued. In other words to torque down intially at 30ftlbs then 50ftlbs finally 70 ftlbs in a given pattern. Besides you have people here at the that will help you out with any questions you might have

If you are going to send out the heads, after doing my heads, I would suggest that you remove all the bolts and chase all the threads in the heads prior to sending them in. This will loosen up some of that rust and grime before and will help with the cleaning the heads in the vat. I purchased a thread chase kit for fine and coarse threads from Jegs for $13.99 each. If you need the part number just let me know. By the looks of it your gonna need them. Just tell your wife its an investment, it works trust me

After my previous experiences with machine shops I would try and prep the heads as much as possible and leave them the least amount of work. Because the other guy might only be worried about when he leaves work and could give a hoot about your heads.

Sounds likea fun winter project!!

Frank

Oh and by a case of degreaserj/k

[billybob]

Hijinx,

Where would I hook up 2?? to lift it out seeing that I have alot of the upper block already removed.

sscam69,

I am in the process of re tappin all the bolt holes, and have decided to buy entire engine bolt sets to replace current ones.

As for the heads they will have to come out, the choice is clear, just tryin to figure out how I'm going to go about doing this with the least amount of re-assembly effort. As there is much to do by next spring.

Bill

Bill,
Any 9/16 bolt hole should work. That and a couple of chains should give you plenty to hoist on.

[billybob]

Hijinx,

I'll see if its possible to rig anything up, Having not planned to pull the engine I didnt account for alot of side access room. The only option is the front for the pick. I have to swap off the hood with the new one anyway so it'll have to come off.

God my wife is going to kill me I can hear her now, yet another car in boxes

Bill

Bill,
Aaaahh, the sound of wives griping in the morning. Wait, that's the radio, I always tune my wife out. Never mind.