The New Project: Part Deux!

[njsteve]

It's more like Cheap Old Man Thinking.

Why the heck would I buy a new pan with a baffle for $75 which won't even have the drain plug in the correct spot, when I can use the original pan and build a baffle for free out of scrap sheetmetal and get to play with neat cutting and welding equipment.
[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

I got the pistons and rods back today. The crank should be done with balancing tomorrow so we can start the assembly process this weekend.

The machinist said that the rods and pistons were all within a gram of each other and didn't really require any modifications to get them all matched.

[njsteve]

I have the balancing sheet with the weights. The rods were within 1 gram of each other out of the box: 4 were 758 and 4 were 759, which coincided well with the pistons, 4 of which were 779 and 4 were 778. So he just matched them to all together to come out to the same weight when he mounted the pistons to the rods.

According to the machinist, the new rod and piston combo was 100 grams less than the domed, forged pistons and cast rods that I pulled out of the engine. They had to drill out some material from the crank to lighten it up to match the new pistons and rods.

Everything is home now and we should be assembling this weekend!

[njsteve]

We got the new BOP rear main lip seal in and installed the freshly polished and balanced crank. Now it has to sit overnight per the instructions to let the seal set. The boy did pretty well torquing down the 100 ftlbs on the mains (120 on the rear cap). He's gotten stronger since last year's engine build. :-)

[njsteve]

Went out Christmas tree shopping this morning with the family and then we spent the rest of the day assembling the short block.

We made it a family affair: I installed two pistons, the wife installed two and the daughter and son each installed two.

Much arguing over teaching the wife how and why you use a torque wrench. She couldn't seem to understand how/why the thing clicks when the correct amount of turning force is applied and how to set it. Luckily the daughter has an A average in Physics and was able to understand and explain &quot;torque&quot; to her. A most entertaining day.

The daughter keeps asking me to teach her how to drive a manual transmission, so I figure she can help assemble the clutch and install the transmission when the time comes, in order to learn how the clutch works before she melts this one during training. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

After we got all eight pistons and rods in and Plastigaged each one (.002 oil clearance on all rods and mains), we then cleaned and retorqued it all again. I installed the timing cover, windage tray, oil pump and shaft, and oil pan after checking to make sure the dip stick cleared everything.

[K code Mustang]

I can't believe you actually have help! Denise wont even set foot in the garage (sometimes it's better that way).

[njsteve]

I installed the heads this morning and then the kids put the valvetrain parts on. My son's favorite part was glopping on all the moly paste and red goo antiwear ointment to the cam, lifters, rocker arms, push rods, valve stems, and clothing. If it involves making a mess, he's happy to assist. My daughter on the other hand had just finished her nails and was quite content using the clean breaker bar to turn the engine over while I adjusted each rocker arm.

Normally a Pontiac is a set to 20 ft.lbs. with a non adjustable valvetrain but the shouldered rocker studs were previously replaced with a set of 7/16 x 20 Big Block Chevy studs with no shoulders. That allows for a more precise individual adjustment.