My Tenth Anniv.

[ryeguy2006a]

Congrats on the engine Kerry! I'm curious what kind of power it put down? 

[FormTA]

That is awesome! About time! You are going to get a lot busier here soon I feel.

[MNBob]

Having him test it on the dyno gives confidence it will be right when you get it.  The wait is finally over, congratulations.

[tajoe]

The nipple that the heater hose attaches to the back of the head was kinda wonky. He wasn't sure if new ones were available so he tried to reuse what was there. It was leaking.  I was told that once that gets swapped and another run that proves successful I will be a proud new papa

He didn't have a freeze plug to replace the nipple with, "temporarily" so he could finish the test? Unreal.

[roadking77]

He thought the knipple was going to be ok. Thats why he put it back in. He said it wasnt a blow out but leaked none the less. Hence why its being replaced. He did the run in and said it was good. I am not sure if he got it on the dyno yet.

[tajoe]

Will you get to witness the dyno? Be nice to get it on a video...for future enjoyment. 

[roadking77]

I would love to, hopefully my schedule permits. Its usually pretty flexible but for the rest of this week and all of next week I am tied up between 630 and 630 each day I told him to video for me in case I cannot make it.

[TATurbo]

Congrats on the running engine!  Good luck getting to Hershey.

[roadking77]

My motor is FINISHED  and ready for pick up.

Now as bad as it sounds, I need to clean out some space in the shop for it, and find one day in the next week or so that I can get it.

[tajoe]

Don't wait..."RUN", get that thing home! Make space for it later. Put it in the kitchen, if you have ta. And don't forget the pics.

[kentucky yeti]

Awesome!

[5th T/A]

I am not sure I can believe what you are saying. The saga of your unfinished engine was like watching a version of the Ground Hog movie. Every day I wake up, log on to my iPad to check the status of your engine build. Only to read it’s almost done.

Today the TAC loyalists are cheering for you!

[tajoe]

"Ground hog day?" LOL. A classic Bill Murry movie. Think of the royalties Sonny and Cher got from that movie.

[roadking77]

Def Groundhog Day!
Not sure my wife wants it in the house, LOL. With all that has been going on getting my sons car it has been a hectic week. I started a job a couple of weeks ago that was supposed to be a 2 day in and out, some trim and paint. He ended up with it being a full blown gut job remodel. We had everything tore out, prepped and ready to go. Then had to wait for the electrician for a week. THEN, had to wait for the I.T. guy for another week. I like to work on only one job at a time so things wont get lost in the shuffle and customers dont get too excited so we have had some shop work and other stuff to keep us busy whilst waiting on the subs to finish. Last week would have been perfect for me to pick up the motor. Now this coming week we need to work double to get caught up as this job has put us at least 2-3 weeks behind my already backed up schedule. I will have to squeeze the motor stuff in there somewhere. Gonna go out in the shop in a bit and move stuff around so I have room and can get back to working on the TATA.

[tajoe]

Like it's been said, "There ain't enuff hrs in the day." Know the feeling. You'll get there. Congrats on having the work/income. Helps with the garage projects. Keep us posted, when you find the time.

[MNBob]

Yes, I was going strong on the car and now i am sidetracked on the deck.  Oh well its a hobby!

[tajoe]

Take advantage of the nice weather, for them outside projects. Here in New England, it's a luxury we don't always have. Waiting for the rains to happen, when I can get back inside.

[FormTA]

Man that is awesome! Glad to hear it! I'm super excited for you!

[ryeguy2006a]

Glad to hear that the motor is done!!

[roadking77]

Scheduled to pick up Friday afternoon!

[kentucky yeti]

Double YAY!!!

[5th T/A]

Kerry, we are counting on seeing some pictures! Was the motor holding up your build?

[roadking77]

Today should be the day. I have made arrangements to pick it up this afternoon.

Motor has def. put a hold on the build. Most of the big stuff on the car is done. Int. needs to be done but I have most of the parts ready to put in. Underside is all finished. Body and paint (other than the hood) is complete. I still have a list of to be finished but its quite small compared to when things started. I have never put a motor in a car before so it may be an all summer experience for me Still need to get the clutch, and have the trans looked over. I have 2 bell housings, not sure if either is correct, so may need one of those as well. I was joking with my son the other day of many friends when I was growing up would pull a motor  friday night and back in saturday afternoon (usually outside in the driveway). Cruising back on the street in the evening. How I wish!!!

As a funny side note, about the girl (well she is just a bit older than myself) that is the counter person/shop manager where all of my service work gets done. The guy that owns the shop, along with 2 other places is the fellow that built my motor. Anyway, talking to her the other day I found out that she is the daughter of the guy that built the motor in my first vehicle, a 65 f100. It was a corvette 350 transplant. I have known her family since I was about 15 years old. I knew her, but not well as she was a bit older than myself. She and her older sister and mother drag raced some bad @$@$$ 68 camaros many years ago. She said she started racing when she was 15. Also how her dad had her rebuilding motors at the same time. The owner of the shop is also a drag racer and I joked that she most likely had more runs down the strip than he has. She said yes but dont tell him as his ego will be bruised, LOL.

[ryeguy2006a]

Good luck Kerry!! Motor swaps really aren't that bad. In my experience with older cars like ours it's easier to assemble the engine and transmission together then stab them into the car a a unit. Add the shifter and exhaust manifolds later and you'll be completely fine. Have your son help guide the motor in while you run the engine hoist.

When I had the LS1 and t56 in my 68 Camaro, I was selling the motor and the guy who wanted to buy it wanted to hear it run. So I took him for a ride on a Friday when he came to look at the car, pulled the motor Saturday morning, and he bought it Saturday afternoon. Point is, if you have the motor and transmission mounts installed in the car it's really straightforward to get them installed. Give me a call if you need any pointers.

[b_hill_86]

I’ve never pulled/installed an engine with the trans attached but they’re not hard. Post pics of the bells if you want and we could tell you if they’re correct. BOP look different than Chevy

[5th T/A]

Good luck Kerry!! Motor swaps really aren't that bad. In my experience with older cars like ours it's easier to assemble the engine and transmission together then stab them into the car a a unit. Add the shifter and exhaust manifolds later and you'll be completely fine. Have your son help guide the motor in while you run the engine hoist.

I would like to add that if the front clip is not installed you will have far more room. You wont have to put the engine on such a steep angle to clear the core support, the engine can be pretty level and just slide it straight back. You will have plenty of room even with log style manifolds installed. You can leave the distributor installed, but I would remove the cap, it's fragile and easy to crack if you bump into the firewall.

[roadking77]

Thanks for the advice. Any and all is appreciated. I have the core support on but was thinking about taking it off to make things easier. Now that I have it in writing there is no question. I pulled the motor from my 77 myself, leaving the trans attached, and talking with someone else they said without a lift it would be easier to install the trans first and put the whole thing in at one time.

Still have a lot of stuff to take care of, brackets, pulleys etc.

CAN I PUT THE MOTOR IN WITHOUT THAT KIND OF STUFF AND INSTALL AFTER THE FACT?

Still some things to take care of, need to get the clutch and parts etc.

Going to get the car uncovered and washed off tomorrow and get ready to get started. I anticipate all summer doing this but hopefully things will move along quickly and go better than I am thinking.
2023-06-09_03-46-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

The motor looks good, but considering a few things and time frame I have to say I was/am a bit underwhelmed. Carb was rebuilt but not 'polished' up any. He told me upfront that making it shiny was not his thing as much as making it run right. I could have sent it off to be done. Had I known from the beginning that the process was going to take this long I would have approached things a bit differently. Just a few nit picks but that is me being persnickety. He said it runs great and that really is the bottom line. Given a choice I would rather have it run great and look ok.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN 

[roadking77]

2023-06-09_03-46-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
First thing I had to do was get a new motor lift. I had one before the fire , insurance paid out but I didnt think I would ever be using one again so didnt bother to replace it. Stopped at TSC and they had none. Went to HF and they had one left. It was the bigger of the two with a 2ton cap. Seems to be as well built as any other thing from there. Little bit of assembly and wham, bam ready to go.
2023-06-09_03-59-44 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr2023-06-09_03-59-52 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

[5th T/A]

Thanks for the advice. Any and all is appreciated. I have the core support on but was thinking about taking it off to make things easier. Now that I have it in writing there is no question. I pulled the motor from my 77 myself, leaving the trans attached, and talking with someone else they said without a lift it would be easier to install the trans first and put the whole thing in at one time.

Still have a lot of stuff to take care of, brackets, pulleys etc.

CAN I PUT THE MOTOR IN WITHOUT THAT KIND OF STUFF AND INSTALL AFTER THE FACT?

Still some things to take care of, need to get the clutch and parts etc.

Going to get the car uncovered and washed off tomorrow and get ready to get started. I anticipate all summer doing this but hopefully things will move along quickly and go better than I am thinking.
2023-06-09_03-46-24 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr

The motor looks good, but considering a few things and time frame I have to say I was/am a bit underwhelmed. Carb was rebuilt but not 'polished' up any. He told me upfront that making it shiny was not his thing as much as making it run right. I could have sent it off to be done. Had I known from the beginning that the process was going to take this long I would have approached things a bit differently. Just a few nit picks but that is me being persnickety. He said it runs great and that really is the bottom line. Given a choice I would rather have it run great and look ok.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN 

I don't know if there is any wrong or right way, installing with or without the transmission. If I was just working on the engine, I wouldn't bother pulling the transmission. Since you have the front clip off, including the core support, why wouldn't you bolt the transmission to the engine first and install it in one piece. You probably know this already, make sure you have a new pilot bushing for the crankshaft and a clutch alignment tool when bolting on the pressure plate to the flywheel, so the clutch disk is centered, before bolting up the transmission. You deffinately want a new throughout bearing and put a dab of grease on the clutch fork before installing it on the bellhousing.

Since you will have the fenders and core support out of the way, nothing wrong with bolting on your pulleys, brackets, alternator, P/S pump after the motor is in place. Doing this with the fenders off you won't have to worry about scratching the paint.

That new engine sure looks pretty! Once the air cleaner and shaker is installed, you will almost not be able to see the carb.

[tajoe]

No radiator support, or fenders?! Yeah man, nows the time to put the motor and tranny in together, but more importantly, put on the hedders. So much easier. Even if you're using RA manifolds, bolt them and the head pipes on B4 the fenders. Good to see some fwd progress. Gunna be a good summer.

[scarebird]

I would bolt up all the accessories too; there is reason the factory did it that way.

[roadking77]

I am thinking I will make it as compete as possible before setting in the car. When I bought this car, the p.o. had the motor completely disassembled. Block looked like it had been used as a boat anchor, it was that rusty! It was missing a lot of stuff. Fast forward many years down the road and it looks like I need just about everything as far as brackets and ancillaries are concerned. I am going to try and put a list together today and start pecking away one piece at a time. I guess I should have known better, this is stuff I should have been gathering for the last 3 years

Anyone have brackets and such they want to get rid of, let me.

[roadking77]

2020-12-10_12-45-25 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
2020-12-10_12-45-11 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr
This is what I delivered 3 years ago. So considering theres not much there, I guess its a miracle what came back! Being a 4 speed car with original motor I figured most of the value was in the block. I was worried that it could not be salvaged. He said the shop had a hard time getting it cleaned up, but in the end they succeeded.

[tajoe]

whoa! I remember those intakes. Had one, but didn't use it. Think its maybe on my test stand motor, for QJ testing. Can't understand why Pontiac made the secondary holes D shaped. Most light footers wouldn't notice it, but must be a killer at WOT.
Would like ta see a comparison test on that thing. 

[kentucky yeti]

I’ve probably got all the brackets and spacers in a couple boxes that I found while moving.

[roadking77]

I did as much research as I knew how to at the time, and all I came up with was that the Pontiac intake was almost/as good as aftermarket with the exception of the weight. So, I decided to use ironside. When the time came it was found to have a crack in it so off to the shelf. I ended up using an Edelbrock performer. Obviously havent got to that point yet but its supposed to be a direct bolt in for the shaker. I wish he would have ground the name off the top as its a dead giveaway though.

[roadking77]

I guess I may as well start adding here since work has started back up. When I got the car the motor was in pieces, rusty and crusty. I had no idea what was and wasnt there. First big shock was that the carb that I got with it was not correct. I got lucky and found a good date coded correct for 79 4 speed carb for $150. This was after I lost out on the sale of one for $600. SO, my procrastination actually paid off for a change.

I had no idea what state the motor was going to be in when I got it back. Its running but there is still a lot of work I need to do to install. With my 77 I dropped the car off and had the shop install the finished motor. I had no idea what came back was going to be so bare I looked through the parts and lo and behold I have NO brackets whatsoever. The only thing I did have was the bracket for the A/C as I do have the compressor and dryer and such. Larry (5th TA) came through with most of what I needed, thanks again. Still needing the front alt. bracket, I found a nice used one from Firebird central. It came in yesterday. They have all been cleaned prepped and painted. Picking up my alt. today from Napa and will start to do some installations. 

Still need to order the steering pump, most likely from NAPA and the starter (mini from summit).

I cleaned up the bell housing, need to do just a bit more and I think it will suffice. Plan to get the clutch pack ordered today from Summit.

[FormTA]

It is pretty amazing how many little parts there are to complete an engine installation.

[tajoe]

Who'll be installing the clutch, and tranny? Not the eng. builder, I hope.

[roadking77]

Im gonna try that stuff myself, and with the help of the TAC brethren, LOL.