Roadkill's 1983 Chevy Z28 - (Work Starts on Page 5)

[ianjpage]

cool- wots the gap like between the end of the valve cover and the rockers inside - is it as tight as we all thought it is>?>

[art b]

nice solutions....
all the oil will leak out wiff that big hole thou...

[Roadkill]

Quoting: ianjpage

wots the gap like between the end of the valve cover and the rockers inside

Clears the spring fine but I'd say clears the rocker pin by only 1mm-2mm.

Which is enough, of course.

[art b]

1mm-2mm....just enough is good enough

[Gator]

looking very cool

[ianjpage]

2mm - miles enough clearance lol!!

[Roadkill]

The valve covers are made from approx 2.6mm ally . . . . I think I'll file about a 1.5mm recess in the area that is close to clashing with the rocker . . . . effectively doubling the clearance.

[ianjpage]

[Roadkill]

Mini-mini Update.

I found the bellhousing-to-engine block bolts last night - that was a relief !

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

I found the bellhousing-to-engine block bolts last night - that was a relief !

PHEW!!!

[Roadkill]

UPDATE :

Last night I set about clearing the way to move the Camaro in to the garage to begin getting the motor and trans in.
There was timber everywhere from the old mezzanine (which will become the garage extension's floor) and it needed shifting.
I had about an hour before going to Yoga (Yes, Yoga) and managed to get the lot done, cleared, swept and tools away.



With the path clear, tonight's job was simple : Do as much to the motor as possible.  
I have everything to hand - it's just a matter of putting it all back together.
The main thing I wanted to end up with is the engine off of the stand (first time in just over six months) by the end of the evening.

First job (building up slowly) was to re-fit the modified Oil Level Sensor.

Now, I'm not a complete retard so decided I didn't need a retro-fitted flashy warning light thingy telling me my oil was low so got PhilO to remove the sensor guts, plug it and face it off (effectively making it a glorified bung).

That left me to tidy it on the linisher and then show it 2 hours of Nickel plating.

Ta-da ! - Refitted :



Next was a job I was purposely putting off.

The LT1 front Pulley Hub is notorious with 4th Gen owners and has seen many F*ck it up.
It's also normally refitted in situ whereas my motor was on a stand.

Note to all LT1 owners about to do engine work - thoroughly read up on this before removing !!!

With the help of a chain (bolted to the stand and hub), a hefty Torque wrench and some prayers (that the stand didn't collapse and/or fall on me with my weight swinging off of it) I got it on, torqued and aligned.

Next, with some light mallet taps went on the Under Drive pulley :



Next mission was to find the main engine bolts . . . I had two sets - one from the Z28 and one from the Firebird which the LT1 came from - I opted to use the newer ones as the original ones were looking rusty and manky.
These were fitted to the mounts for positioning off of the stand . . .

After that the losely fitted Carb was removed and replaced with my new engine lift plate (it was the first time I'd used one so I was utterly paranoid !)

Ready for the off ! :



My concerns were unnecesary as the plate didn't flinch a bit - In fact I can highly, HIGHLY recommend them (mine's a ProForm one - $16 or so).  
The motor came free of the stand and was lowered onto a waiting arrangement of timber blocks.  No problems.



Next came a tidy up and gathering of parts - ready for tomorrow night :



Next job is to fit a new main, rear seal, then fit the new flywheel and clutch . . . . then the engine and trans can meet again for the first time in nearly 11 months.

[ianjpage]

looking good

[sixpack2639]

Quoting: ianjpage

looking good

Yeah, what he said!

I think I remember seeing some of those bits somewhere before.........

[FUBAR]

Looks good m8, is it going back in tomorrow (actually today) evening then?

I'm not about to help either

[Roadkill]

Quoting: FUBAR

is it going back in tomorrow

No, no, no.

There's still more to do, yet.

Hopefully on sunday, though.

[Roadkill]

Update to follow . . . . .

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Roadkill

Update to follow . . . . .

As promised . . . .  

This was last night's (well, thursdays work).

I got started late but was determined to "make an impact" as it were . . .

First job was to replace the rear one-piece oil seal.  Before this, though I cleaned and degreased the whole rear of the block.

Out came the seal and, after thoroughly cleaning the area again, in went the new.

No major hassle, but getting the seal in was delicate work without the proper press.

Here's a piccy.



Next was the flywheel.  A Billet ally RAM flywheel to be exact.

I cleaned and wire wooled the rear of the crank flange to ensure optimum mating.  The flywheel went on with no problems.



Next, obviously, was the clutch.  Here Shifty kindly assisted as I'd never tackled a clutch before and was anxious to get it right.

As it were, I was overly concerned for nothing.  The clutch was a simple job and got done in no time at all.



Next (and not on the night's list) was the starter motor.  This had to be shimmed to clear the flywheel when in it's natural postion, then shimmed further to acheive the correct tooth-tooth spacing.

No major issues . . . and no photos either.

By this time it was getting late but the next job couldn't be denied : mate the trans with the block.



And so it was . . . . a quick clean up of the old clutch fork and we were ready . . . after about 10 minutes of faffing we were there :



We got done at gone ten o'clock - much later than anticipated but I was very happy.

Big upz to me home boys Shiftini for assistance - it would've been impossible without him.

[Roadkill]

Tonight's work (aside from a shopping trip to buy bits for the garage extention - saturday morning's jobs - thanks Ian) was to do something with the cylinder head "steam tubes".

This is a one-piece item that, basically, collects steam from the back of the heads and returns it to the rad . . . .

The part was manky so the original plan was to rub it down and spray paint it.

However, for some odd reason, I started polishing it after I discovered a small shiny area.

Nearly two hours, one sheet of 2000-grit wet n dry, half-sheet of 1200-grit wet n dry, some wire wool and some Autosol later it looked pretty damn cool.

With the aid of some new washers it was refitted shortly afterwards.

Albeit hard work, it still proved quicker and cheaper than painting - so I'm happy.

Time's short if I want to get the motor back in on Sunday so any time saved is good.

Pic to follow . . . .

Here's the piccy :

[Gator]

looks well pukka mate top job just got an aly intake for the 400 but i dont think it would stay attached to a lift plate but i could always use the steel intake for lifting i spose

[Rocky]

If your valve covers are centre bolt you can always get the adaptor plates to make them perimeter bolt so you have a wider choice. Thats if your rockers arnt too big.

Its looking cool though

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Gator

looks well pukka mate top job just got an aly intake for the 400 but i dont think it would stay attached to a lift plate but i could always use the steel intake for lifting i spose

I did find some research on lift plates that found that ally intakes actually survive (under destructive tests) better than cast iron ones.

Surprising, but true.

Quoting: Rocky

If your valve covers are centre bolt you can always get the adaptor plates to make them perimeter bolt so you have a wider choice. Thats if your rockers arnt too big.

It's an idea but the main issue is the alternator positioning . . . on the LT1's in the fourth gens the valve covers were notched - on every other LT1-equiped car they weren't (I'm assuming the alternator position was slightly different.

Basically, I think the ones I've got are one of the few that stand a chance of fitting at all.



Anyway . . . got a couple more jobs done yesterday - mainly checking bolts for torque etc . . To get it to a point where it's ready to go back in.



Oh, and here's a piccy of the GM performance starter . . . . It's funnny as it proudly has a big red bow-tie logo on it . . . . . . unfortunately some dumb-ass at GM decided it'd look better on the side you can't actually see !!!

[Roadkill]

The Camaro is now in the garage, drying out, ready to have the motor and trans fitted.



Thanks to Ian, PhilO, Titsy and Shiftini for pushing the Caddy and Camaro around and thanks to Vicky for piloting the Caddy the last 6 feet !



Next job is to take the bonnet off, then find the new bolts I brought for the transmission X-member.

[Roadkill]

Gonna hunt them bolts down tonight methinks



The plan is to get the engine and trans in on Saturday . . . .

It'll be a relief just to get it out of the way !

[ianjpage]

Quoting: Roadkill

The plan is to get the engine and trans in on Saturday . . . .

what time round yuours then ... 6am lol!!!

[Roadkill]

Nah . . . . Probably start at 9-10am.