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270win · 01-19-2010, 09:37 PM

Here are the rods and pistons...the crank is still coated in their protective gunk, I'll get some pics as it's going together. Everything looks great...

ARP Main Studs

Gotta get some stuff on order from Butler tonight.

Valley pan for roller lifters, harmonic balancer and Scat Flexplate...

270win · 01-19-2010, 09:38 PM

Those look blury...cheap camera. Did they show up sized right or HUGE? They look okay on my laptop.

270win · 01-20-2010, 08:04 PM

I spoke to Scat today about the assembly, apparently we're getting pretty close to the ragged edge on the CR in this motor. We were expecting to start at 11.4:1 and build the motor to accomodate that on pump gas by dropping it to 10.5 or so, but now they're saying this kit will have me at 12.5:1...that's not going to be doable. So we have to cc everything and check deck height to see what's next. Worst case we send it back...heck, I'm about ready to step back and build a stout 400 roller motor and be done with it.

I'm ready to start driving this thing again!!!

PontGuy · 01-20-2010, 10:53 PM

The Nova really looks great, I would be very happy to have the body lines and a finish like that! The previous owner had my car painted- it looks OK from a distance and I like the color. But when you get close you see the runs, drips, dirt and orange peel. I've personally done a better job shooting pure stock dirt track cars. On the good side, it has kept the body from rusting out though.

My opinion- you are putting lots of good money into that engine, and whatever you do you should get the CR where it really needs to be to make sure that it runs right withoug pinging. Rattling down the road is just not cool.

Yeah, driving is another reason I am putting off painting until later this year. I finally have my car on the road again after a full year of working on it, and eager for the first opportunity to drop the top and cruise. I am in NJ on business this week- the nice southern weather is finally back and I am missing it.

Walt

270win · 01-20-2010, 11:14 PM

I appreciate the compliments on the Nova, especially for the money, the paint was very nice. If you want to consider having Jack paint your car I would be glad to hook you guys up to discuss it. He painted an 86 IROC that a friend of mine was restoring, it was black and although Jack painted it, it was done through the shop he works for. They charged $10K for the job...but I have to say, I've NEVER seen a repainted car that turned out any better. I can literally read newspaper print in the finish and the paint looks miles deep.

I agree on the engine work. Fortunately, I have one of the best engine builders in the world working on this thing. I talked to him again tonight and he has assured me that it will not be on the ragged edge of detonation...I don't mind running 93 octane in it, but I don't want to be one bad tank of gas away from engine damage. We'll be running it on the dyno once it's together. I want to get some numbers on the motor regarding HP/TQ and I also want to get some timing numbers before it goes into the car. Plus, if there's an issue we'll know about it before it ever leaves the engine shop...

Come on down, the weather was NICE today. I took the Impala to lunch today and it was great cruising weather...how much better would it have been in a fire breathing GTO?!?!?!?

270win · 01-21-2010, 09:37 PM

I finally laid down the first coat of paint on the engine bay. It'll get 2 more coats before I'm done, it was cool and damp today so the first coat is sitting under heat lamps tonight.

Here's a pic-

This was taken with my cell phone...that cheap camera ended up being a bit too cheap, gotta get a better cheap camera.

270win · 01-31-2010, 07:02 PM

Not much has happened, the cylinders have been honed to each specific piston and the rings file fit. The heads are being ported along with the exhaust manifolds, the intake will be ported once it arrives. So far we're guessing 10.9:1 static compression...but that's at zero deck and with stock combustion chambers, we'll pick up a few cc's with some minor chamber improvements. After that we'll determine exactly what to do cam wise. Once we get to that point the motor should move right along. I'm hoping for 10.5:1 static compression.

I did get all of the components on the firewall painted...been kinda slow waiting on engine work though. I may go ahead and install the new rear bumper while I'm waiting...

270win · 01-31-2010, 07:56 PM

Interestingly enough, my engine builder called me right after posting the last update. he sent me some pics of the head work.

Here's a shot of the intake side-

Chamber before-

Chamber after-

Looks like they were cleaned up quite a bit. He said there was a lot of slag from the factory casting in the bowls that needed to be cleaned up. They'll be getting some further tweaking in the valve seats...we're (they're) also going to look at milling some more dish into the pistons, may be able to, may not, gotta do some measuring.

Greg Reid · 02-01-2010, 06:06 AM

That's looking good. I would have liked to have some porting and polishing done but I'm running out of money.
My engine is sitting on the stand in my garage still in the shrink wrap. I want to paint it but the weather and my free time can't seem to get on the same page.

270win · 02-01-2010, 09:57 AM

I felt like there was no way I could let the heads stay unported. Especially after seeing how bad they were stock. They have to flow better after the work. I would LOVE to have mine done to that point...I still have LOTS of $$$ to spend...

I just can't wait to get it back on the road...I miss driving it!

270win · 02-02-2010, 10:25 PM

Today I ordered some stuff from Butler Performance-

Aluminum valley pan for roller lifters.
9 keyway Pro Billet timing set
Standard volume 60psi oil pump
Performance Street harmonic balancer
8 bolt water pump
Gasket set minus head gaskets
Carter mechanical fuel pump

Tip of the iceburg, but that's about it until the cam/valvetrain. Can't pick the cam etc until we know exact CR.

270win · 02-13-2010, 01:24 AM

I tool all of the parts to the engine shop yesterday...I hope to know exactly what cam we're going to use soon. I put the master cylinder/booster back on the firewall along with the voltage regulator, etc. I was going to wait until the motor was in to get the front end back on the car...but since this is taking a while I'm going to get the hideaways and nose back on the car so all I'm waiting on is the motor. These things always take longer than I expect.

270win · 03-05-2010, 10:43 PM

Still very little progress. My engine guy is doing some work on the heads and hopefully starting assembly of the bottom end this weekend. I decided to remove the back bumper and install the new one I have had for a few months. It turns out that my tail light buckets were pretty much junk. I ordered a new set today from PY, they come with the pig tails and gaskets. The bulb mounts were badly broken and all the gaskets were really dried out and cracked. I took a few pics behind the bumper, the car is VERY solid back there and I'm going to clean and paint that area Monday.

Hope to have some good info on the motor build in the next day or two.

Greg Reid · 03-07-2010, 05:53 AM

Looks good. What kind of shape is your old bumper in?

270win · 03-07-2010, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Looks good. What kind of shape is your old bumper in?

The chrome is faded and oxidized, the back side has a coat of surface rust. I tried to clean up the chrome with 0000 steel wool when I first got the car but the shine would not come back. It's pretty straight except for one spot that almost looks like a baseball hit it. I was looking at it yesterday thinking it would be very easy to straighten and re-chrome it....or just paint it as is for a race car.

Greg Reid · 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 270win

The chrome is faded and oxidized, the back side has a coat of surface rust. I tried to clean up the chrome with 0000 steel wool when I first got the car but the shine would not come back. It's pretty straight except for one spot that almost looks like a baseball hit it. I was looking at it yesterday thinking it would be very easy to straighten and re-chrome it....or just paint it as is for a race car.

Sounds like it's about the same as mine...Ok, but it's got a little sag/bend in it and a little cloudy. Maybe could be straightened.
I was just scheming/thinking that you might be one of those guys getting rid of a really nice bumper for a show quality bumper...and since you're local.

270win · 03-07-2010, 07:34 PM

Actually I think yours has a better finish than mine does. I'm thinking about holding onto mine for a core if anything ever happens to my car in the future and these bumpers become impossible to find.

270win · 03-07-2010, 07:40 PM

Turns out that the CR is 10.3:1 so we're in good shape. Now I can order the cam/lifters/springs, the converter and I can give Cliff the numbers to match the carb to the build. My builder said it should start moving fast now.

I'm ready!!!

270win · 03-09-2010, 11:25 PM

Well it's starting to go back together...

Today I sand blasted the rest of the front end/hideaway parts. Tomorrow I'll paint them and plan to get some of it reinstalled in the car tomorrow evening.

Here's a pic of the motor from today.

270win · 03-19-2010, 10:09 PM

The cam, lifters and springs are here. I also just got the flex plate, solid motor mounts and rear main seal from Butler. Once we get the measurements for the pushrods we'll order those. The head gaskets are from Cometic and they were custom made for the build to get the compression and quench perfect. All I need now is the carb and the dyno pulls and we're pretty much done. I'm ready to get this thing on the road again. It was 73 degrees and sunny today...UGH, saw lots of classic cars out this evening...

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