Thanks for the reply, 69Customs. I've had a PM from Geoff as well. I appreciate the input and will be verifying that stuff.
Photos--as promised.
1. Engine connected to my test stand. I have a radiator mounted to an exhaust-tube framework, with a gauge panel attached. The gauge panel is hinged, and the legs swivel so it all folds up reasonably flat for storage. I just move the engine stand up to it--connect some hoses and cables--add oil and coolant--and "vroom"! When I fired up the Olds 455, I just let it hang off the engine stand. Ran it for almost 4 hours. This time, I decided to chain the front of the Pontiac to my engine hoist for safety. That made it more stable than the Olds.
2. I use some flex-pipe and flanges (and some mechanic's wire) and some scrap exhaust tubing 'n' muffler, and most of the nasty fumes go outside. Quiet enough to hear any mechanical problems with a fresh engine, too.
3. Another view of the radiator cart. The fan doesn't do a lot of good, it's too far away and there's no shroud. But it's better than nothing, and I always have a garden hose handy to mist the radiator if the engine gets too warm.
4. Carbon build-up in 10 minutes running time. I wasn't expecting that. I did ABSOLUTELY NO carb tuning, the carb came from a running 455 core engine that idled pretty good. #2 cylinder was similar. None of the other cylinders had that carbon shadow as noticeably, but it was evident if I looked closely. Since I have the heads off, I'm going to try the Somander Singh grooves and see what happens. Supposed to be good for reducing carbon build-up, among other things. The pistons wiped up nice and easy, the carbon didn't stick at all.
5. Decided to trust Steve Barcak at the last minute. Drilled 'n' plugged 3 holes in both decks, (plugs below deck surface, and not "tight" since I'd already had the block honed with torque plate) Also drilled an additional hole in each block deck and cylinder head to cool the Siamesed exhaust ports. That "421 cooling hole" between the center two cylinders drilled easily in the right deck, but the left deck was a pain. Had to sharpen the drill bit three times, and never did get a clean break at the bottom of the hole. It did connect to water jacket, just not completely. Strange. Can't explain it.
6. Had one lifter that wouldn't spin. Well, it wasn't spinning when I popped the valve cover to check. All the cam lobes have an interesting mark at the peak of the lobe, though. The lobes look rougher than they are--an artifact of the camera flash, maybe.
This is a photo of the one that wasn't spinning, but I could have taken a picture of any of them and they'd look the same. The lifter must have been spinning at some point, 'cause all the lifter bottoms look identical. Nicely polished around the circumference, with some "original machining marks" in the very center. I'm putting the bitch back together with some fresh moly-paste and I'll complete the cam break-in.
7. Oh, yeah. I beat and smacked the stamped-steel water pump plate to close up the gap between it and the pump impeller--but--I'm thinking that the FlowKooler pump makes that a wasted effort. What the hell, beating the sheetmetal plate is cheap and easy...
