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Firebird455 · 08-03-2003, 06:08 PM

Ok, so I finally all the parts I need to start assemling my mean 455, but the problem is Ive never built an engine from scratch but I'd love to use this situation as a learning experience and so I can say I built my 11 second car with my own 2 hands. So all you backyard mechanics out there please leave me some helpful tips for building an engine. Where do I start? Where can I find torque specs for bolts? once its together and in the car is there anything I need to do before I turn the key for the first time and hear the 304 adv duration cam through open headers?

I hope I havent gotten myself too far into this...cuz I cant quit now

Project: Black Hawk
See the saga unfold here: www.geocities.com/gta305tpi/Blackhawk.html

dwainm · 06-08-2004, 10:35 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by GONZO:
Don't talk to Bruce Fulper

RAIV Don't leave home without it.
<a href="http://www.kingofmusclecars.com/" target="_blank">http://www.kingofmusclecars.com/</a> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Why is everyone against Bruce Fulper? Just curious.

Firebird455 · 08-03-2003, 06:08 PM

Ok, so I finally all the parts I need to start assemling my mean 455, but the problem is Ive never built an engine from scratch but I'd love to use this situation as a learning experience and so I can say I built my 11 second car with my own 2 hands. So all you backyard mechanics out there please leave me some helpful tips for building an engine. Where do I start? Where can I find torque specs for bolts? once its together and in the car is there anything I need to do before I turn the key for the first time and hear the 304 adv duration cam through open headers?

I hope I havent gotten myself too far into this...cuz I cant quit now

Project: Black Hawk
See the saga unfold here: www.geocities.com/gta305tpi/Blackhawk.html

Steve Barcak · 08-08-2003, 11:26 PM

Chris, There will be a picture/diagram included when you buy your rear seal. Buy the BOP version. They are good people and it's a good product. I run one in the GTO and in the Fueler. Steve www.pontiacheaven.org

ifixit4me · 08-05-2003, 07:49 PM

I'm following this thread with quite a bit of interest as I am about to tackle the same thing with the 400 in my 65. Some good advise here! I will print this out and hang it on the wall in my shop when the time comes to pull my motor!

ChrisTransAm78 · 08-04-2003, 01:00 PM

Hey anyone here in the Austin area that wants to help me put mine together? I'll feed ya and beer you! Drop me a line if your interested...

Thanks,
Chris

http://www.visualmktg.biz/transam78/

73LeMans · 06-08-2004, 11:56 AM

Pontiac distributors spin counterclockwise.

ChrisTransAm78 · 06-08-2004, 08:58 AM

Man I saw this post from a long time ago searching for something else. Since I just got it started made me smile... Thanks to all you guys who left tips! You rock!

Hey Firebird455, ever get it running?

Brian Baker · 08-03-2003, 08:37 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ol' Pinion head:
Brian,
any specific quantity of windshield washer fluid in the gas tank?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, he hasn't gotten that far in the build up yet, OPH. Don't try to put the cart in front of the horse.

dwainm · 06-08-2004, 10:32 AM

Torque specs
Mains 1-4 95 lbs ft
Main 5 120 lbs ft
Heads 95 lbs ft torque from center workinmg out
9 5 1 3 7
0 6 2 4 8 <-torque sequence
Just as everyone else said just take your time and make sure it stays clean.

Oooops. One more-rods 45-55 lbs ft

Jack Blum · 08-05-2003, 12:15 AM

One thing I have learned the hard way is the rear oil pan cork seal. Don't trim it. It looks to big at first, but if you trim it to length, it WILL leak. Leave it long, it will sqush into place. Have fun.

PS Double, tripple then quadripple check the oil pump drive shaft for placement. Drop in the distributor and make sure it turns freely before you bolt down the pan.

TigerEFI.com (Classic Pontiac Fuel Injection) [email protected]
Motto: Build it for NASA and drive it like you stole it!

'ol Pinion head · 08-03-2003, 07:01 PM

Brian,
any specific quantity of windshield washer fluid in the gas tank?

Tom Vaught · 08-03-2003, 07:20 PM

Talk to GottoGETaGoat as he is going through the same process. step by step.

Tom V.

GONZO · 08-05-2003, 12:41 PM

Don't talk to Bruce Fulper

RAIV Don't leave home without it.
http://www.kingofmusclecars.com/

Jon Wood · 08-04-2003, 08:34 PM

I may be repeating someone with some of this, but here are some tips I got from my machinist that were very helpfull for me:
You can make some really good assembly lube by mixing a quart of 70 wt. oil with a bottle of STP V8 oil addative.

Be sure that you run some rifle brushes through the oil galleries.

Wash the block with soapy water and rinse well after you get it from the machine shop. Spray it down with the hose. Then spray with WD-40 to displace the water and dry with compressed air or a towel.

Use brake cleaner to clean the cyllender bores until your rag is clean after wiping the cylender walls. This will take a while. Also do this on the Main bores & Rod bores.

A lot of people will tell you to dunk the piston head in a bucket of oil. Don't do that! You will just gum up the rings with carbon. rub a light coating of 5W-30 motor oil into the cyllender walls, and then spray some WD-40 around the rings.

And finally... Use the ARP bolt lube (if you're using ARP bolts) sparingly, and wip[e up the exess after torquing. Also, put your assembly lube on the cam bearings and journals before inserting the cam, THEN apply the cam break in lube on the lobes only.

Also, talk to whatever machinist you're going to use and get his advice.

Steve Barcak · 08-07-2003, 04:45 PM

Here's another- How many have done this wrong in the past? Forgetting to put silicone in the anti-rotation holes when installing a neopreme real seal? and yes, dont forget to put silicone on the parting line too.
Steve www.pontiacheaven.org

SupergasDil · 08-07-2003, 11:24 AM

2 small adds
a little extra silicone where the oil pan meets the bottom corners of the timing cover and the rear main cap always worked well for me and something that someone else asked was how to keep the waterpump bolt holes from rusting, (Stainless Steel bolts). That's what all of the boat guys use and they are wet all the time.

ChrisTransAm78 · 08-03-2003, 10:06 PM

Yeah I 2nd this thread. I did the screw in oil caps instead of the plugs. Will be getting the rest of the parts this week. Have those EHeads...any specific advice there? Type of radiator fluid to use on the aluminum heads? What about those pesky bolts that go on the timing chain cover? Is there something to put on those to keep em from rusting and lockin in there to brake off for the next rebuild?

Thanks,
Chris

http://www.visualmktg.biz/transam78/

ChrisTransAm78 · 08-18-2003, 09:05 PM

I wanted to say that I just took my Mellings M54DS pump apart tonight and it had a big chunk of metal in it that came off the hole where the pickup is installed. Well ok it was big enough to easily be felt b/t my hardened finger tips! Kinda sucks these people can't chk their own crap! Washed it all out and stuck it back together.

Just got the BOP rear main seal as well. No rope fer me!

Nice tips. Keep em coming!

http://www.visualmktg.biz/transam78/

ponchopete · 08-03-2003, 08:14 PM

One of the best things to remember while building an engine is to thoroughly clean everything, and keep it clean. A lot of people will just brush out the cylinder bores with soapy water, dry it, and call it good. Be very thorough in cleaning all of the oil galleys with some engine brushes. When it comes time to clean the bores, a brush works well to get some of the dirt out, but you'll need to take some time and thoroughly wipe down the bores by hand also. If the bores get any flash rust while cleaning, I recommend using CLR for the initial wipe down. It does a good job of cleaning, and will get rid of any flash rust. I then like to wipe them down with WD-40, which seems to draw out the dirt fairly well. Then, a final wipe down with brake or carb cleaner, and then oil the bores. On my own engines, I consider the bores clean when I can take a white cloth, wipe it around the bores, and it comes back out white. I like to use either automatic transmission fluid or Childs & Albert assembly lubricant for final oiling of the bores.

Make sure you run a chase tap through all of the threaded holes in the block to clean the threads. If there's any trash in the threads, or the threads have a small burr, etc., you'll have inaccurate bolt torque readings. Check to see if the threads run all the way up to the surface of the decks and mains. If they do, lightly chamfer the top of the bolt hole(s). This will prevent pulling of the threads out of the block while torquing fasteners.

For torque spec's, a Clevite engine bearing catalog is a good source for factory torque spec's on just about any engine. If you're using factory fasteners, follow factory torque spec's, and use 30W engine oil for a thread lubricant. If you're using aftermarket fasteners, such as ARP, use the manufacturer's torque spec's with the appropriate thread lubricant. ARP offers a bolt-torque spec chart on the back of almost all of their boxed fasteners that can come in handy. When you go to torque the main caps, torque one cap at a time, and then spin the crank over after each torquing of the cap fasteners. By doing one cap at a time, if the crank becomes difficult to spin or has a spot where it's binding, you'll know exactly which cap is causing a problem. The same goes for the connecting rod caps.

Disassemble your oil pump, and thoroughly inspect it for any metal shavings, burrs, nicks, etc. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for a brand new oil pump to have some metal in it.

The three front oil galley plugs should be tapped for pipe thread, and have screw in plugs installed, instead of using the factory style press-in plugs. You'll need to be careful when doing this, as a plug can get threaded in too far and block the oil galley. It can also not thread in far enough and interfere with the drive gear for the camshaft.

Don't forget to check all clearances, such as bearing clearance, piston to bore clearance, etc., and easy to overlook clearances like ring end-gap, connecting rod side clearance, and crankshaft thrust clearance.

Once the engine is completely together on the engine stand, install a mechanical oil pressure gauge and prime the oil pump with a drill motor before you take the engine off the stand. That way, if there's an oil pressure issue, the engine isn't already in the car, which will mean less work to diagnose the problem. For a priming tool, you can use a Chevrolet oil pump primer. It will fit the Pontiac oil pump driveshaft just fine.

In my opinion, firing an engine up for the first time with open headers is a bad idea. The engine is going to be so loud that it can potentially mask any other noises that may be an indicator of a problem somewhere in the engine. I would at least rig up some sort of temporary muffler system while breaking in your new engine. You can't be too careful on something like that.

"My car would be fast if it had an engine, transmission, and rear axle in it."

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