[Nicks67GTO]

What a mess! Was that actually a running engine when you got it??

Excellent work Paul. Your build threads are great.

[gtofreek]

It was freshly rebuilt but not run. It wouldn't have run very long the way it was.

[AG]

Originally Posted by wheneaglesfly

Its another Topic but 100-200 inches of water depression is what an actual running sees.
28 inches of water depression tests of course the standard set by Smokey Yunick.

That's only 3.6-7.2 psi boost?

[wheneaglesfly]

Originally Posted by AG

That's only 3.6-7.2 psi boost?

I read it on an all Chevy site .
Article witten by an Ex Pro Stock.Racer & Engine Builder.
Provided interesting insite on Street Strip performance .
400-500 cfm intake flow does not always work as intented.
A few have tried or actually many.
Couldn't spin the rear tires any more 10-15 feet with 4.10-4.56 gears.
They had or have same mentality in Corvette World.
10.5 ET a mile away yet.
Hellcats Blew Right Past them.
More going on than airflow.
Important but its not all.

[Tom Vaught]

Obviously there was a lot of fiddling with that aluminum block from the time it was first machined to what you started out with (to fix) Paul.

Why would you put some block filler crap like that in an aluminum block (that historically over cools) except to falsely assume that you were making the block stronger?

Great write-up

Question: In the "Crooked Studs" picture you have the threads on the studs several threads away from being in the block holes.
The the "Repaired" pictures you show all of the studs threaded into the block/insert so that no threads are showing. What is up with that?

Tom V.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

Obviously there was a lot of fiddling with that aluminum block from the time it was first machined to what you started out with (to fix) Paul.

Why would you put some block filler crap like that in an aluminum block (that historically over cools) except to falsely assume that you were making the block stronger?

Great write-up

Tom V.

Exactly! I would have never filled this thing in the first place.

So we used some regular block filler in the one side to try to duplicate the other. I guess this block was in a 7 or 8 second car at one time, which I'm guessing, is why it was filled in the first place.

[Will]

This is the kind of post I drool over. Paul - if you were anywhere near me you'd have to shoo me out of your place with a broom (or a boring bar) - I love watching automotive machining in action. The short time I worked in a machine shop was too much fun.

Do you have any idea who did the work on this block originally? Some REALLY bizarre stuff going on there. A screw in the oil passage is the most far-out thing to me.

Looks like a lot of work/$$ to get it back in shape but I guess these blocks are expensive enough to make it worth it vs. starting over with a new one.

Someone's going to have a might fun engine when this is all done.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

Obviously there was a lot of fiddling with that aluminum block from the time it was first machined to what you started out with (to fix) Paul.

Why would you put some block filler crap like that in an aluminum block (that historically over cools) except to falsely assume that you were making the block stronger?

Great write-up

Question: In the "Crooked Studs" picture you have the threads on the studs several threads away from being in the block holes.
The the "Repaired" pictures you show all of the studs threaded into the block/insert so that no threads are showing. What is up with that?

Tom V.

I just didn't thread them in all the way in the crooked stud pics. Just threaded them in half way or so to demonstrate that they were crooked. The threads were not loose causing the studs to sag, if that's whet you're getting at. I guess in the final pics, I just threaded them in all the way. Didn't really think much about it to be honest with you. Was just trying to show how they were crooked, that's all. I found the crooked stud hole when I tried to bolt a torque plate on it to seat the sleeves.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Will

This is the kind of post I drool over. Paul - if you were anywhere near me you'd have to shoo me out of your place with a broom (or a boring bar) - I love watching automotive machining in action. The short time I worked in a machine shop was too much fun.

Do you have any idea who did the work on this block originally? Some REALLY bizarre stuff going on there. A screw in the oil passage is the most far-out thing to me.

Looks like a lot of work/$$ to get it back in shape but I guess these blocks are expensive enough to make it worth it vs. starting over with a new one.

Someone's going to have a might fun engine when this is all done.

Or lately, the bees and wasps would keep you out! Wish I could find where they are coming from. They fly around inside our shop all day long, but we can't find a nest. They must like the smell of honing oil! Or maybe I smell like roses! Naw, it couldn't be that.

[Will]

That sucks! They're probably inside your walls or in the floor in the space between the joists. It only takes one tiny hole! I had them in the ceiling of the "mud room" addition to my house. Fortunately once I found where they were going in & out a couple applications of bee & wasp killer fixed them.

do you have any of that scented racing gas around? LOL.

[Tom Vaught]

Just noticed the difference in the installation of the studs and was wondering if the threads were the screwed up part of the deal vs the initial stud hole drilling. Not that many 8 second aluminum block deals out there so my first impression would be that this was Robin's NOS (spray) block which would have been from your general region of the USA.

Tom V.

[dataway]

freek, you have great faith in your Bridgeport .... what year is it? Mine is a 1957 ... doesn't seem to have any issues that a good tramming wouldn't fix ... but hard for me to believe in it as much as I should. Table could use a regrinding too.

[johnta1]

Tom V quote:

Not that many 8 second aluminum block deals out there so my first impression would be that this was Robin's NOS (spray) block which would have been from your general region of the USA.

From the buyer of the used block:

This IA was from back east somewhere. I deal with stuff that comes from all over the country. Sad to see people buy parts that supposedly all done and ready to run when that's the farthest thing from the truth.
Buyer beware

Excellent work Paul!

Looks like they need more people like you in the East coast area.

[gtofreek]

Here is a picture of the sides of the main caps that they serrated.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Paul, how many hours do you have invested in this "repair"?

Sure looks to me like you are close to the price of a new block, even considering a bunch of this work would have to be done to a new block!

For those of you that have read the thread about whether or not to use a torque plate when honing, all the detailed work in this thread gives the reader the "whys" of going the extra "dollar spent" to ensure that your engine isn't just well built, but "best" built!!! The bungles on this engine were incredible, to say the least!!!

It's very difficult to find competent machine shops these days. Buyer beware!

[gtofreek]

We have a lot of hours in it. Couldn't begin to guess. It was probably about 2/3 the price of a new block all said and done. It was either that, or scrap it. Since there was already an investment there, it's hard to scrap it.

With a new block there is still all the finishing work that jacks the price of that block up even more. Things that need to be done include, but not limited to[to be all legal and all]:

1: checking the main housing bore, or align honing
2: decking to final height
3: bore and hone to final size
4: cam bearings installed
5: all passages and water jackets thoroughly cleaned and sealed up[plugs installed]
6: deburring, and clearancing[clearancing usually not an issue with aftermarket Pontiac blocks]
7: lifter bore size checked and honed to size

There you can add another $800-$1000 to the cost of the new block.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by dataway

freek, you have great faith in your Bridgeport .... what year is it? Mine is a 1957 ... doesn't seem to have any issues that a good tramming wouldn't fix ... but hard for me to believe in it as much as I should. Table could use a regrinding too.

I couldn't tell you what year it is. I never bothered to look or ask.

Also, to be perfectly clear, Jeff did some of this work also. I didn't do all of it. He did most of the mill work[he's much better with that machine than I], like cutting the main registers, and re-drilling and tapping the main bolt holes, and welding up the main caps, and machining them to size. I did the lifter bore stuff, but he did the stud hole fix since I had many other things I was in the middle of at the time. We have 2 mills, and the one he did the main register stuff with has a digital coordinates indicator on it to get precise on the cuts.

Jeff is phenomenal with that mill, and can make just about anything with it. He's always amazing me with things he does with it, especially with Holley carbs. I'm OK on the mill, but I can't do all the things he can. But I keep learning! Between the two of us, there's not much we can't fix.

[Tom Vaught]

Either way you are trying very hard to fix a bunch of screw-ups from a shop back east.
Back east assuming anything east of the Mississippi.

I could tell you some stories about another aluminum block screw-up but we will not go there (east of the Mississippi
for a customer in the northwest of the country).

Tom V.

[68azbird]

You mean butcher shop back east

[HWYSTR455]

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