[64speed]

I’ve hit a motivation wall. Waiting on the motor to be built and paying on the transmission layaway is not exciting. The car is totally stripped the last thing I can take off is the rear view mirror and the rest of the headliner. I could put the steering column in but I don’t have a good steering wheel to put on it and with the money going to the trans I don’t have the money to have the factory one recast which is the way I am gonna go. Anybody got any suggestions on maintaining motivation in a situation like this?

[pestwagon64]

Go to a car show! Like a good guys event... Finished cars always seem to get me motivated that's where I see others ideas and ask quetions. Take time away from the work to enjoy other's work. Talk/mingle with others.

Problem with that is many folks don't do their own work/restorations so they are of little help.

Or do something outside the car world...hiking, travel, etc.

I bought my 1964 LS1 powered 64 Tempest 4 years ago this November....almost completely done just have to add the Dakota Digital gauges...

By the way your car is BADASS!!!

[64speed]

Originally Posted by pestwagon64

Go to a car show! Like a good guys event... Finished cars always seem to get me motivated that's where I see others ideas and ask quetions. Take time away from the work to enjoy other's work. Talk/mingle with others.

Problem with that is many folks don't do their own work/restorations so they are of little help.

Or do something outside the car world...hiking, travel, etc.

I bought my 1964 LS1 powered 64 Tempest 4 years ago this November....almost completely done just have to add the Dakota Digital gauges...

By the way your car is BADASS!!!

Thanks for calling my car Badass. Going on vacation next week so I’ll be a beach bum from Monday to Saturday then when I come back I get to have some more of that dental work I was talking about so funds will be tight. I am focusing now on getting my transmission out of hock. Once I get it I have to test fit the engine and trans to the car so I can measure for the driveshaft and then pull it back out because Classic Pontiac Rescue does not want it with the engine and transmission in it. I have to come up with close to 3000 for bumpers and grills etc to be rechromed so that will be the next major hurdle after transmission is paid for. My step daughters mouth is in worse shape than we thought and simple braces are not gonna do it so I have to figure out how much a month that is going to cost me and plan accordingly. In the meantime my brakes are on bled and functioning. I am worried about them freezing up or a piston seizing or something while I am getting all this done. Short of going outside and pushing the car in the driveway and pumping the pedal to keep fluid and pistons moving is there anything I can do to make sure nothing seizes in the LONG road to completion?

[64speed]

Sorry for my machinists poor photo skills but heres some engine porn for my engine. Heads are going on today then getting measured for pushrods. Final assembly should take place this weekend and then we will start it sometime when we can get together next week. I am so excited.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Congrats on the progress - I always find firing a new engine a mix of excitement and anxiety.

[64speed]

Originally Posted by 1_Wild_Cat

Congrats on the progress - I always find firing a new engine a mix of excitement and anxiety.

I’ll be anxious but I also know if there is a failure my machinist will take care of me so that lessens it a little.

[64speed]

Well she’s done. Gonna bolt up the accessories and get some video of her getting broken in. I can only get down there Tuesday so I will post then. Gonna swap those red plug wires for the black versions

[Tom Vaught]

You might want to check the alignment of your crank pulley and water pump pulley, they look a bit off alignment with each other. Maybe just a bad picture.

Tom V.

[64speed]

Because of schedule problems I go to pick her up Tuesday or Wednesday. Whatever day my mother in law can watch my daughter. Tom I haven seen the motor in person but I asked wayne about the pulley alignment and he said it was good. Just hope the AC pulley lines up. That is the CVF Racing v belt system and I highly recommend it to someone on a budget. Every piece was first class. I bought my compressor, alternator, and PS Pump from them because they have lifetime warranties. All told it was about 750-800 bucks all in which is a hell of a lot better than March unless you just want serpentine. They have a nice serpentine setup too though. I will post video of the break in. We did some refinancing and some belt tightening in the last year so I am looking for this 5 year project to be wrapped up in 3 1/2 years if the planets align.

[64speed]

It’s alive. I gotta start a YouTube account so I can upload the video.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Cool...congrats. Progress is good

[64speed]

https://youtu.be/JIwcAvaMkNk

[1968GTO421]

Very, very nice, sounds good! Congrats.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Woo Hoo!

[JLMounce]

Sounds healthy!

[Tom Vaught]

If it was a new flat tappet hydraulic or Solid Camshaft, I would have that engine at 2800+ rpm and leave it there for 20+ minutes.

In a perfect world you should have a known carb and distributor on the engine, crank it, fire it up, and go to 2800+ rpm, no screwing around trying to set the idle rpm.
Even with a roller camshaft a good idea to follow that procedure.

But it is what it is.

Tom V.

[JLMounce]

I believe he's got a voodoo hydraulic roller in there.

[64speed]

Well we had the rpm set to 2500 and it stayed there most of the time but the test stand radiator couldn’t keep up and after 10 minutes it was at 220. I wanted it shut off at that point so we shut it down and waited till it cooled back down to 185 and then we ran it another ten minutes at a little lower RPM. Cut open oil filter showed nothing but a tiny bit of brass from the distributor gear

[Tom Vaught]

Glad to hear that. Even 10 minutes at steady 2500 rpm will help to break in the camshaft properly.

Because I typically work on A-Body vehicles, I rigged up a house water hose/ water inlet valve that went to the heater return nipple
on the timing cover and added a water drain valve/hose at the heater inlet connection (right rear of engine) so that I could add cool water to the engine as required to keep the temps down on initial break-in of the camshaft.

The mod works on engine test stands or on engines installed in vehicles.

Tom V.

[64speed]

Wish I’d had that option the little 67 Chevy II radiator just couldn’t do it.