[njsteve]

I'm using Rogers Speed Shop in Garwood, NJ. It's a real, old time, machine shop that's been in business for decades.

[x-bird2]

you'll have to compare prices to 1988 (came with my SD...)

[njsteve]

Nice! I'm in good company, then.

[njsteve]

Got the new pistons from Summit on Friday...a sealed box with the label "matched weight set." They are at the machine shop now. When I dropped them off, the block was finished but I was in the wife's car and she doesn't take too kindly to transporting engine blocks in her trunk.

Over the weekend I spent some time painting the frame, cleaning all the brake and fuel lines and then reinstalling the lines, brackets, wiper motor, steering box, intermediate column, new motor mounts, etc. I also cleaned and rewrapped the wiring harnesses, too. (And yes, the factory did use bright white, corrugated plastic tubing to contain the firewall engine harness on the 75 Firebirds - not too esthetically pleasing, I'd say, but it is original!)

Waiting for a couple new brake hoses to arrive tomorrow. I had to replace the calipers after snapping the bleeder off one in an attempt to get it ready for bleeding the brakes. Figured I should replace the hoses as well, just to be safe.

Here's the engine compartment at the moment:

[The Boss]

Nice work Steve - as always!

[Rack776]

Neat Car with a Cool History!
What's your plan for it?
Nice Summer Driver, Restored back to Original?

I see yours has had the front bird emblem removed and it now has a formula hood-
Is the bright blue paint with tan interior its original color combo?


(I once considered returning my 75 base bird back to factory stock for awhile,
but I could not justify taking off the formula hood for a flat one )

Good job on it so far!
-Jason

[6x400gmc]

Progress looks good!

I wanted to comment on your transmission - you mentioned that the car had spent alot of time sitting. I recently installed a TH-375 in my truck. The Trans had been sitting for a while and unknown to me, had developed rust on the governor drive gear on the output shaft. The trans lasted a day before the rusted gear chewed up the plastic teeth on the governor. I had to crawl under the truck, pull the tail housing and clean the teeth as best I could with a steel wire brush. A new governor, case gasket, rear bushing and seal, and it works just fine.

Maybe something worth looking at since it's out of the car?

Britt

[njsteve]

Got the car all together today, added the last of the fluids, rechecked everything and got ready for the longwinded start up process...You know the drill, crank it over, stand back for the inevitable backfing and loss of eyebrows...pull the distributor and reinstall it 180 degrees out from where it was, find out where the leaking oil/gas/water/beer is coming from...try again...yada, yada, yada.



I can tell you that in 35 years of playing with cars and building engines I have never run into something like this:

I had the boy outside with me holding the fire extinguisher (from prior experience, just in case). All I was trying to do was bump the starter in order to move the timing mark on the balancer to the "0" spot on the timing mark. I turn the key for half a second and the car is running. No cranking, no backfiring, I mean running like I had just shut it off a minute ago. Instant 60 pounds of oil pressure, no weird noises, no leaks, no running out of gas.

So I end up sitting there with a stop watch and running the rpms up and down around 1500 to 2000 pm for 15 minutes. After that, I shut her off and drained the oil - looked clean, the magnetic drain plug was perfectly clean - not even a speck of metal anywhere. Refilled the oil and added another can of break-in additive and turned the key again, and she starts up on the first crank again. Set the timing and we both hopped in.

So we took Grammas Rose's car out for a victory lap and went to Rita's Ice for some Italian ice to celebrate. Got home and here's how she sounds after our victory ride: (click on the photo)




So, between the 455HO my daughter built in 3rd grade and this 350 my son built in 4th grade, the moral of the story is that from now on I will only have my kids build my engines for me.

Sounds like an idea for a new TV show:

Can You Build An Engine Better Than a 4th Grader?

[x-bird2]

File into them to see if they're plated. then lightly whack them with a ball peen hammer to see how much force it takes to dent them. I'd suspect you're correct on where they're from and that they're made to "look" correct ....

[njsteve]

Started the assembly process with the boy yesterday. Had him insert the main bearings, apply the Lubriplate and then we installed the crankshaft. Most entertaining to see a 50-pound kid try to pull 100 pounds on a torque wrench. :-) (I helped eventually).

He actually figured out that the decimal math he recently learned in school is actually useful in everyday life! I had him measure the main bearing oil clearence with Plastigage and compare it to the little paper chart. I then had him check the ring end gaps in the bores and crankshaft endplay with the feeler gauges. I had him compare the numbers to the specs in the book. He was quite impressed with his application of school math to engine building. He can't wait to tell his friends at school that decimals aren't a totally dumb thing.



We started with the piston/rods tonight, hopefully we'll get them all in tomorrow.

[The Boss]

By the looks of things you should have everything back together by Memorial Day?

Can I drop a car off for you to freshen up in your spare time over the summer???

Looks great Steve and cool that it's such a family project.

[OVERULD]

Steve, one of these days your son and daughter will be posting threads here showing their own rebuilds and talking about the way Dad used to build these old cars. My hat is off to you for including them in the hobby at such a young age and instilling in them an appreciation for these great cars. Well done!

BJ

[njsteve]

I gave them both a cleaned up piston from the engine and labeled them "Offical Great Gramma Rose Engine Building Award, 2011". They both were quite thrilled to be honored so officially. :-)

My daughter took her first driving lesson in that car and if I can keep training the son on proper lawn mowing manuevering, he will get the same initial driving lesson as well, in a few years. (You should see the yard! Jeez, the kid just can't make a turn without missing about a foot of lawn between each lap.)

[OVERULD]

Good times and great memories are made in garages around old cars. Great idea with the old pistons.

I know the feeling on the lawn mowing - but one day you'll miss having him there to mow it for you.

BJ

[njsteve]

Tried mowing the lawn today but the mower belt ripped halfway through the backyard from the weight of the still-wet grass from the full week of rain we had.

So I went ahead with installing the engine. Connected the tranny to the motor. Here's a shot of the original overspray on the flexplate as compared to the Bill Hirsch paint mix. Very good match for this hard-to-find paint color.



Everything hooked togather and ready for lifting:

[njsteve]

We have liftoff!



Had the wife and kids assisting with the maneauvering. Quite an entertaining time had by all. Much yelling - mostly on safety issues like keeping hands out from underneath the whole contraption just in case the chain breaks, etc...

Got the engine in place rather quickly. The biggest P.I.T.A. were the damn motor mount bolts. They were new motor mounts, that I prefit and made sure the bolt ran through the bracketry beforehand. The '75 Firebirds used a weird mounting system where bracket attaches to the block but the actual rubber mount is bolted to the subframe. Very hard to get the exact angle right to get the bolt to find the threaded end on the other side. That part took two hours!

Touchdown!

[njsteve]

Done for the night.

[Pepi]

Looking very good as usual Steve!!!

[OVERULD]

I like the pulley and cable rig that lets you change the angle of the motor easily. That's very cunning! You've obviously done that a time or two.

BJ

[Rack776]

Originally Posted by OVERULD

I like the pulley and cable rig that lets you change the angle of the motor easily. That's very cunning! You've obviously done that a time or two.

BJ

If your going to copy NJ Steves set up, I'd make sure to get the steel cable & pulleys from a trust worthy source, and of the right capacity.
Overkill is OK when you have an engine hanging over your feet & fenders.

I've had luck with this place for heavy duty rigging wire etc.
http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Riggin...FUPf4Aod5l3mTg

BTW that motor mount design has to be the worst for installing a replacement engine, even getting the old mounts out with
the lower control arms in place is a pain.
I rember my Dad had to stand on top of my intake manafold to push down the motor while I tried to get those bolts through the mounts,
Funny now but not fun then.