I don't want to insult you but be sure to clean the crank oil holes, Not everyone has crank brushes but it is 100% necessary. Of all the mistakes I have seen amateur builders do this is the most common.

If you stick with 10-1 the 91 octane is fine as long as you don't go nuts on the timing.

 

Gorn ~


No worries man. Thanks for the reminder. This will be my 8th motor so I've got a stock pile of cleaning brushes, rags, gloves, etc. - so that's cool. The machinist that measured my block before I brought it to him said that it looked like the prior owners build was just dirty. Clean it, then clean it again I always say. I try and do my final cleaning on the same day I'm going to start with the build too. Don't want to leave it out too long before something happens to it.
Yeah, my crank was fine, he just thought he'd do a light polish while he was doing the balance work on everything else.
But yes, thanks for the reminder. Every time I build one of these, I grab my 3 books out, read the heck out of them and then hit the check list.

 

And in adding to Gorn's suggestion, clean the block oil galleys also.
You know the drill, oil everything at least twice and during assembly.

 

For sure Everett#2390 - I just spend way too much time yesterday at the speed shop. Went to buy A-B-C and ended up with L-M-N-O-P LOL. But I needed them anyway. Thought I'd pick up a 2" steel cowl hood they've had there forever (like over a year) and made an offer, then noticed one side of the structure "puffed" put on one end and not the same as the other. So I bailed. Bud did get the needed assembly lube & break in oil (forgot how much that stuff cost) along with a few tools I didn't want, but will need down the road.
It's all good though. Except for this afternoon over at my son's in-laws for Easter Dinner. =)

 

Well, the wife isn't happy today. And if you're married, you'll know what I mean.


For the last few days (3-4) I've been gathering all of my new parts to put the motor/car together. When the wife came out to the garage to check on my progress, well, all I did was grab a new package of pegboard hooks and "hang" everything on the walls. It looks like a fricken speed shop. Lol. Not funny to her I guess. And to think, earlier this week while we were away on our 35th anniversary, I took off for an hour and picked up a newly rebuilt Holley 750 carb for the car. THAT'S what I thought she'd be mad about. =)
Also found a new friend who has the hook up for LS conversions. Both of his 70s C10s had big blocks in them, both were .060 over, so to rebuild would be a waste, now he's got an awesome LS3 motor & 6 spd auto waiting to go in. So he shows me his rebuilt (like 4k miles ago) 700R trans that he pulled out of the truck and says "you could use this one" in my car. I'm trying to build a 8.5" 10 bolt rear end, thinking someone "might" have one already done with LOW miles on it so I could save a couple of bucks, he says go with 3.73s and this tranny and you'll love your car. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm and I just bought a semi rebuilt T350 for a sway a couple of months ago. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Well, all of the parts are clean. Most of them new. Finally got a few internal parts so I can start the assembly process on the 327 (only a month late) and hope to have it together by the end of next week. The short block should be done this week, I just need a few more things like head & intake gaskets. =)

I'm getting pretty excited to get this back on the road. Cleaned & painted the engine compartment, the subframe, going to swap out the new poly subframe bushings and get it ready to put the motor back in. Pulling the front suspension this weekend and installing the tubular control arms, springs, and CPP big brake kit so it's ready to drop back on the ground. Just as soon as I can find some tires/wheels to clear the brake rotors. =)

It's almost done and the wife will be happy. Finally. Hoping it runs good enough to have fun in it. Just need to do a clean & polish on the body since it's just been sitting outside up on jack stands since this whole thing started.

I'll post some pics soon.

 

You know the old saying "2 steps forward and 1 step back"? Well, today I went 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.


Took the motor apart (like I may have mentioned earlier) - NO or LOW oil pressure upon start up. Didn't even make it 3-4 minutes on 2 start ups. Didn't get to take the car to Hot August Nights. Went ahead and pulled the motor out so I could drop the pan. EVERYTHING was fine in the motor. So, after being coaxed for days from a crew chief buddy of mine, I went and pulled the rod & main caps just to shut him up. UGH! 1 major crappy bearing and 2-3 others that "should" be changed. Lines on the crank.


Sooooooo took the crank back to my machinist (who I don't care for, but was the only one open on Saturday) to see if they had to cut the crank down again. He said, nope, we can polish those out and you can keep the 10/10 bearings. Then the dad came in (the original owner) and looked at the crank, listened to my story and said "is the block bare?" I said yes and he said bring it in and let me hot tank it again. SOMETHING had to be in the motor dirty. And I even used a power washer to clean everything on the last clean up.


So dropping it off this morning. Tore it down to a block once again. Hate that feeling, but for $200-$300 for all new bearings & gaskets - I'd rather be safe than sorry.
All I could think about last night was WTH? My crew chief buddy cut open the oil filter and it was clean. ????


Oh well, second time is a charm? Makes me sick to see it back to step 2 (since all of the machine work is done) but now I'm not on a time line and as long as it's back on the road before the rains come .... I'll be happy. I guess now I can install the Pro-Touring suspension sitting in the shop and maybe even the new rear end I have for the car. LOL

 

Reads like good progress.
The scratches came from debris in the oil galleys in the block and crankshaft.
As oil is pumped through, debris is in front of the oil and only place it has to escape is through the bearings.


Most remove the core plugs at each end of the block, three per end, about 1/2 inch diameter, and clean galleys, then either install new core plugs, like the freeze plugs ion the side of block and smother in Permatex #1, or thread the holes and install pipe plugs.
Also, use a long skinny brush and clean the oil galleys in the crankshaft.
Use Dawn and HOT water.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Funny though, after washing and running brushes everywhere I used my pressure washer and power cleaned everything. I didn't have any pipe cleaners for the crank holes but they looked good. Oh well.


Block has been cleaned up. Align bored on the crank journals as they say they were just "off" a tad. Really? What did I pay you for the first time? LOL.


Yep, ALL of the block plugs were pulled the first time and again last week. I have a new set for when the block comes home. (hopefully today?)