Thanks for the imfo damon.

Well spent most of the morning checking "on the job training" places that work with my college, then it was taking apart and cleaning the engine.
spent about an hour trying to get the cam out cause I forgot about the fuel pump push rod and then cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! oil pan had pebles in it always a great sign, took for ever to clean that. Oh and ya know that dust panel on the front side of the bell housing? mine doesn't have one!!! I've gotta take the clutch/flywheel apart to clean it all up since the was mud and cake in the bell housing. I'm gonna be spending more time trying to clean this car then I will on body work.

 

Can someone tell me why there is an electrical sensor going into the shifter boot?


More cleaning, joy.


This would look great as a halloween decoration.

 

Thats not the boot and I got nothing. I didn't know that car was a stick too. Lucky SOB. As for the dust cover, no car I've ever owned had one after I worked on it. One caveat, my buddy and I, when we were younger (and flat crazy), drove his 78' Cutlass over a chain link fence. No inspection cover. The teeth on the flywheel grabbed the fence and sucked it up into the the flywheel and wrapped it around the converter and such. This is where it got bad, the input shaft snapped leaving us dead on top of someones fence.

Someone was a party full of people who didn't want us there. Luckily the neighbors had called the poilce, this was the mid 90s when cell phones were not common. We managed to hold the guys off until the cops came and saved our butts. He got a reckless driving ticket and taken to jail for malicious destruction of property. I got to wait for the tow truck and watch as it started pulling more fence with the car. The driver had to cut the fence out with bolt cutters, the whole time the dude that lived there was flipping out. I kind of stood behind the cops a watched.

Not sure why I told to that but its funny now, looking back. So unless you plan on driving over fences, your good.

 

Yeah, I know thats not what it's called. But I still can't remember what it is called lol. It was easier then typing, the thing sticking out of the side cover that the shifter linkage hooks up too. But yeah no idea what it is for either no clue why there would be a gear sensor on it unless it was somehow for the back up lights but if so wouldn't it be on the reverse boss, boot, whatever the thing is called? I suppose I should first figure out what tranny this is. Looks about like a bw st10 but a little stubbier.

 

As for the dust cover, So your saying you removed them? why? to help cool the clutch assembly? I'd like to have it clean in there so I need one as I live on dirt roads. I have one from the 70' 350 I put in the 79, the starter hole size was different so idk if it'll work though. Good story though must've sucked for the tow truck driver.

 

A dust cover is a nice thing to have, but like Damon I don't have one on my Camaro, or my Austin. Haven't checked the Suburban yet, so don't know if it's got one or not.
The early Camaros had a safety sw. on the clutch to ensure the clutch was in when starting the car; maybe they had a neutral switch also, and that could be what's on the trans? Or maybe the trans is not original, and the replacement trans came from something newer with a neutral safety sw. on it?

 

I just don't put them back in because its not required. Easier to get at. I don't even have an old one laying around.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's original or not yet val. Should be a wide ratio m20 since I have a/c but I have no clue yet I'll have to try and figure out what the codes read.
If I leave my dust cover off I can just see a rock getting chucked in the bell housing and messing stuff up so untill it's a town car I'll have to keep em on.
You guys know any goods sites for muncie identification?

 

From what I've read, there's no way of knowing if I have a m20, m21, or m22 without popping the cover and counting teeth. Well I guess if I have an m22 it would be loud but honestly I wouldn't know the difference between a noisey m22 and a bad m20 that is grinding off teeth.

 

Well I've cleaned up most of the engine, seems pretty good. I had planned on using the cam, lifters, pushrods, and maybe heads from the 400 and putting this engine back together and just using it to push around the car while I work on it but now I don't think I wanna spend $300 just to put gaskets and a crappy points distributor on this engine to roll the car around.

I've wanted to put an ls in this thing, I had planned on getting a new crate motor but the cheapest ls crate motor is 3 grand and it's a long block so it'd be another 3 thousand just for the stuff to get it going. So I think I'll just clean up all my 350/400 parts and put em on craigslist to fund the project.
As for the ls, for the price of that long block I can buy a whole working 4th gen camaro and just strip what I need. So when the time comes for a drivetrain I'll check the junk yards and craigslist for a 4th gen with an ls with a 5 or 6speed.

What is a good asking price for a 4 bolt main short/long block 350?