First off this isn’t my first Z car, i know this thing inside and out and can put it together blindfolded. Check out my blog, it is almost 100% complete with my old car… Everything from frame rail restoration / floor boards / engine installation etc.
Funny thing is i actually bought johns old motor to put in my car… and now i bought HIS car.
I drove this thing about 60 miles and blew up the engine, i don’t know what it could have been other than low oil / tired parts… who knows. The rev limiter was set to 5k so i know it wasn’t over-revving.
Donor block, 1994 Van engine had 40k miles on it. My father let one of his friends borrow our cherry picker… I didn’t know till i brought the block home.
Just wait for the incredibly sketchy way we got the block off (pic related, not me)
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but rob, did you just roll that engine stand up to the truck bed? Fuck yeah i did. And it worked like a champ.
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First crack at the block, Check out dem GM quality cylinder bores and pistons. Hardly any carbon build up. The liquid is WD40 so we could turn it easier
Deck the block? Fuck that, its a chevy, a razor blade will do just fine
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ARP studs up in this bitch, for them ultra low rev’s
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Half way point, waiting on lifters FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU
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Getting the exploded engine out of the car because i need the parts off it.
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Spend an hour muscling this fucking T-56 around, putting it on the block only to have my Troll father walk up and ask “so did you remember the pilot bearing” followed by walking away with a huge trollface look
So after installing the new ISKY Flat tappet cam, gears, timing chain, front cover, balancer, belts & pulleys, flywheel, clutch & PP i am left waiting for a set of brand new Hyd lifters. They will arrive monday
Broken rod? Isn’t that what happened when it blew up while the previous owner had it too?
I don’t think it was a good idea to use wd40 in the cylinders. Should’ve used oil instead. And isky? Boooo. Aren’t all their grinds like ancient? (I’ve always used comp for mine)
Haha. I was gona say. In highschool I regularly used to muscle 350 blocks out of shit once with the crank and flex plate still installed. That was a loonng time ago. Definitely wasn’t fun.
OP: where do you find sheet metal for these cars? All the z cars I can find online at a reasonable price seem to need at least floors. The main reason I haven’t picked one up yet is becasuse I can’t seem to find any body parts for them.
Bad dog frame rails is for the frame… (obviously lol) and as for sheet metal, its easier to just get fiberglass front fenders.
As for the floor pans when i rebuilt my old car i just got some 14 or 16g steel and had my dad weld it up… it was too thin for me to attempt… i kept burning right through it, im not very good at welding.
One of the cylinders got some moisture in it, very little surface rust i used naval jelly + steel wool to get it out. Had to use WD40 cause we didn’t have any oil haha. I’m sure it’ll be fine, that shit will just burn out on first start.
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I really really want to build a 385 stroker out of it, i still haven’t got the 400 crank from my grandpas (if its even there still) If not i guess i’ll sell the block. I haven’t taken the crank out of it yet though.
its a one piece rear main seal, hydraulic roller cam motor.
if anyone wants the block 100$ as-is
edit 2: i cant read
As for other plans on the car i’m going to flare it out eventually and paint it matte gray or black, not sure yet. I have a nitrous kit for it sitting at my buddys house waiting to get purchased. But i’m terrified to put it in here because i don’t want to blow up the bottom end (again)
Also i have to ask john if he got an R200 rear diff, i remember he blew up the old R180. The R200’s can take up to 800ftlbs of tq IIRC… R180s… maybe 450
-attached slave cylinder (what a pain in this ass, i had to retry twice… stupid design)
-got volt gauge to work, got aftermarket gauge lights wired.
-Tranny fluid in
-Pre-lubed engine
-Cleaned up johns mess of wires and neatly tucked them away (lol)
-cleaned up valve train parts for tomorrow
I forgot to tighten down one of the engine mount bracket bolts, but other than that it should be ready for a first start tomorrow. I gotta read up on how to set valve lash on these things. I was given a 30second intro of “half turn the rocker bolts etc etc”
(I’ve always used comp for mine)