Just got word back from the machine shop. unfortunately it needs 1 sleeve from being overheated
and the heads have to be done because of some leaky valves but my pistons are fine and aside from needing basic stuff like rings and bearings the motor is fine.
so, a brand new 4v fully assembled long block with a 3 month warranty for a couple grand and it should be ready by end of next week.
ALRIGHT party ppl so we're full on in drivetrain fixin' mode. I need to shim this pumpkin, slam it in the car, and torque the IRS stuff to spec and we're DONE with the back suspension stuff.
This is a case spreader. Its for much bigger stuff than my 8.8 so I made these little adapter slugs that hook into the case holes. My neighbor is a fellow car guy and is going to help me shim this thing with his tools and experience so we're very close on wrapping this diff situation up.
these are just some massive nuts welded to some quarter inch plate welded to a couple leftover suspension bolts that I cut off. if you got a welder you can make just about anything work amiright?
some bad news on the engine. one of the cams is pretty scored up so I gotta replace it. I considered some aftermarket cams but after seeing that they go for like 1300 bucks I'm like WTF bro hell no. so, I'm not picky about what goes in the engine. I'm open to suggestions but my options are pretty limited to what I can find.
one of the cylinders needs to be replaced due to overheating and some of the valves were leaking so all of that had to come apart. The shortblock will have ALL ARP main bolts so hopefully since I'm not boosting it this thing will last forever. I'm essentially doing a factory rebuild with forged internals. I think. not sure what compression ratio the pistons are.
the engine is supposed to be ready the first week of jan. I had to drop off some bolts so here's the block with the arp studs installed, i guess they're checking bearing clearances before final assembly.
when i painted the engine bay there was so much to do I forgot to take care of this little area during prep so when i saw the imperfections while spraying sealer there wasn't much to do except go over it. so I fixed that yesterday.
and repainted the whole front core support. it had some deep sanding gouges in it which were no big deal but i figured while I'm doing it might as well try and get it glassy.
Looking great! On the passenger side where that A/C line runs I would recommend wrapping it in some heat resistance wrap as that side header is extremely close to it. Not to mention that the A/C will function a lot better.
THE ENGINE IS DONE waiting on pickup so i'll get that this week. waiting on some parts from MMR before i can slam that thing in the car, still gotta shim the diff, and that means body work is just around the corner!
so i put the redface on the car for the first time today so i could get the brake duct scoops installed.
I used rivnuts on the bumper support. super sturdy.
getting real close to slamming biggest little V8 home.
These JBA headers are dope as all hell. good clearance. can't wait to hear this thing roar.
if my engine stand was alive it'd prolly be happy as all get out to get this big thing off of it.
In case you are wondering here's the plan:
1. hoist engine
2. set engine on k member
3. brace rear of engine so it doesn't tip
4. replace pilor bearing.
5. install flywheel clutch and trans
6. roll drivetrain under car.
7. lower car on to drivetrain and bolt it all up.
we're at step 4. i think the pilot bearing in the crank is fine but i know i'd kick myself if i didn't replace a 13 dollar part while it was all out of the car if something went to crap in a few k's.
just had to show these jba headers. they're pretty great quality.
Got all of the MMR cooling bits in place. shouldn't have any more number 8 overheating issues on this motor. these things are o ring sealed and CNC'd from one piece of billet aluminum. so they're pretty much indestructible and look killer. you definitely don't wanna try and put these in with the motor in the car.
you may be wondering why I have both cooling mods from MMR at the back of the motor. well, i ordered the top ones by mistake and they don't do returns so I figure more is better?
One of the shifter bolt holes was stripped smooth out so I had to pull that, clean up the RTV, and even dig it all out of the four bolt holes. I suspect years of stupid had people putting RTV in these holes and they just cranked down on that bolt, shredding the threads because it bottomed out on old silicon.
anyhow, clean holes, new goob, new bolts, and she's good to go.
This is how it sits right now, crank pulley seated, and everything is ready to be put in the car. now I just have to put some wheels under it and maneuver 700lbs of drive train into place, and lower the car on the k member.