SS Camaro - Track trips, build pics etc.

[JerryHawk250]

Proper equipment for welding.

[01SSRedA4]

Went and picked the motor up from UPS freight and got right onto tearing it down. Overall its much cleaner inside then the previous engine.



A welder, a washer, and a nut come in handy for getting those broken exhaust bolts out.......and the vice grips for when you round the nut off! These are completely disassembled and going to the machine shop to be cleaned up.



Lube your stick before you put it in ok gentlemen.



Pretty clean specimen we got here.



But a little paint never hurt. Is it bad karma to paint it the same as the failed engine?



Short block is done, cleaned all the metal debris out of the oil pan and shot a fresh coat of black on the motor mounts.



I spent hours cleaning the pistons on the last engine. These got a quick rub down and Im calling it good.



And through the magic of the internet, the heads have arrived back home in about 30 seconds!!! They were cleaned and milled but no other work was performed.



Here's an intake valve. Notice the silver streak around the lower edge. That's where it seals to the valve seat in the head. We are gonna freshen that surface and hopefully widen it some for a better seal.



Take your compound, and spread it like so. Doesn't have to be perfect.

[01SSRedA4]

Stick it into its hole and clamp your drill onto the stem so you can use the drill to spin the valve in the head.



Use the slow speed setting on your drill, and move it in and out (on and off the seat). Wow what a difference 20 seconds makes.



Comparison.



The sealing surface in the head.



Exhaust valve comparison. A little pitting on them is normal and nothing to worry about. Once i mate a valve to a hole, it stays there. I dont move it around once its been ground in. Also make sure you wipe as much of the compound off the head and valve as you can when youre done and hit the valve stem with some wd40 to help it slide in the valve guide easier.



During the car disassembly I found some melted plastic looming on the block's main ground wire so I got some heat shield for that and the starter wire that run down the passenger side of the engine. Don't want or need any sparks unless they are in the combustion chamber. I also have a brass T for the brake booster that's returning to service, and the brake line adapters since I sold my stock lines and will be remaking new ones from scratch.......again.



-8 line for the new cooler setup, beautiful TCI SFI flexplate and a starter heat shield.....for the battery. Yep, its the perfect size to insulate the battery and keep some heat off of it.



Since Im doubling the fans Im going to run a new power feed to the back. New fan and cooler, and you can see the Y block and elbow feeds. The idea is.....well shit you'll see when i get to that point.



Im stuck on the engine due to no valve seals (slow shipping). Figured since I was bored I would paint something. Meh, it turned out ok.



Well that turned out a little brighter then expected.



Much better. Ive always thought that corner under the hood was dark and needed something to spruce it up, maybe this will help....or just look silly. Either way it should be fun.



Things are clicking right along.....motor should be complete and back together soon.

[BlackBike]

Wowzers!

[01SSRedA4]

to what part lol

as for the red, that brake booster is mostly under the cowl and wont be an eye sore. Should have added that in for those that dont realize.

[01SSRedA4]

So we left off with an assembled short block, I stole the dual springs off the old 862 heads and installed them along with new valve seals on the new to me 799 castings. Cleaned all the block holes with an ARP thread tap, and copper coated the new LS9 head gaskets. I used ARP moly lube on the china studs and torqued in three passes, 25, 50, 75. No drama.



Got the engine mounted to the K member and rolled the trans over to it. Notice my super sophisticated "converter keeper" bolted to the front of the trans. Keeps that beauty from falling out and hitting the ground while it rolls around in the garage. Patented pending. Also, got the TCI flexplate mounted, fit fantastic, very nice piece. I removed the intake temporarily so that my chain didnt scuff it or the fuel rails.



Mounted the hotside and accs up and that was about the end of the playtime for me. I pushed it over closer to the car just to remind myself that this is close to being over with.



The loudest and fastest beer coaster I know of. You'll also notice i used some of that heat shield wrap on the PS lines. Dont wanna blow those on a hot turbo going down the road. And if you have a sharp eye, you can see i removed the heat shields on the manifolds, wrapped them, and reinstalled the shields. Since they kick off a ton of heat I figured why not. Catching a few of these little details this go round.

[Weldangrind]

It's hard to tell with my monitor; is that converter keeper made from Kevlar-reinforced carbon fiber? Titanium? I won't share your secrets.


What do you use to coat the head gasket?

[01SSRedA4]

Its genuine pine! Coat the head gaskets with the copper spray in a can.

[01SSRedA4]

Well I cant catch a damn break to save my life. Lets start at the beginning, motor was ready to be rolled under. I draped the harness over it, then moved on to the car. I cut more clearance in the tunnel for the rear trans cooler line (which ended up not helping a ton), and trimmed the passenger side lower radiator bracket (the cold side pipe was resting against it), reinstalled the stock booster (looked for half an hour for the little retaining clip that holds the rod on the pedal) and made up the rear brake line AWAY from the manifolds. Rolled her under and it went real smooth.....I lifted the car by the ceiling joists. Red booster blends right in back there, not an eyesore at all.



I got under and shortened the turbo drain line (it was about 10 inches too long and had to be looped around), hooked everything up and went to fire. Just a click. After scratching my head for a bit I decided to clean the block ground on the starter side. Well that worked and i got it to turn over but no fire. After some more scratching and a cold beer i determined in my infinite wisdom i did not plug the crank sensor in. Doh. Crappy pic but look at that oil pressure!



Still need to make the new front brake line, bleed the brakes, and add the 2nd trans cooler/fan. For the bad, lost all forward gears in my yukon today, Im sure I broke the pump in the transmission. So unfortunately the camaro has to go on the backburner for a few until i get that sorted out. Fall weather is quickly going away and was wanting to make a track pass this year.......I am happy this motor sounds healthy with no apparent issues. I ran it about a half hour last night.

[Weldangrind]

Sucks about the Yukon. Does it have a 4L80E?

[01SSRedA4]

It has a built 4l60e, lots of good parts in it. Unfortunately the trans has been a curse since the beginning. It was originally a Performabuilt trans (online vendor), it was repaired locally then sold to me, then I broke it within 5 or 10 miles of installing it, and it was repaired again by my guy. It lasted over a year this go round. In its defense I was wide open throttle in a 5k pound truck when it happened, Im not easy on it in day to day driving.

[Weldangrind]

I had a stock 4L60E in my '99 Sierra 1500 with 233000 miles on it, and it took a beating. It had the tow/haul option and it shifted like it was meant for racing. I used it to tow my 6000lb trailer for three years until I bought a 2500 4x4 with a 4L80E. I miss that 1500.

[01SSRedA4]

The tow haul adjusts a few tables in the trans, like it holds the gears a little longer, downshifts a little quicker (based on throttle input) and unlocks the converter a little sooner to prevent engine lugging. I generally only tow my car and hauler (5k maybe) and it generally isnt required, the 6.0 has enough grunt to pull it without struggling on the regular tables of the tune. Based on my research the pump failures just kinda seem to be a freak thing. I may see if i can do a benchtop repair on it, but if their is debris in the trans it may need to go to the builders table. Wont know till i open it up.

[01SSRedA4]

Pics of the cooler install later, yall deserve a video........

[JerryHawk250]

Sweeeeet! Man that sound just makes me want to smile.