Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice Granny's Luxo-Muscle-Barge

[Beagle]

with the cost of head gaskets, nobody is gonna say anything.

[OldMachinist]

I can barely feel anything running my fingernail over the area. It feels just a tad rougher than the rest of the cylinder. I have one cylinder on passenger side thst looks the same.

I texted a pic to a friend and said tight wrist pins.

The good news is it doesn't look like any wet spots on top of pistons from oil migrating past rings. Is it possible a piece of carbon got wedged between cyl. and piston?

You might keep tabs on it with periodic compression or leak down tests.

[Scott Liggett]

Worked on the car a few hours today. I'm not in a giant hurry as I have another car to drive. Anyhow, I installed the pushrods and rockers, then adjusted them. I figured it would be easier to do with the intake still off, but I didn't want to lose the position of the distributor when I removed it. I didn't want to figure out top dead center all over again as it takes forever. So, this was my solution, I put the distributor back in to where it was pointing when I removed it. Then I could rotate the engine without the hassle of finding TDC later. I could also easily see when the lifter was on the base circle of the lobe to adjust it. Took less than 30 minutes this way with me rotating the engine by hand.


When I have the valve adjusted, I marked the rocker with a sharpie.


This is where I stopped. Got the intake on, had to run to parts store for more RTV, all intake bits, distributor in and all the hoses connected. Still have to put the exhaust manifolds on, connect exhaust pipes, and put in the alternator and brackets.




One snag. These heads accessory bolt holes on the end of the heads are all 3/8 course. My old heads have the upper most bolt hole is 7/16 course. This hole, of course, holds the long stud that holds the bottom of the alternator. It's totally specialized for the application. I suppose I could get a very long 3/8" bolt to replace it. The shaft is 3/8", only the threaded part that screws into the head it 7/16. Or, I could drill and tap the bolt hole for 7/16. Never tried going up from 3/8 to 7/16. Maybe I should helicoil it instead.

[squirrel]

Ooops....yeah, that's a little problem. The spacer for the alternator bolt is shorter on the earlier ones, by the thickness of the "head" on the stud. The later models just use a long 3/8" bolt, and a thicker spacer. You can use a bolt and add about 1/4" of washers or whatever between the spacer and the head, or find a spacer from a later engine.

The bolt is the same as on a 350 from the 70s-80s, the spacer might be the same too.

[Scott Liggett]

Ooops....yeah, that's a little problem. The spacer for the alternator bolt is shorter on the earlier ones, by the thickness of the "head" on the stud. The later models just use a long 3/8" bolt, and a thicker spacer. You can use a bolt and add about 1/4" of washers or whatever between the spacer and the head, or find a spacer from a later engine.

The bolt is the same as on a 350 from the 70s-80s, the spacer might be the same too.

Thanks for the info. The lower alternator bracket appears to be identical the 1973 350 one I am using on the Impala. This isnt really a huge problem, but caused me to stop for the weekend. I will do some measuring and probably end up at the hardware store this weekend.

I decided to sell my old heads. I figure some Vette or Chevelle owner doing a resto might want a nice set of stock heads. I went on Ebay to see what people are asking for the heads. Surprised me. Much more than I was expecting for a set of stock heads, $750-1000. Of course, what people ask and what people get are not the same. I am watching the auctions on several sets to see if they sell.

One interesting tidbit. The heads are dated 7/31/69 and 8/25/60. The original intake 8/25/69. The block 8/25/69. And the distributor 8/25/69. I never looked at the Q Jet as it looked new. Whats the odds nearly every part on a engine built on the same day?

[squirrel]

What is the engine assembly date? it's the stamped number on teh block, such as T0828CLB. in this example, 08 28 is the month and day

[Scott Liggett]

Not sure. i would have to get my notes at home. Will get back to you.

[Scott Liggett]

What is the engine assembly date? it's the stamped number on teh block, such as T0828CLB. in this example, 08 28 is the month and day

T0906CGV

The Q Jet numbers: 07040509 0865

[Scott Liggett]

I decided to fix the alternator bolt problem with just a heli coil to fit the original bolt. Easiest way to get it done.

I am also stopping here and doing a compression test and maybe a leak down to see determine those cylinder wall marks arent caused by broken rings or something worse. It easy now with no exhaust manifolds in the way. I just need to reconnect the battery.

Talked to Yannick yesterday about the engine. Baf idea if you shouldnt spend money. He told me about a combo that would make 500+ hp using these heads and some port work. Of course, I would need to bore the block, get new pistons, cam, stall convertor............I hate it when he gets me all excited when I am broke.

[squirrel]

I wouldn't trust compression test results on an engine that hasn't been run and warmed up....

you really can't find an alternator bolt and spacer from a 350?

[Scott Liggett]

I wouldn't trust compression test results on an engine that hasn't been run and warmed up....

you really can't find an alternator bolt and spacer from a 350?

Sure, I could, but it would require me to spend all day running around to junkyards and wasting gas. $$$$$. This is a cheaper fix.

It can show a dead hole.

[TheSilverBuick]

As Squirrel points out, don't be surprised if the results are all over the map while cold, but I suppose if the only cylinders 'down' on pressure are the ones with marks that would be telling.

[Scott Liggett]

As Squirrel points out, don't be surprised if the results are all over the map while cold, but I suppose if the only cylinders 'down' on pressure are the ones with marks that would be telling.

I will squirt some oil into the cylinders. It will help.

[Scott Liggett]

Ok. Did the compression check. 170- 190. Two were 185-190, the two that were marked on the driver's side. The other six were all at 170 and two of those were marked.

For now, I am going to get it running.

[Mr4Speed]

Those marks look strangely uniform-could it have anything to do with the way the ring gaps are clocked?