The War Wagon... decaring wars on the grocery store since 1966

[68scott385]

I wasn't suggesting using a long pump, just that I had run into a similar problem with a long pump and could offer a suggestion if he was using a long pump.

[Scott Liggett]

Buying a entirely new accessory drive and long water pump to make a balancer work seems like remodeling the kitchen to match your new dish towels.

Since both the original 327 and 355 are internally balanced, the best solution is to just get a balancer that for his car's original design. Plus, there is not a problem with pulley alignment.

[Shelty]

thanks not so concerned for the valve covers. yeah Ive got the short waterpump. using the long water pump wont work for me, id have to buy more to get that to work.

the bow tie OD kit is pretty trick, has a cam mechanism that bolts to the carb that allows for quite a bit of adjustment.

but in the long run, just cheaper and less painful to just get a 6 inch balancer and sell the 8 inch.

[68scott385]

Are you using a short water pump? I have a possible solution for a long pump using later brackets. I had issues with my p/s bracket not working with the CC two piece front cover.

FWIW, I make my own throttle/tv cable brackets out of mild angle steel. The tv bracket is solid as the cable has enough adjustment in it. I make the throttle bracket so it has 1.5" - 2" of adjustment.

I think you can get valve cover adapters that allow older perimeter-bolt valve covers to be used on center-bolt heads. I don't know if that's a big concern for you or not. You said period correct and my first thought was a set of old-school finned aluminum valve covers. I know, first things first.

[Shelty]

new plan... get a smaller balancer

[Shelty]

thanks. It will look somewhat period correct, tho a Chevy guy will notice those center bolt valve covers lol.

put the old throttle linkage together to make sure it works and it does, so I dont need to mess with that. I do need to hit up Bowtie Overdrives for their TV cable kit again, the old spreadbore kit I have from the Qjet wont work.

did a few more small installs today, motor mount bolt, most of the bellhousing bolts, crank pulley, and I ran into a snag, the stock Power Steering bracket wont fit with the 8 inch balancer. so I need to search the interwebs for a solution or I need to get out the death wheel and notch this one to fit. this particular bracket is made of two parts, the top bracket, which bolts up with the motor mount, and the lower bracket, which bolts to the two holes on the front of the motor on the driver side of the block. the top bracket is on just fine, but the lower bracket wont fit without hitting the balancer....

this is the way the brackets are. not my car, and my PS pump looks different, but it bolts on the same. if I try to bolt it on, it his the balancer....

[Scott Liggett]

Yes, that engine looks better in Chevy orange.

[Shelty]

lol thanks, once I get the inspection cover on.... well once I buy one lol, no one will see it.

[DanStokes]

You're going to have to pull that converter out again. The color doesn't match your "theme" of gold and black.

Just harassing you, of course. Great progress.

Dan

[Shelty]

yeah the bosses dont like it when I come in looking like i dipped my hand in an oil vat.... I can get the grunk off my skin, but under my fingernails are totally black.


after a good few days of scrubbing with simple green, a wire brush, gunk, some brake clean and lots of of those blue paper towels and cheap shop rags, I got the engine bay clean enough to paint. I painted the crossmember and front frame chassis black.
'
then due to working lates, a good amount of overtime and night shift, the car languished for a week.

yesterday got the balancer on and the plate for the fuel pump/pushrod installed.

Today I got a few things buttoned up, got the flexplate on and finally dropped the motor into the car.


new torque converter. rated for a 2000 stall, however im sure it will stall higher due to the weight of the car.


engine on the stand


going in


getting it mated to the transmission


finally in the car!

heavy lifting is done finally. did the smart thing and put the driver side header in the car before putting the motor in. the passenger side fits in without issue, just the driver side the steering box is in the way unless you jack up the engine.

I need to order a new starter, as the old one was for a 157 tooth flexplate, and I bought a 168 tooth, not realizing it.... the old starter was old, big and heavy so its no big deal. (the flexplate was purchased months ago, so I couldnt return it anymore... whoops.) I have the starter for the next project when I rebuild the old engine one day.,...

[TheSilverBuick]

Nowadays I take the time to load my junk up and drag it to work with me. Spend lunch-hour running the HotWater pressure washer - which now has Purple Power feeding it from a 55 gal barrel - and I spend the afternoon speckled yet happy. Unload junk at home, done.

Can't emphasize enough the power of really hot water under pressure. Self-dries in minutes too.

Purple power and a pressure washer go a long long ways. I wish I had hot water!

[Scott Liggett]

Your commander gets mad when yiu show up with greagy hands?

[Shelty]

Thanks for the tips guys. I took a paint scraper and that got most of the built up stuff off of the crossmember and frame rails. didnt get much done this week as I worked the late shift, so I wasnt getting all grungy then have to worry about getting cleaned up for work. I did go out and spray down the stuff I couldnt get at with simple green and gunk every day. went out there today and was able to scrub most of it off. I had soaked the power steering bracket in a simple green bath and after a quick scrub, it took most of the old paint off which was good since I was repainting all the brackets anyway.

[Stewzer55]

Simple Green is some kick ass stuff, I also like Super Clean too. Avoid non-ultra Dawn, that stuff will leave you feeling hollow and disappointed.

[Scott Liggett]

On my GMC, I first took the putty knife to the caked on grease on the frame and crossmember. I had an old box under the truck to catch that chunky grease. Once the heavy, goopy stuff was mostly off. I pulled the box and did another hose down with Simple Green with high pressure washer.