Some positive progress!
I picked up the engine at the end of the day from TSP yesterday. The build there took longer than I had hoped, but at least it's back in my hands now. Here she was when I picked it up and dropped it off at Eric's:
First order of business this morning was to drill and tap the steam vent ports for my setup I put together on the original motor. Unfortunately I forgot to do this to the heads in my rush to get them to TSP, so Eric and I were discussing options for either removing the heads or doing it on the motor. We did them on the motor the first time, so we decided to try that again.
I taped up the water pump holes and the temp probe holes on each head, then using an air hose I blew air into one port while Eric drilled/tapped the other. This worked great, we could see the shavings coming out instead of falling in. It was also surprising how much more flow there was after doing this. While the point of these holes isn't to flow water regularly, I think that opening them up a little will help prevent any air bubble problems. Here's a pic of the setup once done:
I expected the pushrods and rockers to be installed by TSP, but they weren't. So I did that also. They had confirmed the lengths, but I double checked that they were what I wanted. Everything came out good on that front:
Next I installed the intake. I was surprised at how well I was able to get the ports to match up after torquing everything, I couldn't get a picture of those, but here's one of the intake in place:
Then the clutch. I'm using a setup from Monster in which they build a flywheel to adapt the new C7 LT1 twin disc cluthc for LS use. It's a pricey assembly, but it should hold the power I'm making without any trouble. I expect a bit better pedal feel also.
And bellhousing, after giving it a bath:
Last step for the day was to reassemble the Wegner front drive setup. PS pump, AC brackets and water pump installed. I'll put the alternator and AC compressor on once it's back in the car, as I need access to the bolts on the heads to attach the chains for the hoist. I forgot to take a final picture for the day.
I was hoping to have a little more done today, but that's where I am. Tomorrow morning Eric and I are going to get the motor in so that I can continue work on the accessories, new oil lines, and all of the wiring that needs to be done. If I'm lucky, we can stab the T56 also, but I need to rebuild the slave cylinder first. It looks like one of the o-rings is leaking, so we have a kit to replace those.
So while not coming along at quite the same pace as that
other 48-hour build, I hope to have this one running within 48 hours or so myself.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
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