Post by kimnach on Oct 30, 2017 22:53:16 GMT -5
This is the first summer driving-season in 29 years that my 1988 IROC-Z (305/LB9, 5-speed manual) has not seen the roads. What initially was to be just valve stem seal replacement morphed into porting and polishing the intake and cylinder heads; furthermore, I decided that larger intake (1.94”) and exhaust (1.60”) valves were in order. This all started in March with an expected “back out on the road” target date of 1 May 2017. Unfortunately, removal of the heads was made extremely difficult with a number of seized bolts—galvanic reaction of bolts after 29 years. I did not get the intake manifold and heads off until early May.
I first dropped the heads off at a shop in North Royalton, OH. I will not mention their name, but they sat on the heads for a week. When I called about the status, the secretary did not have any record of it. I went in to pick up the heads, and the owner (who originally helped me carry them in) asked why I was taking them. He was visibly p.o.’ed at the secretary who had dropped the ball in getting the heads into the job queue. He told me he could start on them first thing in the morning, but I told him that I would just rather take them elsewhere.
With the heads off to the machine shop (Victory Engines) and in the rare time that I had time to work on the car, I attacked removing the gasket material that had become one with the block. I was about two-thirds complete—oh, did I mention that this was now in mid-May?—when the unthinkable happened. I had plugged the various galleys with dowels and cotton balls. As I was scraping, one of the cotton balls began to slip-slide away down into the block. I couldn’t grab it. And by the time I picked up the needle nose pliers the cotton ball was in the block’s abyss.
I told my wife the engine is coming out. She said no it’s not. I explained what had happened and that there was no other alternative.
I ordered a 2-ton crane and 2000-pound engine stand.
It was now early June, and I set a tentative deadline of the second week of July 2017 to get back on the road.
I decided to pull the engine without the tranny. I found that unless things were perfectly aligned, it was impossible to separate the bell-housing from the block. After some effort, the tranny came out and my older son and I then pulled the engine. I then took the block to VE. It was now June 10: the target date was slipping again.
The engine came back: bored 0.020” over, decked, and line bored. The crank and cam lobes were also polished. The flywheel was ground down to mate with the new clutch.
I set a mid-August target date to get the car back out on the road. Summer is extremely busy—vacation at Dale Hollow in TN, for example—so the August target was somewhat optimistic.
I painted the heads, the block, water pump, pulleys, etc. I purchased a new power steering pump and 140A alternator. I was distracted by life and summer activities with the family.
I ordered a set of Dyno Don ceramic-coated headers and 3” y-pipe. I also ordered and installed a new UMI adjustable torque arm and relocation bracket.
The engine, fully assembled and with the tranny on it, went back in the car the first week of October! I nearly got it in by myself, but could not swing it past the front radiator bracket alone.
The boys got back from school and I had my younger son help. The fully-dressed engine would not fit: I had to take of the crankshaft pulley so that it would clear the radiator bracket. After some fiddling with trying to get the engine mated with the mounts, it’s now in and in the process of having everything hooked up.
It’s now nearly the end of October and have long since come to terms that the IROC will not see the roads this year, partly because I have to learn to weld and because the AC and--more importantly--the heater are not in the car. The AC may go back in next year, the heater never will.
Oh, “learn to weld” you may ask? Yes, sir. The 3” y-pipe butts up against the outer sub-frame connectors that I had installed last year. I will have to cut and weld some tubing to get the new y-pipe and catalytic to line up with the stainless cat-back system that I installed about 10 years ago. I have to weld new exhaust brackets….and I may install a GMMG chambered exhaust.
While this write-up does not even hint at the number of frustrating little and big troubles (e.g., seized bolts) I had had during this process, I am glad that I did it. I have never been a gear head—I hated working on my Enduro motorcycle as a teen—but in the last five or so years I was drawn to and fascinated by the prospect of tearing down and rebuilding an engine. My wife not so much.
Here is a list of what I have done (or am in the process of doing) and upgraded on the car this year:
Block bored out 0.020” over, decked, and line bored
New flat-top hypereutectic pistons with one pair of valve reliefs only and moly rings—slight increase of compression
Obviously new crank, cam, and rod bearings
New lifter springs and 1.6:1 rockers (original were 1.5 ratio)
New seals on heads and engine obviously
New rubber motor mounts
Cylinders polished and unshrouded for the larger valves
Intake and runners gasket-matched, ported, and polished
Plenum ported
Manifold Air temperature sensor to be relocated from plenum to plastic air intake just in front of MAF sensor
New 140A alternator
New power steering pump
Rebuilt the injectors with new filters and o-rings
New UMI torque-arm and relocation bracket
New double-roller timing chain and gears
Cut and crimped 8.5mm spark plug wires
New distributor
New 50kV coil
Flywheel ground
New clutch plate and fork
New Dyno Don headers (with A.I.R. tubes) and connecting pipe
New 3” catalytic converter
New upper- and lower-radiator hoses
Plenum coolant bypass
New sensors on plenum, intake manifold, and block (i.e., knock, fan switch, coolant temperature, relocated air temperature, oil pressure)…everything but the outrageously expensive thermo time switch (4318)
New IAC valve
Many new vacuum and air lines—some silicone rubber
Amsoil synthetic oil and Wix filter
The best part of this entire process is purchasing new tools. The worst part is that I did not get to finish the woodshop updates that I began in the ’16-’17 winter season, and now have to clean-up the engineinduced mess and get back to woodworking….and learn to weld.
I first dropped the heads off at a shop in North Royalton, OH. I will not mention their name, but they sat on the heads for a week. When I called about the status, the secretary did not have any record of it. I went in to pick up the heads, and the owner (who originally helped me carry them in) asked why I was taking them. He was visibly p.o.’ed at the secretary who had dropped the ball in getting the heads into the job queue. He told me he could start on them first thing in the morning, but I told him that I would just rather take them elsewhere.
With the heads off to the machine shop (Victory Engines) and in the rare time that I had time to work on the car, I attacked removing the gasket material that had become one with the block. I was about two-thirds complete—oh, did I mention that this was now in mid-May?—when the unthinkable happened. I had plugged the various galleys with dowels and cotton balls. As I was scraping, one of the cotton balls began to slip-slide away down into the block. I couldn’t grab it. And by the time I picked up the needle nose pliers the cotton ball was in the block’s abyss.
I told my wife the engine is coming out. She said no it’s not. I explained what had happened and that there was no other alternative.
I ordered a 2-ton crane and 2000-pound engine stand.
It was now early June, and I set a tentative deadline of the second week of July 2017 to get back on the road.
I decided to pull the engine without the tranny. I found that unless things were perfectly aligned, it was impossible to separate the bell-housing from the block. After some effort, the tranny came out and my older son and I then pulled the engine. I then took the block to VE. It was now June 10: the target date was slipping again.
The engine came back: bored 0.020” over, decked, and line bored. The crank and cam lobes were also polished. The flywheel was ground down to mate with the new clutch.
I set a mid-August target date to get the car back out on the road. Summer is extremely busy—vacation at Dale Hollow in TN, for example—so the August target was somewhat optimistic.
I painted the heads, the block, water pump, pulleys, etc. I purchased a new power steering pump and 140A alternator. I was distracted by life and summer activities with the family.
I ordered a set of Dyno Don ceramic-coated headers and 3” y-pipe. I also ordered and installed a new UMI adjustable torque arm and relocation bracket.
The engine, fully assembled and with the tranny on it, went back in the car the first week of October! I nearly got it in by myself, but could not swing it past the front radiator bracket alone.
The boys got back from school and I had my younger son help. The fully-dressed engine would not fit: I had to take of the crankshaft pulley so that it would clear the radiator bracket. After some fiddling with trying to get the engine mated with the mounts, it’s now in and in the process of having everything hooked up.
It’s now nearly the end of October and have long since come to terms that the IROC will not see the roads this year, partly because I have to learn to weld and because the AC and--more importantly--the heater are not in the car. The AC may go back in next year, the heater never will.
Oh, “learn to weld” you may ask? Yes, sir. The 3” y-pipe butts up against the outer sub-frame connectors that I had installed last year. I will have to cut and weld some tubing to get the new y-pipe and catalytic to line up with the stainless cat-back system that I installed about 10 years ago. I have to weld new exhaust brackets….and I may install a GMMG chambered exhaust.
While this write-up does not even hint at the number of frustrating little and big troubles (e.g., seized bolts) I had had during this process, I am glad that I did it. I have never been a gear head—I hated working on my Enduro motorcycle as a teen—but in the last five or so years I was drawn to and fascinated by the prospect of tearing down and rebuilding an engine. My wife not so much.
Here is a list of what I have done (or am in the process of doing) and upgraded on the car this year:
Block bored out 0.020” over, decked, and line bored
New flat-top hypereutectic pistons with one pair of valve reliefs only and moly rings—slight increase of compression
Obviously new crank, cam, and rod bearings
New lifter springs and 1.6:1 rockers (original were 1.5 ratio)
New seals on heads and engine obviously
New rubber motor mounts
Cylinders polished and unshrouded for the larger valves
Intake and runners gasket-matched, ported, and polished
Plenum ported
Manifold Air temperature sensor to be relocated from plenum to plastic air intake just in front of MAF sensor
New 140A alternator
New power steering pump
Rebuilt the injectors with new filters and o-rings
New UMI torque-arm and relocation bracket
New double-roller timing chain and gears
Cut and crimped 8.5mm spark plug wires
New distributor
New 50kV coil
Flywheel ground
New clutch plate and fork
New Dyno Don headers (with A.I.R. tubes) and connecting pipe
New 3” catalytic converter
New upper- and lower-radiator hoses
Plenum coolant bypass
New sensors on plenum, intake manifold, and block (i.e., knock, fan switch, coolant temperature, relocated air temperature, oil pressure)…everything but the outrageously expensive thermo time switch (4318)
New IAC valve
Many new vacuum and air lines—some silicone rubber
Amsoil synthetic oil and Wix filter
The best part of this entire process is purchasing new tools. The worst part is that I did not get to finish the woodshop updates that I began in the ’16-’17 winter season, and now have to clean-up the engineinduced mess and get back to woodworking….and learn to weld.