ERE-383 #111
Budget rebuild from LT1-350 into LT1-383
Forged Eagle Crank, Callies Compstar Rods, Mahle Pistons
Fresh off the truck.
I'm taking photos for the future. This helps me remember
where things go.
Unusual head bolt replacement. No matter...I'll be
installing new ARP head bolts.
#1 exhaust pushrod was bent. All others good. Engine
rotates freely.
Interesting hub sleeve. This one did not install well.
Iron heads will not be re-used. There are a nice set of
LE2 heads waiting to be installed.
Here is the block all fresh and clean and bored to 4.030"
This was machined by Johnny Heard at Heard Precision Machine
Services. LINK
The crankshaft was polished and balanced to 1661g
(neutral). More about that shortly......
Using King XP main bearings, (ultra premium).
Most all the caps needed X oversize bearings to help me get
.0020" or more clearance.
Thrust is .004"
Pandora is on the Steve Cropper channel.
Crankshaft is installed so that I can mock up the rotating
assembly to mark the block for clearance.
Here is a big oops. I did not notice that the rods I
selected for this project are 2.00" rod journal. This makes my
balance a bit off. Luckily I still had one set of 2.100"
rods on the shelf. I still need to get a new crankshaft
balance though.
For now I'll continue to mark the spots that I need to clear
with a grinder.
Click on the YouTube video
link to the left.
More work on the "budget" 383. I like to get the rear of the
engine buttoned up sooner than later. The engine stand prevents access to
the rear and so I put the engine on a table.
Cam plug, oil galley plugs and rear main seal housing
installed. The rear main seal is also installed but not
shown.
Look at these heads! Excellent work by Lloyd Elliott. These are
LE2 heads.
I get 57cc but I think I dripped 0.5cc so it is 56 to 57cc. That is
what Carlos and I marked down as the expected combustion chamber volume.
That gives us 10.8 to 1 static compression ratio. 56cc head - 5.6cc gasket
- 0.013" piston in the hole - (-16ccc piston).
Mr. Gasket #5716G is .026" thick and 5.6cc. Piston is .013"
in the hole and so that gives .039" piston to head clearance.
Premium head bolts. These are ARP 134-3703. I put
oil under the head of the stainless outer bolts and high pressure
grease under the head of the other bolts.
70 ft-lb head bolt torque.
All parts in hand. The lifters are the BowTie GM #188958689. The
guide plates are what I've found to align the rockers best on the LT1 (Manley
42355-8).
TFS pushrods: 7.250"
Not a perfect alignment but almost perfect. Trust me this is better
than the others.
Dyno Prep. I use the carburetor intake manifold. Using a
carburetor gives a consistent result.
I took off the TorqHead coils. These valve covers are
gorgeous. I have to be super careful to not scratch them now
and during the dyno and transporting to and from.
Time for a new gear on my distributor. I think it's at least 10 years
old and ready to be retired. This is the part number of the gear.
Dyno day is Monday January 24th.
I am using NGK TR55 spark plugs for the dyno.
493 HP!!!
Now it is time for finish work
after dyno testing. The oil pump drive gear that was in the core
engine is in good shape. This gear does not need to be
replaced. Save a bit of money.
The RTV from the dyno intake manifold needs to come off (and the dyno
gaskets).
TCI flexplate (neutral).
New FelPro gaskets and RTV.
Lloyd Elliott ported intake manifold. He does a good job
cleaning the intake after (or before) porting. I did not do any
extra cleaning here. This is how it looks directly after receiving from
Lloyd.
Everything is so clean!
The EGR block off plates look great!
TorqHead plug wires. I crimp on the coil boots.
This should fit well with any brand header. Notice the cylinder
head temperature sensor. These are Fbody heads and the Fbody has the
temp sender on the driver's head. The Bbody has it on the passenger
head.
I'm not equipped with the tools or know-how to remove these factor plugs on
the heads.
