Crate 350 Pics & Update

[ratrod67]

Very Nice!!!

[Daubs]

Originally Posted by QKENUF4U

are you sure you really want your wires that loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggg
i would never deal with that when you can get the correct wires that will work with your holders etc. plus youve spent so much time/energy on making this thing so nice/clean. get the right plug wires and finish it up the right way.
or
find a store that sells the correct ends and just cut them down yourself.

I was a little skeptical at first, but in the end I really like how they are routed. It's a clean look and the plug wires are, for the most part, out of the way and far from exhaust manifold heat.

[72CSTC5]

I must say that engine is looking great. It is sometimes easy to go overboard I think and then at time some people paint the engine and leave everything else crappy. Way to stay on track and see it through for a nice clean look. Take out your fender wells and paint them black and clean up the rest of the engine compartment. You will not regret it. Nice job.

[Daubs]

The plan is to get the engine back in truck and get her running again. Then it's trips to body shops to see what they will charge for cab corners, door bottoms, floor rust. If it's too much, I'll buy my own welder and go to town.

Then the truck comes apart in many pieces and it gets the restore is needs Including new inner fenders, painted semi-gloss black!

[Daubs]

Well, it is finally in the truck! But not without drama.

Spent much of Saturday and part of Sunday morning gathering final parts and stuff for the install. Dad and brother showed up for lunch on Sunday, then we started the fun process of dropping the engine in the K-20. The play-by-play:

After pulling the engine with starter on, I figured starter could stay on for install. Nope. Scraped up the newly painted starter and finally decided to pull her off for the install.

As was case with the 82 K-10 way back in college, we had trouble getting trans and engine lined up. After about 40 minutes of jacking trans, positioning engine, we finally had trans shaft and clutch lined up and close. Finally lined up all splines and she started to slide together. But she wouldn't go that last 1/2". Grrr.

Tried and tried again to slide her together. Finally pulled engine back out to check alignment. Of course Dad and brother weren't there when I bolted flywheel, clutch, pres. plate, bell housing on the engine, so they asked lots of questions about that. Dad thought we were hitting on flywheel, but that wasn't the case.

After more attempts to get her together we decided to pull engine back out and take apart bell housing / clutch. The pilot bearing was showing wear and marks where the trans shaft was banging into it...just off center. We determined that the clutch wasn't centered with pilot bearing.

Dinner break.

After dinner we start to re-install the clutch / pres. plate and I break out the torque wrench (remember, Dad and I never used torque wrench in the past...just torqued until we felt it was snug). So I check my specs and start cranking on the wrench. But dumb-butt me looked at flywheel torques, not pres. plate torque. And BAM, I break off one of the pres. plate bolts in the flywheel. It's 6:30 PM on a Sunday and we are effectively done. I send Dad and brother home and plan to hit Sears Monday morning for back-out tool, then hardware store for more bolts.

I get parts and assemble clutch with proper torques Monday afternoon. Dad and brother show up for dinner (if you feed them they will come), and we hit it again. This time the engine slides together with trans in after about 15 minutes of wrangling (we are much better this time...and everything is lined up well). So we got four bolts on trans and now start on engine mounts...here we go again. Big problem.

I purchase motor mounts from local auto parts store. They have one, but have to order another. Look exactly like originals, so I toss the old ones in trash two weeks ago. I even get new grade 8 bolts for the mounts. Driver side lines up well, but passanger side if about 1/2" too far back (engine needs to come forward).

Brother is trying to thread bold and it just won't go. I have a try and it just seems too big. On whim I try smaller bolt and that's the ticket. SUCK. Parts store snuck in a mount with different bolt size (smaller). But it's grade 8 bold and I'm tired of pulling engine, so it is staying in. Big bolt on pass side, slightly smaller on driver side.

Now we need to move engine forward to get passanger side mount in. After many attempts to pry / pull / coax it forward, we finally decide to loosen trans bolts to give us a little room. Finally, success. We start engine mount bolts, then crank down trans bolts...finishing up with engine mounts.

She's all bolted in after two days, broken pres plate bolt, some swear words, four meals and only two beers. I send Dad and brother home and tell them I'll call when I have her ready to fire up...hopefully later this week. Here is pic:

[Yukon Jack]

Glad you got it installed - looks great in there.

[Drastic Chevy]

Its a good motor. I put one in my old 84 silverado. Just make sure you keep up with any water leaks in it. My brother blew both head gaskets because he didn't take care of it. But it got to live again in my new 84 silverado. I rebuilt it and it runs great again.

[Ron]

I installed a 285 HP crate from Salee Chev about 5 years ago into my 69 SWB. Also bought a new 4L60 at the same time. I can light them up in second gear. Get 17 MPG.

[Daubs]

Thought you guys might like to see a pic of "Ol Blue." Dad drove her to the house on Sunday to help me.

It's a 1962 Chevy Impala that he purchased new and had delivered on his 21st birthday. It's got 327 and "three-on-the-tree", posi, no air, no PS, no PB. He said all those things took away from the power of the mighty 327.

Had it re-done in the 70's and it still looks great. I've driven this car a grand total of three times! Once around the block. One time when Mom's car had trouble and we took Ol Blue to pick it up...I coaxed her in to letting me drive it back to the house. The other time for my brother's wedding (I was best man and got to drive to reception). He drove it for my wedding.

[Ron]

Very nice Impala, like the Lab also.

[Daubs]

He's a great pooch. Turns 10 next month. Loves to hunt and is as gentle as can be around the kiddos. And only time he barks is when someone rings doorbell...and that's a good thing!. Imagine a thief looking in the window and seeing 90 lbs of yellow lab smiling back at him.

[Daubs]

It is ALIVE! Pictures coming soon...

[skokie]

Just curious but why do you have a center dump ramhorn on the pass side and a angle dump on the drivers side?

[Daubs]

Hmmm...driver side came with truck (PO installed). When I had new exhaust on, the pass side broke (it was cracked almost completely around and snapped off when they put wrench on it). I had muffler shop buy and install new one.

[truckdude239]

cool work they wouldn't take that block as a core? i've returned cracked blocks to a gm dealer aslong as they are together they dont take it apart to look. keep us updated

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Originally Posted by Daubs

For now, I just want to get her running again and give my wife back her parking spot (oh, and prove my neighbors wrong...they don't think I will ever get it running again)

Yod did start it up dumping out the manafolds didnt you?......so that it would be known that it left the garage under its own power and was not pushed out to never run againLooks Great.
Shane

[Daubs]

Originally Posted by Chevrolet4x4s

Yod did start it up dumping out the manafolds didnt you?......so that it would be known that it left the garage under its own power and was not pushed out to never run againLooks Great.
Shane

That would have been a good idea!!! I'm thinking the glass packs did their job well...

[Bishops Trucks]

I've driven this car a grand total of three times! Once around the block. One time when Mom's car had trouble and we took Ol Blue to pick it up...I coaxed her in to letting me drive it back to the house. The other time for my brother's wedding (I was best man and got to drive to reception). He drove it for my wedding.

I know how you feel. I have driven my Dad's '55 Chevy twice in the 36 years he has owned it.

[Daubs]

Originally Posted by Bishops Trucks

I know how you feel. I have driven my Dad's '55 Chevy twice in the 36 years he has owned it.

Me, brother and sister were talking about "Ol Blue" earlier today. I'm the lucky one I guess. My sister has never driven it. Brother drove it once as best man @ my wedding. So I really can't complain.

Brother and I used to joke that when Dad passes one of us gets Ol Blue and the other gets his Belgium Browning A-5 MAG. Brother's hoping he gets the Browning...I'm okay with that