Getting my new 406 SBC installed, running, and driving

[IROCZman15]

Pass 5:
Switched lanes. Still a fixed 125 shot coming on at 3,000 rpms. 6 second burnout. Footbrake launch from 1421 rpms. Kinda wish I was at least caring somewhat abotu reaction time, because this would have been a good side-by-side pass against that Malibu. But, like my TnT session 2 weeks ago, I was way more focused on leaving at the proper rpm instead of drilling the perfect .000 reaction time. Anyways, it went 1.47 to the 60 foot and It was spinning a bit but I staked in it and it came out of it. You can see the hood shake as the tires shatter a bit. Still, was happy with the launch, and then 1-2 shift at 6,757 2-3 shift 6492, and finish line 6606 rpms. That slight "flat spot" in the red data-trace is when the tires grabbed through the spin in 1st gear. That run pumped me up, and I was justtt starting to reel him in at the top end.


Timeslip: (best pass to date)



Datalog:



Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4eRbrejV0E





Pass 6:
8 second burnout, footbrake launch at 2019 1-2 shift at 6740, 2-3 shift at 6503, 3-4 shift 6012, and finish line 5438. You read that right, a 3-4 shift . I was not sure how it was going to go, and maybe it will be better, but I shifted 3-4 wayyy to early so it was a doggg in 4th gear which is a dog anyway in 700r4 transmissions.. even on nitrous. ODDLY, the mph was the same as my other passes where I was topping out at 3rd gear. ??!?!


Timeslip:


Datalog:




Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFkQdSR0Qcg



Pass 7:
6.5 second burnout, and a 1666 rpms footbrake launch. Using another view/page of the datalog (not pictured here) I see what went wrong on this run. One of my safeties (nitrous rich cut-off limit) was activated just a second into 1st gear, so the ecu shut off the nitrous. So my launch was good, but then it was an all-motor pass the rest of the way. Shifter 1-2 at 6523, shifted 2-3 6223, and finish line at 6249. I do physically remember shifting 3-4 during this run too, but for some reason the transmission did not make the shift. Kinda weird, but will have to look into this. It did it the previous run, but maybe it was hot or just damn tired?


Timeslip:



Datalog:



Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJC4wqMl8bw





Notebook:



.

Some other videos that were filmed by a drag race friend named Tom who runs at Island . Jerry also took some videos, but I feel super badly that I did not get to film any of his runs.
-note.. I do not know which pass each launch video is from, so I am sorry, I only know the one against that Malibu was pass #5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBCsHbXhmYs
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzVdubQuT-Y
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vZEO5Alg0
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9xwD4rgd4w






Drove the car home late at night. Washed it the next morning and swapped the wheels. Took it to the North Jersey Auto Show today (Sunday) in Paramus. it was raining from the moment I left, and most of the morning. They had a smaller turnout than the usual 400 cars that they get at this show, and I was in the 1980-present class. (they only allow vehicles up to 1996, so I guess the way tos ay it is I was in the 1980-1996 class). Got the class trophy, and drove home in the rain.. with the lakewood 90/10 drag struts, no front sway bar, and maniacs on rt 8p in north jersey.





Going to look into the trans 3-4 shifting situation. My best bet about how to rev out the engine during the last 200 feet of the track is a taller set of tires.. this will have to waif for spring 2022. If anyone has a set of 15" drag wheels with a 27" or 28" tire that I could test fit for a size mockup, please let me know. It would be much appreciated.

On that note, after watching some of Jerry's videos and Tom's videos, I now know that the car does squat. In fact, I was certain that I felt the rear bump-stops hit the axle tube on at least two launches. I mentioned this to the fellas, and I ended up cranking up each reach shock .5 It was probably not enough. I have done a bunch of research and have some 3rd gen buddies who have used the drag-bag air-bags before. It is a budget friendly trick I would like to try so I am probably going to order a set of these. They will also help when I haul the hundreds of pounds of tools to and from each event too. Especially with a taller tire...

Link: https://www.jegs.com/i/Air+Lift/022/...YaAulJEALw_wcB









Misc Pics:

[Blackbirdws6]

Sounds like overall a successful weekend and congrats on the new best. A couple things:

1. If you want to test fit my rear wheel/tire setup (15's w/ 28s) let me know.
2. Any reason you wouldn't go to some form of a nitrous controller vs the button? I think it would take out one less variable. The nicer controllers offer a good deal of safety features.

[LTb1ow]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

Sounds like overall a successful weekend and congrats on the new best. A couple things:

1. If you want to test fit my rear wheel/tire setup (15's w/ 28s) let me know.
2. Any reason you wouldn't go to some form of a nitrous controller vs the button? I think it would take out one less variable. The nicer controllers offer a good deal of safety features.

He has one, its called Holley EFI.

[thehazguy]

Some other videos that were filmed by a drag race friend named Tom who runs at Island . Jerry also took some videos, but I feel super badly that I did not get to film any of his runs.
-note.. I do not know which pass each launch video is from, so I am sorry, I only know the one against that Malibu was pass #5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBCsHbXhmYs
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzVdubQuT-Y
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vZEO5Alg0
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9xwD4rgd4w

Dave, had fun Friday night. Nice to see you back up your 10.99 run with a few better runs. Remember practice makes perfect or at least more consistent

Video 1 - I think it was the 11.14 run

https://youtu.be/nXnUtaOg7v0

Video 2 - was the last run

https://youtu.be/3iOHxNYNH_A

Few pictures of Dave changing out the jets.

Also NJFBOA sign in front of the staging lanes

[IROCZman15]

Awesome, thanks Jerry. I think you are right about which video is with the # run. Cool Thanks! Always glad to have you at the track for smooth and simple guidance!

Brian: Yes , there is a chance I might take you up on that! I am just wondering about the backspacing, being that our rear axles are different width. I do have a buddy who has some taller tires/wheels on his thirdgen, and I'll gladly take a chance at test fitting a wheel from you, him, or anyone else. Also, yes, you are right about the nitrous controller, and indeed Matt is right about the Holley EFI doing exactly that. So, it does allow me to control many nitrous parameters, safeties, and whatnot. I had been used to the nitrous button before during the 5 years I had nitrous with the old TPI engine. The button is an additional item in the activation circuit, and I could easily eliminate it in just a few minutes by bypassing the wires to the button. I had initially thought that it would be "better" for me to control the nitrous via the button, but I am still getting used to it. I guess I wanted that old school rush of pushing the button and getting the result. If I can't get consistent with it, I am probably going to bypass the shifter button and just let the ecu control the nitrous. I will then set the triggering parameters accordingly.

I also gotta shift just a tad quicker from 1st gear to 2nd gear, I tagged the rev limiter just slightly in most of the passes. First gear does wick-up quick, especially on the spray, so its going to be interesting to see if I can do it.



Just ordered the Air Lift 60897 air bags, and also bought a bottle of that Geddex Burnout guard spray. I have tried waxing the rear fenders to keep burnout rubber away, but cleanup hasn't gone as well as I would like. Several people have recommended the Geddex spray, so I am willing to try it for $10.

[townsend]

Originally Posted by IROCZman15

Awesome, thanks Jerry. I think you are right about which video is with the # run. Cool Thanks! Always glad to have you at the track for smooth and simple guidance!

Brian: Yes , there is a chance I might take you up on that! I am just wondering about the backspacing, being that our rear axles are different width. I do have a buddy who has some taller tires/wheels on his thirdgen, and I'll gladly take a chance at test fitting a wheel from you, him, or anyone else. Also, yes, you are right about the nitrous controller, and indeed Matt is right about the Holley EFI doing exactly that. So, it does allow me to control many nitrous parameters, safeties, and whatnot. I had been used to the nitrous button before during the 5 years I had nitrous with the old TPI engine. The button is an additional item in the activation circuit, and I could easily eliminate it in just a few minutes by bypassing the wires to the button. I had initially thought that it would be "better" for me to control the nitrous via the button, but I am still getting used to it. I guess I wanted that old school rush of pushing the button and getting the result. If I can't get consistent with it, I am probably going to bypass the shifter button and just let the ecu control the nitrous. I will then set the triggering parameters accordingly.

I also gotta shift just a tad quicker from 1st gear to 2nd gear, I tagged the rev limiter just slightly in most of the passes. First gear does wick-up quick, especially on the spray, so its going to be interesting to see if I can do it.



Just ordered the Air Lift 60897 air bags, and also bought a bottle of that Geddex Burnout guard spray. I have tried waxing the rear fenders to keep burnout rubber away, but cleanup hasn't gone as well as I would like. Several people have recommended the Geddex spray, so I am willing to try it for $10.

what width is your rear axle? i have racestar 15x10's with 28 et street pros and i am not far from you, but they are 4th gen specs, which sit in waay too much on a third gen (i test fit them on a 84 z28). i have some 15x10 racestars with no tires that are 6" backspace, but they are old style that use wobble bolts/offset washers for 5x4.5/5x4.75 pattern. i would let those go cheeeaaap

as i said on youtube, nice passes. i gotta dig thru your build threads to make this 89 formula i just picked up quicker lol

[IROCZman15]

cool man, thanks ! I might take ya up on that offer too. I had moser build the 12 bolt rear axle to stock GM width for 3rd gen fbody. I might be able to measure it, but a quick search on google of the big fbody websites say that the 4th gen rear is approx 3" wider. some sites say 4" some say 3.5" some say 3". My current street/autocross wheels are a 18X10 with a 5. 7/8" backspace, so there might be a chance those 15X10 wheels would work with that 6" backspace. Cool. It is promising to know that I might have some wheels to test with. This would probably be in the late winter or early spring of 2022. Thanks man!

[IROCZman15]

got em installed. Probably wont get to the track for another week or two though. So I'll just do some mild street hits.

[thehazguy]

Looks good Dave. Good luck

[IROCZman15]

Had planned on going to Island today for TnT. For the past few weeks, November 7th was listed as an Open Test n Tune event, but just this past week it was changed to a Diesel Truck event and no cars were allowed. Kinda a bummer, but I did call and check with them that next weekend they will be open for Test and Tune as well as the "grocery getter 15.00 and slower" event. So as long as the weather holds for next weekend, November 14, I plan on going. It might be the last 1/4 mile event of the year for me, unless I decide to try to make it down to Atco.

Anyways, I decided to take the camaro out for a cruise up to my buddies house in newton today. Was stunned when out of nowhere a large male deer ran into the road, jumped onto the roof of the car in front of me, jumped off the roof, and took off ! Jeez, I am super glad that it didn't happen 5 seconds later, or I would have been the victim!

dash-cam video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr5u9jRDfQM



Car show season is over, nothing else local. I'll still cruise around till mid December on favorable days, before I take the car off the road for the year. Despite having the car at the chassis shop for the roll-bar install for the whole month of June, the camaro racked up More miles than my primary daily driver (2005 dodge ram) this year, and I am kinda stoked about that! It helps that I only work 0.7 miles away form home and typically drive my old 1995 jeep wrangler anyways. I've definitely enjoyed all the seat time and spent a small fortune on 93 octane shell gasoline.


So, for next weekend, I am probably going to get a bit more aggressive with the nitrous shot. My top-end MPH might still stay the same since I am topping out in 3rd gear, but I am hoping I can get a quicker 60foot, 8th and 1/4 mile e.t. by launching with a 100shot and then ramping it to a 150 shot. I'm hoping the track prep/surface will hold the launch too, and that I can improve the 1.47 sixty foot a little bit. A wheelie would be awesome for a photograph, but this car just doesn't want to lift the nose off the ground still. I still have yet to test out these new air drag-bags at the track. I'd also like to see 100 mph at the 8th mile, and my current best is 99.77 mph. can't think of much else yet; just hope the weather is good for next Sunday

[sweetbmxrider]

That was crazy haha

[TaKid455]

That was awesome! Some sports team needs that deer.

[IROCZman15]

It sure was a sight to see and I was super glad it wasn't me or my car involved!

Going to start prepping the car after work this week for the TnT event this Sunday at Island. Swap wheels, remove front passenger seat, bolt check, pack tools, etc. I am also debating on removing the exhaust pipes/muffler that are after the y-pipe. I did this last year once, but I personally wasn't as dialed in with shift points so I really don't know if it helped or not. I also was not spraying nitrous last year either, but I certainly will be on Sunday.


I would keep the 1.75" Dyno Dons shorty/mid length headers on, along with the DynoDons 2.5-to-3" y-pipe. At the end of the Y-pipe I would bolt on a short 90degree turn down so the exhaust isn't blasting into the underside of the car. Same as last year.

-Therefore I would be removing the remainder of the 3" main exhaust pipe, the electric cut out, the 3" over the axle pipe, the muffler, and the two 2.5" tailpipes. When i did this last year it was certainly worth some weight savings, but I want to see if I run a better mph by having it off or not. This will help me make scientific decisions about my upcoming winter exhaust system project.
Thoughts?

I don't mind the 20 minutes of work it takes to remove the exhaust, it comes apart pretty easily...but getting it back on is a bit of a pain. Come January, a different exhaust system altogether will be getting built, so this might be the last on-off for this 3" system and maybe even the dyno dons headers/y-pipe too.

[IROCZman15]

Went to Island Dragway this past Sunday, November 14, 2021 for my final drag race TnT of this year. It was also the Daily-Driver Grocery-Getter e3vent, an Impala club event, regular Test-n-Tune, and a racing for Santa's type Toys-for-Tots fundraiser. They opened an hour earlier than usual (9am gates 10 am racing) but due to water seeping up into the track on the top-end, it took them till almost 11:30 to get the first pair of cars off. There was an insane amount of cars there. Good for business, but really a lot of down time. Lots of oil downs and whatnot too, so the track and starting line was cold temperature which made for some tricky launch conditions. Someone hit the timing system very early on, and that caused a delay too. There was a weird issue with the tree during my 1st run, as it put on the bottom bulbs before ever lighting the top bulbs (no I was not deep staged). Also, later on, someone started a fire in one of the trash barrels so they had to have the fire department come and handle that situation. It was just a very long drawn out day, and they only allowed everyone to get 3 passes, unless you were in one of the bracket racing groups. My buddy John was there with his low 11 second Trans Am, and Jerry was there with his 2nd gen too! Jerry was consistent as always and I think it was the first time I got to see his bird on the track. My buddy John was lined up next to me in the left lane for our 2nd pass, and he dialed up his clutch adjustment too far and it caused him to stall on the line. This was a super big blessing in disguise because when he opened the hood to adjust the clutch valve, he noticed some milkshake colored oil/fluid in the clear hoses that connect his valve cover to his vacuum pump. He had known a head gasket was just starting to leak coolant outside the engine, but it must have just started leaking into the engine during his first pass. If he had not stalled on the line and had made the pass next to me with a blown head gasket, who knows how bad the situation could have been.




Look at how far back the line stretched!



Anyways. the drag bags seemed to work great. I did not hit the bump stops and from what it felt like in the driver's seat, the car did not squat all that much. I ran 8psi in the driver's side bag, and 10.4 psi in the passenger side bag all day. Front tires were 50 psi and the rear tires I kept at 18.5 psi all day. Had the rear shocks set at 3.5/5 driver's side and 4/5 on the passenger side. I put in the 150 jets and had a full nitrous bottle which I used the bottle heater to keep it at a steady 1,000 psi. I programmed the nitrous to only spray between 2400-6500 rpms. Weather was cold, but not all that windy. It was a negative200-negative300 D.A. all day, which was great, but the track temp was just dead cold because of the lack of cars being able to continually make passes amongst the very frequent down-time. Look at the clock/time differences on my timeslips, its 3 hours between pass 1and2, and 1.5 hours between pass 2and3.











Pass 1:
Did a 5.5 second burnout. Wanted to try launching from a slightly high idle, so I launched at 1036 rpms. The nitrous was programmed to come on at 2400 rpms, and I had it set up for a slow progressive ramp.. it was a 2 second long ramp from 75hp-150hp. The car slipped the tire a touch on the n/a footbrake launch and then held the tire during the nitrous ramp. Nitrous clicked off at the high-rpm limit of both shifts (as well as the top of 3rd gear still 150+ feet from the finish line). I shifted 1-2 at 6546 and 2-3 shift at 6541 rpms, and crossed the line at 6524 rpms. The car is very unhappy during the last few hundred feet, and I know I am not accelerating, I am either staying steady speed or possibly decelerating.

Video:
- I have no in car video from this pass as my memory car footage loop records, and the overall time at the track was sooo incredibly long, that the loop recording wrote-over my first pass.. which just so happened to be my quickest pass to date!
Fortunately, Joey D was in the stands spectating and he took a video, so here is the link to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iFo44TEAGE

Timeslip:


Datalog:




Pass 2:
I was glad that the progressive 150 shot worked, and had a choice to make. Do I shorten up the progressive's ramp, or do I go out there and see if it will take a fixed 150 shot instead. Hearing the track's announcement that all cars would only get 3 runs total, I thought, well, lets put the fixed 150 shot in it and see if it takes it. My buddy John was next to me and I had hoped he was going to get his 10.99 n/a timeslip (He has been 11.02, and that is a stick shift car). I did a 5.5 second burnout, but for some reason it felt like only 1 tire was getting worked, and it has done this before, but only rarely. Foot brake launched from 1089 rpms and it barely rolled out at all before hitting 2400 rpms and getting on the nitrous, which caused it to completely knock the tires loose. So I pedaled it, got back in it and on the nitrous and tagged the rev limiter a bit before making the 1-2 shift at 6586 rpms. Second gear held fine but I was on the limiter again a bit before shifting 2-3 at 6681 rpms. I crossed the stripe while still spraying at 6614 rpms, which is weird because it should have clicked off at 6500 rpms? Was bummed out for John who I was expecting to make a side-by-side pass with me and both of us get a 10 second timeslip together.


Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAfBopNeSbI



Timeslip:



Datalog:




Pass 3:
Put a progressive nitrous tune in it, but shortened the ramp to be 1.2 seconds. So it sprays from 75shot-to-150 shot in 1.2 seconds. 7 second burnout, both tires. Tried to launch from a higher rpm footbrake like I am used to doing, and I footbrake launched at 1701 rpms. I did feel the tire slip just a little bit at the hit, BUT it turns out I actually did not got WOT right away either, so the even though I passed my 2400 rpm On-activation for the nitrous, it did not click on until I went past 80% TPS on-activation. This can be seen in the datalog traces below, but at the time, I did not even realize it later until I looked at the datalog. The 1.2 second progressive ramp was fine. And after a touch of the rev limiter I shifted 1-2 at 6652 rpms, shifted 2-3 at 6588 rpms.... and as usual, as I approached the finish line it clicked the nitrous off, kept my timing retard in it, and dropped rpms, which eventually had me cross the line at 6458 rpms. You can see that it did this for about 1.3 seconds on the datalog (top right corner) and hear it in the video.





Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Giul-sSgZhU



Timeslip:




Datalog:





So

[sweetbmxrider]

Nice pass! Car looks well behaved off the tree. Little more tuning….almost perfect.

[thehazguy]

Dave here's the video I took from the mound on the pit side. Had a good time hanging with you and John.

https://youtu.be/54prs1i85is

Could of been a little warmer but it's November. Insane day looked to be 150+ cars. I guess like most of us we wanted to get our last day in for the year. Didn't want to gamble on the later November weekends and miss an opportunity.

Be safe we'll talk soon.

[IROCZman15]

Thanks Adam and Jerry. Thanks for the video! I definitely had to pedal it off the launch, and lost e.t. on that pass.....but.... that was by far my fastest 1/4 mile trap speed. I know that I was still on the throttle and on the nitrous when I crossed the line (see datalog and in car video) so that tells me that on my other passes where I have those rpm "issues" I am actually slowing down in mph before the line. I am sure of it.
Excited to see what a taller tire will do for the top end numbers next year. I did bolt up one of Johns 27" tall tires on Monday, but I will save that post for another time after I do more wheel/tire research.

[Blackbirdws6]

Good finish to the racing year and you made a great deal of progress. I'm sure you have a list of items to tackle next year.

[IROCZman15]

I'll type up a longer post about winter upgrades and projects in the upcoming weeks, but

My buddy John who was in the left lane next to me for my second pass at Island two weeks ago had his dash cam rolling. Since his clutch had issues and he stalled on the line, his in car video shows the beginning of my pass. It is not of great quality, but when I watched it in super slow motion, I was curious about what I saw...

...This pass was where I went to the non-progressive 150 nitrous shot coming in at 2400 rpms, so almost out of the hole. It zipped the tires loose and I got off the throttle and nitrous for an instant, and then got back on the throttle . You can see this in the previously posted (above) datalog for pass #2 and hear/see the car get loose in the pass 2 youtube video of my in-car footage. But what it looks like from his footage, is that when I got back on the throttle, it might have just slightly yanked the front driver's side wheel up an inch in the air?!?!?!? Part of me thinks its an optical illusion, but I do remember that pass and how it boogied when I got back on the throttle after peddling it. So, I wonder if this can calm my brain about thinking this car will never lift a tire. Maybe it will, maybe this time it did get a wheel up, and I didn't realize it until freeze-framing his video. Interesting.


John's video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlBzdgNju9E



My video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAfBopNeSbI



Freeze frames of his video:

[PolarBear]

Noice

[sweetbmxrider]

Definitely daylight!

[IROCZman15]

Yesterday was the last day of driving the car for 2021; went down to Round Valley and parts of Hunterdon county. Put 82 miles on it and enjoyed a few nitrous hits on the interstate when traffic was low. Removed the hood after the drive, because I am determined to find and repair the oil leak at the back of the engine. It has bothered me for some time, but now that the driving season is over, I am going to tackle it before getting into the exhaust project. I have always been mindful of the "borderline" high oil pressure (which I have described in this thread, and another separate thread) and I am sure that the oil leak was caused/magnified by the higher oil pressure. Engine builder and I think that the check-valve in the melling oil pump is probably stuck and just over-pressurizing the system. Anyways, this is all covered by the 24 month warranty on the engine, in which I am currently in month 23! So he's going to get me a replacement pump, gasket, and whatnot.









Today, I had a good couple hours of camaro work in between my current upstairs bathroom renovation project, so I removed the full exhaust including the headers, removed the driveshaft, drained the trans fluid (looked/smelled just great after 2 years of heavy use), removed the transmission, removed the torque converter, drained the cooling system, removed the radiator and fans, drained engine oil, drained power steering fluid, and some other stuff. Everything went smoothly today aside from the Lokar TV cable housing not wanting to come out from the transmission. After fighting with it for 25 minutes, I had to sacrifice it, and later on noticed a metal burr on the housing that was lodging it in place. So I'll need a new lokar cable. Also, the biggest pain in the butt was the insane moisture in the air. Everything in my garage was coated in water droplets, the vinyl floor, my tools, the tv, tool boxes, every surface of the car, every nut and bolt and socket. Plus the oil mess under the car, it was one heck of a messy day and everything was slippery. Look at the humidity droplets on the valve covers and header tubes below!...and the wet floor, simply from humidity.













Tomorrow I will be taking off the sniper efi throttle body and the nitrous stuff, along with the fuel lines and electrical wiring. I know I probably could do the oil pump, gasket, and rear main seal with the engine lifted up in the engine bay, but I have better chances of getting everything buttoned up properly if I put the engine on a stand. I will be using this 1-Ton chain fall hoist which will be mounted to a chain (and that 10,000 pound strap) to my 2"x"10 garage rafters. I also will be putting up some screw-jack supports from the floor to the rafters to keep the beam deflection to a minimum. Once the engine is up high enough, I'll roll the car out, lower the engine, put it on an engine stand, and roll the car back into the garage. This makes more sense for me to do as opposed to the cherry picker, because with the cherry picker I would opt to remove the front nose again, and I always worry about screwing up the paint.

[thehazguy]

Dave, sounds like a plan. Good Luck

[IROCZman15]

Got back out in the garage around 1 PM today and by 3 pm had the engine out of the car. Started by taking off the sniper efi and nitrous stuff, as well as the distributor, starter, and undoing a bunch of the wiring. Hooked up the chain's hook to the lift plate and the engine came out very easy; almost too easy. The chain hoist system worked just fine. Once it was up in the air, my dad and I just simply rolled the car back a few feet and lowered the engine down. Then I took off the flexplate and bolted the engine to the engine stand. Cleaned up some fluids, rolled the engine off to the side, and rolled the car back into place. Didn't get any further than that, aside from some tool cleanup, and then I went inside and continued the bathroom project.








I was really hoping to see the oil leak coming from one of the little pipe plugs at the back of the engine, but they all look sealed up nice and tight. Tomorrow or Tuesday after work, I will get things cleaned up and maybe flip the engine over to remove the oil pan and see what is going on with the pump. Wherever the leak is, the flexplate and converter sprayed the oil on everything, so I have a bcnh of cleanup to do. While the engine is out I want to redo a bunch of the under-hood wiring (again) and move some of it inside to my new fuse block arrangement under the dashboard.






drivers side rear block



drivers side lower rear block and pan




pass side rear block



pass side lower rear block and pan

[IROCZman15]

* I only had an hour after work today to work in the garage, but I flipped the engine upside down, removed the oil pan, noticed the flappy oil pan gasket at the same spot you guys are seeing it (see better photos below) and then examined the oil pump before taking it off. It is the Melling M55Hv (high volume) oil pump. I've never inspected one before, so I am not really sure what to look for regarding a "stuck" check spring or check ball. No matter what, this pump is getting replaced.* Does anything look awry? Should there be some kind of cap/cover on that port where you can see the spring coiled inside the hole (photo below) ??* I took off the rear main-cap also and I looked at the blue rear main seal and it did seem intact, but I poked at it a little bit and probably disrupted it's sealing surface, so I will simply get a new 2-piece rear main seal. This is as far as I plan on taking the engine apart this calendar year It is healthy and the only issues were: high oil pressure and oil leak.* I'm in no need of upgrading hardcore parts, so this is more engine maintenance project.* I wiped a few things down real quick, but I have got some serious cleaning to do one of these upcoming days.*
























As for additional winter upgrades my list includes:
-reinstall engine, transmission, converter, driveshaft, radiator, etc. (December)
- redo a bunch of engine bay wiring (December
- find a proper set of long tube headers (January)
- build a y-pipe and install it to a new magnaflow 4" exhaust setup (January-February)
- research and buy a set of 28" tall drag tires on a 15" wheel (April)
- rust repair under windshield channel and new windshield (April-May)