Engine Swap Progress

[Elsie72]

Well, I've spent most of the weekend in my garage with my brother swapping the leaking, tired old engine out of Elsie with a new GMPP 290hp 350.

Ran into a bit of a snag with the crank bolt, as the one that came out of the engine will not thread into the new engine. Also, I appear to be short a couple of pipe plugs, some vacuum fittings, and a bracket for the kick-down cable, so I'll deal with that tomorrow, and hopefully get everything sorted, and fired up sometime in the afternoon.

A little question on the Made In Mexico engines, I noticed there was a damn good dent in the LH valve cover, and a small ding in the oil pan. I guess I'll chalk it up to damage from shipping, but it was a little disappointing to see from a brand new piece, and there wasn't any visible damage to the rockers or pushrods, but it makes me glad that I bought some nifty cast aluminum valve covers to dress it up.

Man am I so glad that my brother was able to come up from Lethbridge to help. He's a mechanic by trade, while I gave up the wrenches full time over 10yrs ago and am currently full time desk jockey. I wish we could have gotten it fired up and take it for a rip, but that will have to wait for another day.

I'll take a few pictures tomorrow to show progress, and hopefully when it's all finished and running.

[67_C-30]

That crank bolt should be a 7/16" - 20 fine thread bolt, so don't try to force a 7/16" or 12mm course thread in there like I've seen a lot of people do.

[Elsie72]

67_C-30, no worries there. I made a run into the parts shop and picked up some more goodies. Took back the GM fuel pump that wasn't going to work due to it's inlet pointing at the engine mount. Picked up a Holley pump that might be overkill, but I won't have to worry about it. Got an ARP crank bolt, some pipe plugs, and some vacuum fittings. Got the truck to the point where the oil is in, everything is bolted on except the power steering pump, and I just need to add coolant and see if it fires up. Hopefully nothing leaks, but I'm calling it a night.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by Elsie72

.... A little question on the Made In Mexico engines, I noticed there was a damn good dent in the LH valve cover, and a small ding in the oil pan.

What engine did you get? Seems to me that you could claim some of the damage...

I'm thinking of getting a GM crate motor from the local dealer sometime in the next couple of months.

[Elsie72]

It is a 290HP 350. I will talk to High Country Chev and see if there is anything they can do about the valve covers. I'm not too upset because I bought some cast Aluminum pieces to dress it up a bit, but a couple bux back in my jeans wouldn't be so bad.

I think I've got some "before" pictures on my web page in my signature, and I didn't take any progress pictures because I would have had to wash my hands to touch my camera, Here it is 95% in, and nearly ready to fire.

[68gmsee]

Looks awesome...

Is it an illusion? The water pump bolt on the last pic doesn't seem to go all the way or something...

Hint: For picture taking while working on a project so you can have a record, use the small clear plastic throw away gloves that food handlers use in the bakeries. Easy to put on and cheap. About $5 a box for 100.

[Elsie72]

I think you're seeing the flash/reflection off of the water pump. The P/S pump is not on in that picture, either. That's a good tip about the gloves for taking pictures.

Well, I've finally fired it up, after messing about with various last minute items, and fixing a fuel leak. I'm having trouble with the timing now. Had to turn the idle up quite a bit to get it to run at 800rpm with the vacuum advance off, then when I plug in the vacuum advance, it runs at 1200rpm. Is this normal? I suppose it might be. I'm off to re-check the FAQ's.

I'm not too concerned about the idle speed, but what really bothers me is that it will run smooth for 20-30 seconds at about 1400rpm, then it starts knocking (detonating?) and starts to die until I goose the throttle a bit, then it quits knocking and smooths out again. When it starts knocking, the timing retards by nearly 10 degrees, and it returns when it smooths out.

I'm calling it a night until I can get some answers to this one. I really don't want to hurt this thing. Looks like I'm hitching a ride from the wife for another day.

[Elsie72]

Update - Well, it turns out that the dented valve cover was more than just superficial damage. There were bent valves on the #1 and #7 holes causing some sticking and what-not. GM pulled the head and sent it to the machine shop for new valves and guides, and I'm back on the road. I guess that's what the 12 month warranty is for. I spent the morning tuning up the vacuum advance, swapped in a lighter vacuum secondary spring, andd trimmed out the idle mixture screws some. Now the truck runs very strong, and I'm a happy camper again!