72 C10 Build

[7dee2]

Scat internal balance dampers for both engines. Oil pumps, bearings, etc.

[7dee2]

Getting there, you know, two of everything at twice the price!

[7dee2]

Scored this marine 454 4-bolt core that showed up on the local classifieds. For the money, I felt it needed to become part of the collection!

[clay68c10]

Man, that thing is super clean inside!

[7dee2]

It does look good, I’m hoping it’s a good core…. It’s another one of those 286 blocks I mentioned earlier.



All this came out of the water jackets, definitely a marine motor.
We’ll use it for a mockup for now. What can I say, I do love my big blocks!

[7dee2]

After a long 4-month wait (supply chain issues from Holley Days 2021) we received a new Holley carburetor for the C10 build. It’s an 850 CFM Classic with an electric choke and vacuum secondaries just like the one I ran on our K30. Well, that’s what I thought when I bought it. Turns out Holley had changed or just substituted that carburetor with this one (the current link below still shows the old carb). Materials, gold dichromate plating (not as good btw), main body, fuel bowls, wow, you name it, it is a bit different, reminds me of a gold Brawler carb. Is it a better carb? It could be, it does have many updated features from the old carburetor.

https://www.holley.com/products/fuel.../parts/0-80531

[Lost in the 60's]

It still looks like a Holley... I have a pre Holley Brawler on my Chevelle. The fuel bowls are quite different.

[7dee2]

That looks like a Barry Grant Speed Demon carb you have there. By the way, nice engine compartment. What year is your Chevelle?



Here’s what I meant by the Holley Brawler series similarities. Other than the finish, they appear almost identical. I'm not sure whether the original, traditional carburetor still exists or if this one has taken its place. I did ask Holley tech support that question and sent in pics as they had requested. It was news to them at the time.
I’ve never received a response.

[7dee2]

Here's a quick post on the other motor we built at this time, our "Good to go!" 511 and a link on how it got its name. Both the 511 and “Why buy one when you can have two at twice the price!” 489 have some common history. As posted earlier, parts were sourced together. Both motors were also dropped off together. Both are comparable but very distinct. One having a little smaller stroke, bore, cam, iron vs aluminum head, intake configuration (oval versus rectangular port, air gap versus factory dual plane), and a vacuum versus mechanical secondary 850 Holley's.

Mike “Gold” Lane (everything he touches…, a well-earned nickname) at Fastlane Machine in Orem, Utah, asked me which one was first. I decided to build the 511 for Camaro first since I had already made up my mind that it would be finished first. Here’s another link to the final dyno pull, along with a picture of the cam card and dyno sheet. I’m very pleased with the results—roughly 575hp and 590 ft-lbs. Plenty of power for our pump gas street Camaro. Also, if I hadn’t needed the style points for day 2 old school (small snowflake) heads and (dual plane snowflake) intake, I’m sure it would make more power with a better suited top-end configuration.

[7dee2]

Back down at Fastlane, Gold is working our “Why buy one when you can have two at twice the price, 489!” He said he’s pleased with this core (that’s 2 for 2, feeling lucky…) and was working the main caps a little (stretched #3 the most) to fit the saddles better before the line bore process. They set the bar pretty high with the Camaro’s 511. It’ll be fun to see how this 489 for the C10 does.

The guys requested I bring them the tins for this motor next time. So, it’s time to pull the machine shop, traveling, dyno set of valve covers off the 511. I lucked into this very lightly used chrome Moroso set off our local classifieds for $50. After adding some baffled grommets and the breathers, they worked perfectly for dyno session #1 (511). We’ll reuse all the hardware, rubber gaskets, etc., for dyno session #2 (489).

[7dee2]

Last pics at Fastlane Machine, I’m pumped, this should be a good runner. At this point, the block has been completely machined, deburred, and cleaned, and is ready to start the final short block assembly.

I’m very excited to see how it will compare with our “Good to go!” Camaro 511. With a little less stroke (4.25 vs 4.375), bore (.030 vs .060), cam, iron vs aluminum head, intake configuration (air gap vs factory dual plane, oval vs rectangle port), as well as a vacuum vs mech secondary 850 Holley.

[7dee2]

And here it is, fresh from the machine shop. Mike (Gold) & Larry do a great job. I’m thinking anything north of 500 horsepower with a gob of torque would certainly be a win for our C10.

Here’s what the Go Fast Math horsepower calculator thinks.
https://www.gofastmath.com/Horsepowe...wer-Calculator
Stage 2: Dual Plane High-Rise
Intake duration @ .050: 221
Tappet type: Roller
Dynamic compression ratio: 8.83:1 (best guess)
Engine displacement: 489
Cylinders: 8
Peak intake flow in CFM @ 28” of water: 320 (best optimistic guess)

[7dee2]

Setting up the dipstick to read full when it is actually full. I just needed to grab a few small items (distributor, block-off plate, etc.) and schedule an appointment with Kidd Performance for a break-in and dyno tune. Then we’ll see just how close the calculator comes to the actual figures.

[7dee2]

It’s 11/7/22, the day before our dyno appointment at Kidd Performance in Twin Falls, ID. And it looks like I’ll have some weather to deal with in the morning. I’ve got the 489 tied down and all shrink-wrapped under the blue tarp for the weather they’re predicting. Carb, dist, and the rest are all in the cab, ready for an early departure.

[7dee2]

Déjà vu, here we are again, 3 hours up the road at Kidd Performance in Twin Falls, ID. We made this same trip just a few months earlier (5/19/22) with our “Good to go!” Camaro engine. Almost turned around after braving a freaking blizzard that lasted until I reached the Utah/Idaho state line, so glad it cleared and was smooth sailing after that.

Took no time, and the engine was unwrapped, unloaded, and placed on the dyno.

[7dee2]

Mark is getting our motor ready for the break-in. It’s almost time to party!

[7dee2]

The break-in is done. Wow, 2 for 2, as Mark would say: “Not even the slightest bit of issues.” Hard to see in the pic, but the clear view filter is clean. I didn’t think it could be better because the first motor (511) broke in so well. Fast Lane Machine, Mike & Larry hit it out of the park. Another super clean, trouble-free break-in with only minor carb tuning of our new out of the box 850 cfm vac. sec. Holley.

Here are a couple of videos of the break-in and a pre pull run in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX0Z...ERLo3n&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5m...ERLo3n&index=2

[7dee2]

It’s the next morning after the trip to Kidd Performance. And the final results are in….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO4i...ERLo3n&index=7

I'm very pleased with the results, and I still have a big smile on my face!

[7dee2]

Another year and a half has passed (6/2024), and the Camaro Build has taken up most of my attention. Now that the car is almost finished, I've decided to get a new car trailer. My crystal ball is telling me I’ve got a lot of trailing tasks coming up. So, I decided to invest in a trailer that would be compatible with both the new truck and, the C10 in the future. An aluminum trailer is definitely a good option at this stage. Since I sold my 72 K30 tow beast and replaced it with a lighter duty 21 GMC Canyon AT4 (7K towing capacity). Here’s some pics of the new trailer squeezed into the garage.

[SCOTI]

Nice trailer.

[7dee2]

Thanks, I've had my eye on one of these for a while.




The second phase of the plan is a trailer lift to reclaim my floor space. Also, storing the trailer indoors should keep it in good condition for many years to come. So, after a quick road trip to Portland, OR, with overnight stops at a dog-friendly loft space in Idaho, we snagged a Wildfire Trailer Lift.

https://wildfirelifts.com/products/w...t-for-trailers

[Lost in the 60's]

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Thanks, I've had my eye on one of these for a while.




The second phase of the plan is a trailer lift to reclaim my floor space. Also, storing the trailer indoors should keep it in good condition for many years to come. So, after a quick road trip to Portland, OR, with overnight stops at a dog-friendly loft space in Idaho, we snagged a Wildfire Trailer Lift.

https://wildfirelifts.com/products/w...t-for-trailers

Those are nice lifts. I wanted to buy one of those 5 years ago, when they first came out. We had just moved and put up the new pole building. They were $5k then... And local to me, so no shipping. Too many other expenses from moving and then the next year covid shut down the world and that was the end of that plan. I have 2 4 post storage lifts, but our 18' camper doesn't fit on them.

[7dee2]

Yeah, we opted to go after this one. Probably didn’t save any money with the travel expenses, but we enjoyed the ride. It’s been in use for a little over a year now, and the new lift has been great.




Relocated our old Eagle lift into the opposite bay (sideways). My garage is wide enough that the approach is not that difficult. Additionally, it provides me more height that way and leaves a large space for Mrs. 7dee2 to park her car (Trust me, it's best that she has lots of room! ).

Tada, trailer in the air!

Next up was a quick winch install (that’s a must IMO). This makes moving project vehicles around a breeze. I had the dealer order a winch mount direct from Aluma when we purchased the trailer. It showed up just about the time I had the rest of the stuff sourced.

[7dee2]

FYI, I did run into a small snag while doing this (It’s always something! ). The rear axle on our trailer is a little farther back than the lift is long, oops. After drawing up some plans, my neighbor was kind enough to build me these handy extensions. They even have a backstop to prevent me from going too deep into the garage. And here they are back from powder coat.

[Dieselwrencher]

So much awesomeness in here. Great work on the rust repair and the 489 is a hoss! Was that a real Daytona/superbird at the guy's shop that finished the body work and primed it?

That new trailer is sweet but a trailer lift? Dang, I'm up for adoption Dad.