The 283 Rebuild Begins

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by justcuz

Basically an x pattern from the middle 4 out to the outside. 3/8 bolts, 35 ft lbs as I recall.

Give the guy from Alta Loma a cigar!

http://static.summitracing.com/globa...0427012716.pdf.

Page 4 of 4 - middle of the page - left.

[MacAttack]

My 34’ Ford style 'Gennie' shifter came in yesterday, along with 8 quarts of B&M trick shift fluid and some resonator pipe tips from Summit. Hopefully, after my trip to Wal-Mart on Saturday, I’ll be able to start publishing photos of this project.

[MacAttack]

Got the exhaust manifolds back from the stud removal guy yesterday - five studs and one threaded insert. They went to the sand-blaster today for a light dust-off. Tonight I’ll coat them both with the remainder of the Eastwood manifold coat that I applied to the Chevelle’s manifolds (still look good - over a year).

[justcuz]

If your crank does not have a center bolt for the balancer, you want that baby as tight as it can be. Some early 283 cranks had no bolt to hold the balancer in. It was just a press fit.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by justcuz

If your crank does not have a center bolt for the balancer, you want that baby as tight as it can be. Some early 283 cranks had no bolt to hold the balancer in. It was just a press fit.

It will have a bolt by this time tomorrow - with any luck.

[justcuz]

Good, the extra insurance of the bolt is worth the peace of mind.
Did you get the rest of your parts back?

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by justcuz

Good, the extra insurance of the bolt is worth the peace of mind.
Did you get the rest of your parts back?

Supposedly - UPS today. We'll see.

[justcuz]

BTW you still have the trans and bell housing and stuff?

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by justcuz

BTW you still have the trans and bell housing and stuff?

Nope. Craigslist - last week - Gone in 60 Seconds.

[justcuz]

Figures! I like the old cast iron bell housings with the rear mounts on them.

[MacAttack]

Sometimes it's better not to run a sub-total on your costs during a rebuild.

As of this afternoon: $5, 277.87

[joe231]

Ouch!!

[MacAttack]

Yeah - it really adds up when you insist on doing it right:

Engine Rebuild: (including scrapping the first block out) $1,700
Motor Towers & mounts: $235
New H/D Radiator and shroud: $525
Hoses, clamps, fan, water pump: $150
Trans rebuild, B&M T/C & shift kit, linkage, deep pan: $900
Front coil springs: $140
HEI distributor: $100
Carburator rebuild & linkage: $135
Exhaust manifold repair: $100
Complete exhaust system: $540
Ginnie Shifter: $275
Gas tank neck repair assembly: $85
Steering column repair kits: $150

and so on ……and so on…and so on.......

But because I've had the Chevelle as my daily driver - I wanted to do this right the first time. At least that's the theory.

[joe231]

oh man, i thought that total was for the 283 build

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by joe231

oh man, i thought that total was for the 283 build

Nah - sorry for the confusion.

This project just seems a bit overwhelming presently - hence me saying you shouldn’t do accounting in the middle and wait until you’re done. I’m sure it will be a fairly nice truck once I’m done, but I’m going to make one more purchase when it hits the street:

A Mossberg stainless pump for my new house’s balcony patrol.

[joe231]

sounds like an effective security system

[MacAttack]

Finished the painting and detailing of the steering column sheetmetal and associated pieces last night - just going with a flat black finish for right now.

Earlier this week I turned the knob off the shifter housing at the shop, sanded the finish off and Bondo’d the shift handle closed.

It came out nice, and because I’m putting the TH350’s shifter on the floor - I’m going to reassemble the steering assembly this weekend, in-between putting on the new flex-plate, rebuilt starter and intake manifold on the ‘283’.

* I’d like to share some pictures, but I can’t figure out how to resize for the forum - they’re coming out way too big to post.

[javadoc]

Sen dme your photos and I'll resiz em for ya

[justcuz]

I still think you are money ahead, you will have a "new truck" at a lot less than brand new prices. That being said my nephew just bought a 2008 WT extended cab for about $15,000. Now that is cheap for a brand spanking new truck! The funny thing is a WT stripper is pretty well appointed these days. No carpet or electric windows but just about everything else is standard including AC.

[MacAttack]

283 comes home - trying the harmonic balancer. .0022 press - too tight - out came the ol' puller.

[MacAttack]

I spend way too much time masking.....

[MacAttack]

Up in the air - waiting for the flex-plate.

[MacAttack]

TH350 comes home in the trunk of 'The Blue.'

[MacAttack]

I happen to like flat black paint.

[MacAttack]

Sand-blasted, eyeballed for cracks, 5 of 6 studs cut-off and burned out, one hole: threaded insert installed / $100 total for everything, then Mac put 5 coats of 1200 degree paint on the pair.