The $600 1986 Camaro (Re)Build

If you wrap it good and tight with an extra overlap no problem. I find it is better to wrap the very ends with tape on top of the foil for a cleaner cut-off line.

 

That makes sense. Thanks for the tip, I have a feeling it will be put to good use when the time comes!

 

Well it has been about two weeks since I last posted, so its probably about time for an update!

After I changed the timing cover seal, I bolted the timing cover down for (hopefully) the last time. I put a new Fel-Pro gasket on and smeared a layer of silicone sealer on both sides of the gasket before torquing the timing cover down to 8 lb-ft.

Next up I test-fitted the oil pan gaskets. However, as I positioned them, it was clear that something was off:



The gasket set I got for a 1980-1985 Chevy 350 didn't include cutouts for the dipstick! Being very confused, I ran the numbers on the back of the block to see what motor I actually had.



I ended up finding out that I actually had a 1992 Goodwrench Chevy Crate Motor. This was quite a surprise, but I'm not complaining! As I dug a little deeper about these Goodwrench motors, I discovered that these "Crate Motors" were used as stock replacement engines for a variety of vehicles back in the day. Due to the large number of applications, there was an option for the oil dipstick to be on either side of the motor depending on the car/truck it was used in. The crate motor origin story may explain why my motor has four bolt mains as well!

I also discovered that I would need to purchase a oil pan gasket kit for a 1975-79 motor, as well as a 1980-85 motor. A quick look at pictures on Summit Racing confirmed this, and I ordered the two kits that day.

My theory: This motor did in fact come out of a 1984 Blazer, but at some point the original motor in the Blazer was blown. It was then replaced with this motor, and pulled not too long afterwards. This would explain why this engine is in such immaculate condition!

 

While I was waiting for my gasket kits to come from Summit Racing, I did what I could to move forward on the motor. I tried my best to wire wheel the remaining engine parts, but I just couldn't get into all of the corners and awkward angles. So, I boxed them up and handed them off to a local guy who does sandblasting! They will be ready on Friday, and now I don't have to deal with the headache of even more wire wheeling. When I get them back, I will paint them black for some contrast against the orange of the engine.

 

Next up was the rear main seal. I started by removing the oil pump and rear main bearing cap. The old seals were probably the originals from 1992, so they were probably long overdue for replacement! While the seal connected to the bearing cap would be no problem, the other (top) half of the two-piece seal was a little tricky.

I loosened the other main bearing caps, giving enough play to the crankshaft that it would be easier to slide the top seal out. I lined up a 1/4" socket extension on the largest part of the main seal and gave it a gentle, but still forceful, hit with a rubber mallet. This hit popped the seal out enough that I could get a hold of it with a pliers, and I then simply pulled it out! Putting the new one in was pretty much just the reverse of taking it out. I carefully slid it in (correctly orientated) and lined it up with the block. This is what it looked like with the new seal in place:



I easily replaced the bottom seal by pulling it out with a pliers. I coated the sides of the new seal (not the face where sealant goes) with a light coat of Amsoil, and then put some on the bearing as well.



Following the diagram below, I spread sealant on the bearing cap, as well as where it will meet the block.



Finally, I torqued the front and rear main bearing caps to 70 lb-ft. Then I re-torqued all the main bearing caps. 75 lb-ft for the inner bolts and 65 lb-ft for the outer bolts.

 

Since I already had the oil pump off, I replaced the plastic bushing that connects the pump to the rod that hooks up to the distributor. It was on there really tight, so I just used a Dremel after multiple failed attempts with pliers. It probably didn't do much, but at least it's another little bit of peace of mind! When I put the pump back on, I torqued it to 65 lb-ft.

 

While digging through the car, I found an aftermarket fuel pump new in its box! I figured may as well put it on while I have the motor on the stand.



The old pump (orange) seems to have a fuel return hookup, while the new one does not. I plan on capping off the fuel return line on the car as I will be using a carburetor, so I'm not worried about this.



I replaced the gasket on the mounting plate, and the gasket for the pump itself. As usual, I used gasket sealant on both sides of each gasket.



I used a longer bolt to hold the fuel pump push rod in place, although I have a feeling I could have gotten by without it since the motor was upside down at the time. The mounting plate and fuel pump bolts were both tightened to 8 lb-ft.

 

By the time I finished sending off the small parts for sandblasting, replacing the rear main seal, and replacing the fuel pump, the new oil pan gaskets came in the mail! Combining the two kits worked like a charm. I triple-checked the torque on all engine bolts, then installed the gaskets. I made sure to put a larger blob of sealant where the front/rear seals and the main gasket meet in order to prevent oil leaks.



Then, I applied sealant to the other side of the gaskets and lowered the pan into place. The larger bolts on the four "corners" of the pan were torqued to 12 lb-ft, and the rest of the smaller bolts all got torqued to 8 lb-ft.



It sure feels good to be all done with the inside of the motor! I'm getting closer and closer to test firing it every day!

 

Time to flip the motor right side up again!

Now that the bottom-end is done, I'm guessing that the motor will stay this way for good. The first thing I did was to begin re-painting the valve covers black. I scraped off the old valve cover gaskets before painting them again, so any scratches in the paint could easily be covered. I'm leaving the oil caps orange, which should look cool against the black valve covers.



I also took the opportunity to paint a few miscellaneous parts I had been meaning to paint at the same time as the valve covers.

 

Instead of watching paint dry, I installed the carburetor that my shop teacher loaned me for engine testing purposes. He gave me an AFB carb, but once the car is running I may switch to an Edlebrock or Holly. He also gave me an adapter plate to fit my intake.



I also picked up a mechanical oil pressure fitting for hooking up to the test stand. The motor had an electrical gauge hookup, and I kept it around just in case. As of right now I am thinking that it would be easy to use all mechanical gauges on the car instead of dealing with the electronics, but I haven't really looked into it.



In between coats of paint, I freshened up the spark plugs as well. I gaped them to 0.044' per the specs for a Chevy 350.

 

After what seemed like forever, the last coat of paint was dry on the valve covers!

I also painted the cover bolts and special washers black to match. Before installing the valve covers, I put new gaskets on. This time, I only put sealant between the valve cover and the gasket, not between the heads and the gaskets. This way, if I need to adjust the rockers as I am timing the motor, it won't be so hard to access them.



I think the black turned out amazing! As I was hoping, it is a nice bit of contrast to the orange of the main motor.

This brings me to today, and I am just waiting on my parts to come back from the sandblaster. Once I get them back, I will paint them and bolt them on. After that, it'll be time for the test stand!

 

You look to be doing some good work.

 

Thanks! It's very rewarding to see the progress!

 

Don't worry, this project isn't dead! I have a whole month's worth of pictures (August-September) that I need to upload of how far I got before leaving for school. Also, I am heading home this evening with the hopes of putting the motor on the test stand tomorrow! I'm very excited, and have my fingers and toes crossed!!

 

Finally back at college after a long weekend of wrenching! I figured its about time to update this thread with my pictures from the month of August as well as recently.

Where I left off last time, I had not really begun the process of putting the various pulleys and brackets back on the motor. I started by putting on the Harmonic Balancer/Dampener. To get this on I used the rubber mallet method, making sure to only hit the balancer in the center so I did not separate the outside section of the balancer from the inside. This was surprisingly difficult to do. Not only was it a tight fit, I had to strike the balancer in the right places to keep it straight on the crankshaft. I ended up getting it as close as I could, and when I put the main pulley on the center bolt pulled the balancer the rest of the way on.

 

In between working with the Harmonic Balancer, I was applying coats of paint to the parts I got from back from sandblasting! No pictures of what they looked like when they came back, but there was no doubt that they were completely rust-free! I went with black for all of these parts, and made sure to take my time getting nice even coats on all of the parts.

 

While still waiting for the paint to dry, I decided it was time to add in oil and spin up some oil pressure. I used some cheap 5W-30 from NAPA, since I will be changing the oil after around 500 miles once it is in the car. If I remember correctly I ended up using a little more than 5 quarts of oil.



I poured the oil over the rockers to make sure they had at least a little bit of oil on them. I did not want them to be dry when firing the motor for the first time. If you look closely, you can see that I put on the main pulley. Also, you may have noticed that there is a drill sticking out of the distributor hole. More on this below.



After the oil was in and verified to be the correct level with the dipstick, it was time to spin up the oil pressure. I used this special tool my shop teacher created out of an old distributor shaft. It simply hooks into oil pump and allows me to circulate oil throughout the motor without actually turning anything.



You can see how the flat section fits into the notched part of the oil pump below.



I spun the drill for a little while, and after a minute or so I figured enough oil had been circulated to call it good.

 

After oil had been circulated, it was time to put in the distributor! The motor came with an HEI distributor, so the big box looking thing on the top of the distributor cap houses the coil.



If I wanted the motor to be even remotely close to being timed correctly, I had to follow a few steps instead of just throwing the distributor on and calling it good. First I had to identify where the plug wire for cylinder number one will go. I marked this location and transferred the marking to the distributor body. After marking, I removed the cap.



After removing the cap, I measured 2 1/4" back from the mark I made previously. If I did not have an HEI distributor, this measurement would be different. I then lined up the rotor to the new mark.



The idea is that as the distributor is lowered into the motor, the rotor will twist from the second mark to the current mark due to the way the gears are designed. If I were not to move it 2 1/4" back the rotor would end up past the point for cylinder number one, possibly firing the wrong cylinder at the wrong time. As you can see below, it worked like a charm!



I did have to wiggle the crankshaft a bit to get the distributor to seat properly. After all of this, I replaced the distributor cap.

 

Now that the distributor was in, I continued to bolt on the parts I had taken off months ago. Next in line was the water pump and water pump pulley, along with the upper thermostat housing. I used new gaskets on the water pump, and made sure to put some sealant on one of the four bolts that would be in direct contact with the coolant. When I was putting on the thermostat housing I put in a brand new thermostat too.



Here are some photos with a clearer view of the installed distributor as well:

 

It's getting late so I'm going to have to call it a night in regards to posting photos... More to come soon though!