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Posts posted by CLEARCROW
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Good day everyone. Sorry I vanished for way to long. Life hit hard the last 2 years and the sad truth is the LeMans never saw the road after the engine re build.
shortly after my last post I had some trouble with the EFI system, I had the car towed to a local mechanic who had installed a.frw Holley snipers previously but he said it was a dud and I needed a new system, I got on the phone with Holley and they helped me get it running but I had so much RFI. With the sale of my dad's house I also had to move everything from his house to my house and that packed my shop full of tools but with no where to actually work on the car anymore. The car went into storage that winter.
The following spring I took off to Scotland for a month to walk across the entire country. That was an epic challenge. When I returned from Scotland the plan was to get working on the car but unfortunately my father's health took a turn for the worse and I spend the next 2 months visiting him as much as I could in the hospital. Unfortunately he passed away shotly after.
Every time I went to work on the car after that it was just to much. Way to hard seeing the car and not being able to work on it anymore won't my old man. It truly hurt not being able to have the car at his funeral. All I wanted was.for one last ride with him in the car.
A few weeks ago I found a team of mechanics who said they could get the holley EFI system working for me. So I loaded it onto a flat deck and hauled the car to Winnipeg. A few short weeks later and they said it was running flawless. With a new exhaust system all welded up and some new wiring for the efi and a new I take fuel pump and today I drove her 200km home.
Such a good feeling to finally be able to drive it again.
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I have a shop that I would like to turn into a garage. It was my old wood working shap but I don't do wood working to much these days. Would like to convert it into a garage next summer and possibly get a lift to put in there.
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1 hour ago, 64 kiwi boni said:
i see your shed has a high stud, you could fit one in there!
this isnt my house its my old mans house and the for sale sign just went up today, time to get the car out of here
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I was terrified. Even lifting it that high with my jsck was sketchy. I ended up buying 2 24" axel stands. For the rear. It almost rolled off at one point before I had gotten the Jack's. I hope to never have to fo that again.
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9 hours ago, Fitzy said:
That looks really nice - well done.
Thanks Fitzy
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Hey guys. Sorry inshvent kept you updated. Life happened. So some updates.
The canton oil pan didn't fit my frame. It was the oen not for gtos. Shop mistake not mine. That was a 2week set back. Then the milodon pan we went with didn't make it easy to get in the car and I had to put the engine and transmission in separate. This meant lifting the car 18" on bricks and wood I had laying around and lift the Trans in with a friend of mine. Made it safe as a could and got it done without to much grief.
Now that that's all done I've been doing efi wiring and hoping everything up. I have a few things left to do before I fire it up but she should be running this week.
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So I got the engine out of the Ford yesterday and into the garage. Installed the starter and exhaust manifolds. I know some people said to do this after wards but I hate doing stuff from under the car. And this just seems easier to me. Slapped the holley on to see how it looks and damn I'm happy
Also painted and installed thr grill.
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9 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:
yeah JustA !!!! drink dont drive !!! wayyyyy cheaper !!!!!
yesterday i filled up and it was $3.15 per litre thats $14.30 per gallon nzd so my work van took $217 to fill and that lasts me 6 days roughly
It's $2.03 CDN a litre here in Manitoba Canada. I'm right in the boarder with North Dakota USA, so I drive over for gas once a week and pay $4.49 USD a gallon. Saves me a bit of money.
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Can't afford beer
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24 minutes ago, Fitzy said:
, I lived on 2 minute noodles whilst the car got gold plated rod bolts...did I mention never again?
Haha so I'm not the only one who's diet suffered so the engine build could thrive
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Was at the engine shop today. Push rods came in so we got push rods I'm and rockers on. Then installed the new intake. Edelbrock performer rpm.
Went to toss on the valve covers and the baffle hits the rocker. Always finding issues it seems. Should have that sorted out Monday when I pick it up. But damn it looks good and I'm getting excited
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Removed my grill off my 71 lemans sport today and repainted it.
Products used
Krylon metallic aluminum
Dupli color Low gloss black engine enamel
Dupli color acrylic enamel matte clear Coat.
The metallic aluminum matches the stock color so good. I was I'm shock how good it looked. I then masked it off and hit the center with a few Coates of black. I won't lie it looked ok like this bit still has a spray paint look to it. I went a picked up dome clear to add protection and found this matte clear coat. I didn't want that wet tacky spray paint look so tried this and damn does it ever make it look like real black plastic.
Over all I'm completely satisfied hoe this turned out. Slapped the chrome trim and emblem back on and got my self a new grill.
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Stopped by the shop yesterday before work. Oil pan is on and sealed up. Just waiting on the new intake to show up.
I ordered paint from butler .
I went with the Restoration Colors
71-81 pontiac blue.
How correct does it look? I'm happy with it but someone told me this color was wrong and this is actually pre 66 blue. Any thoughts??
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So we ran into a small issue. The new intake I got doesn't seem to fit well.
Last fall I installed a edelbrock performer intake, but with the new cam i figured a bigger intake was needed. So I ordered a speed master mid rise which is designed after the ram air 4 intake sell the bolt holes lines up poorly and there was a large gap between the intake and timing cover at the water port. This probably would have been solved by cutting the water cross over off but I didn't really like the look of that. So I sent it back and ordered a edelbrock performer rpm.
Here's a picture of the gap we were left with and a sneak peek of the colour
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Just now, 64 kiwi boni said:
Ah you wont regret using these Clearcrow !! i have them on my 389 and i am super happy with how quiet they make the engine bay and heaps of room around them for everything else!!!
Figure they should flow alot better than my logs. And easier to install that headers. I think I got the last pair for sale. Got lucky and got a very good condition set hardly used off a Facebook group since then everyone's been asking for them but none seem to be for sale anywhere
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6 hours ago, Frosty said:
Clearcrow - she's looking real good.
So what did you finally end up with for the engine combination as a whole?
The engine bay looks real pretty!
Thanks Frosty.
The engine specs are.
Bored .030 over. 405ci
10cc dome Keith Black hypereutectic pistons
Stock rods reconditioned with arp bolts
Stock crank,
Butler ram air 041 hydrollic roller cam
Morell hydrollic roller lifters.
1.5 roller rocker arms
#96 heads, multi angle valve job, new springs, guides, etc.
Ram air 3 exhaust manifolds
Holley sniper stealth efi, either hyper spark distributor, holley ignition box
Speed master mid rise ram air 4 style aluminum air intake.
Compression is around 9.5 :1
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4 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:
Nice job! Betcha can't wait to get out there cruisin.
I'm hoping I'll be on the road end of May beginning of June. Weather is just starting to get nice where I am. So I'm starting to see all the other cars on the road.
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On 3/21/2022 at 9:34 PM, Frosty said:
Do some homework. Check out the cost of repairing the TH400 vs. the cost of a TH200-4R. They may be close to the same amount of moeny, then consider the TH200. If the repair/refresh is a lot cheaper, then there is your answer.
You can determine the rear ratio real easily. Jack up the rear end and turn one of the tires one turn. Count the number of revolutions of the yoke. If it spins 3 1/4 turns, it is a 3.23, 3.5 its a 3.55, and so one.
Stock rods are good for about 350-450 HP. Not clear from your post what your desired horsepower/torque goals are but a stock rod can handle this amount of horsepower.
A new timing chain set is just cheap insurance. I assume it is a double-chain set.
What is the condition of your radiator? Lucy came with a factory 4-core radiator since she has factory A/C so she handles parade duty and highway speeds without overheating with the stock clutch fan and a Mr Gasket wide-mouth thermostat. I did install a catch can/overflow bottle though that I got from Speedway Motors for about $35 back in the 90s and I mounted to the core support next to the radiator.
What about brakes, does this have factory front discs or drums. Any significant upgrade in "go" should be met with a similar investment in "whoa"! So if there are front drums, consider a front disc conversion. IF you have front discs, consider either rear discs or upgrading the fronts with better rotors, brake lines, pads, calipers, etc.
Hey Frosty. My horse power goals are to creep into the 400s. Depending on price to recondition rods I may just grab some forged ones from Butler.
New doubled roller timing chain csme with my cam kit,
My car came stock with disc on front and drums on rear. I'll be upgrading the front to bigger disc's on front with better calipers. I'll keep drums on the rear for now. But maybe one day do disc's. Been told rear disc's are less important.
My rad seems in good shape but I might up grade to aluminum Rad. Not sure if mine is 2 or 4 core. It has a aftermarket over flow alread. Here is some pics of the progress.
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4 hours ago, Frosty said:
Clearcrow - nice job on pushing through getting the motor out yourself.
Here are my thoughts on your motor.
I have a 455 in my '72 Lemans Sport convertible, we call her Lucy.
Lucy is bored .030 over - making it a 462
She has stock rods and new JRE oversized pistons. She has a new Eagle crank - stock throw
I run a hydraulic flat tappet cam from Melling. It is close to a Ram Air II or III grind. Matching Melling springs. I am running a roller tip stamped steel 1.6 rocker for durability. It is matched to my cam, so talk to your cam maker or a reputable engine builder to see what they recommend. There is nothing wrong with a flat tappet cam. Rollers are nice, but unless you are going to take advantage of that technology for some sort of high performance application, why waste the money?
Melling high volume, high pressure oil pump.
Edelbrock Performer intake - although a stock factory 4-bbl will work equally as good unless you are trying to save weight. Stock Rochester Qjet carb.
Ram Air Restoration reproduction HO/Ram Air exhaust manifolds
ARP stud bolts
Cleveland bearings
Heads are a stock 7K3 head with 2.11 intake, and 1.77 exhaust. They have been ported matched to the intake, polished, hardened valve seats installed, and a triple angle valve job. Nothing elaborate but requires a good machine shop.
Compression should be around 9.5-10:1 to keep it pump gas friendly.
Stock distributor running a Petronix Ignitor II (Ignitor III is available now) to eliminate points
Stock oil pump with windage tray, stock replacement oil pan from Melling.
Other things I will ask you to consider:
Transmission - rebuild vs. replacement. I suspect you have a TH350 ot TH400. Great trannys. however, have you thought about an overdrive transmission? A TH200 4R will bolt up to your Pontiac engine. It is a couple of inches longer than the 350/400, which means shortening your driveshaft. However, you would now have an overdrive transmission. So do some homework and see what it would take to find a used 200 4R case and have that rebuilt in lieu of your original transmission. It will help save a few bucks on fuel on long distance drives. Or consider a Gear Vendors Overdrive add-on.
Rear end - is it a one-legger? If so, are you going to add positraction?
Rear sway bar - if you car was built without a rear sway bar - add it! This means replacing the rear lower control arms with boxed ones that have a couple of holes drilled in them to mount the rear sway bar. Well worth the money. Kits are available at all the catalog oneline stores.
Front Sway Bar - find a 1 1/4" sway bar from a WS6 2nd-gen Trans Am out of a wrecking yard. This is bigger than the factory Lemans/GTO sway bar. Get new bushing and end links for the Trans Am from your local auto parts store and bolt it onto your Lemans.
Steering box - are you replacing it? If so look at a 3rd gen IROC Z28/Trans Am box, they are quick ratio boxes but are dimensionally the same as the Lemans/GTO box. You should be able to get a reman unit from O'Reillys or Autozone on the cheap.
That's for the input.
Originally was going to go flat tappet but a few people talked me into a roller set up. Money spent. The cam came matched with springs and timing set. And I will be using 1.5 roller rockers with it.
I was planning to do new forged I beam rods but will wait to see the condition of the stock rods.
I plan to go .030 over and +10 cc hypereutectic pistons.
Holley sniper efi, and holley hyperspark ignition and distributor.
I would love OD but not sure I want to swap trannys at the moment.
It's a th400 and a positraction rear end. Not sure abourt the gear ratio but I think k it's in the 3's
I am definitely getting a high ratio steering pump.
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Good afternoon to anyone checking in on this. It's been awhile since I I any updates to this. With the amount of snow we got up here in Manitoba I had to wait until last week before I was able to dig my car out of storage. So I started her up and drove around the block and parked it in the garage. From there I spent 2 afternoons getting things disconnected and boring a hoist and engine stand from friends. For a 51 year old can I was shocked how easy most the most I had to remove came out. Only had to cut off 1 bolt from the transmission cross member.
And I had to cut my 2 power steering hoses. Ordered new ones already.
I will be replacing the pump and steering box aswell. So wasn't to worried about cutting the lines.
When it came to Saturday. The day I had planned to pull the engine, my buddy got sick and bailed on me. Figured I got this far in my own might aswel keep going. I decided to go ahead and pull the engine and transmission as 1.
This was also my first time pulling an engine. I took my time and went slow. It was quite crowded in my 12x 24 garage but I was able to push the cat part way out. To give myself a few extra feet. It took about 45 min and was out.
I then pulled the starter off, the oil pan and separated the flywheel from the converter.
Next I will be mounting the engine to the stand and starting disassembly.
The transmission will be going in for a full rebuild and the engine is headed to Miller racing to be machined in a few more weeks.
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1 hour ago, TWO LANE BLACK TOP said:Easiest way...To Access the starter wires...Before lifting/Unbolting the engine...Drop the starter from Underneath...Support it so that it is not hanging on the wire harness...The wires will then be easily accessible...Then use a 5/16..??...Socket or wrench to take the wires loose from the solenoid...Having the starter off the engine can actually be beneficial...Clearance wise when removing the Mill...Anyway..
Are you removing the the engine and transmission together as one unit..??
Yes both are coming out together
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Getting ready for My engine rebuild (400)
in Pontiac General Discussion/Questions
Posted
THanks man. I tried to post a photo but I keep getting an error. I have his fedora sitting in the passenger seat a picture of him standing beside the car under the sun visor. As nd recently got a tattoo of the car on my forearm with "DAD" for the license plate, was a tribute piece to him