[Tim M]

h018871: Thanks...admittedly, 2 years has been focused on rebuilding an Evo 5 project...time to get this one back on the road!

Great Saturday today - lots of work. Finished trans install - no more tranny jack!



Exhaust manifolds went in (had to pull the passenger side due to the spiraling dip stick conflict):



and



If I had thought of it, I may have ground the ports a bit more smooth:



But who knows if that would help based on the tiny 'collector' 650+ HP runs through.

Also nearly complete with the alternator...the side block bolt is a challenge. Likely could have installed this on the engine stand. Same with the balancer...



Also torqued the camshaft bolt (48 ft/lbs +90 degrees) once we had the driveshaft back in (stepped on the brakes in gear).

[Tim M]

New battery ordered since the 2018 model and sitting for 2 years is dead.

Also, installed the balancer tonight - easy, peasy with the correct tools!

[Tim M]

Next is a new waterpump/assembly...bit of a challenge getting all the hose connections simultaneously:



Installed with pulleys/tensioner:



Even Chevy realizes the thermostat barb is fragile - yellow tagged. Within is a Katech 174 degree thermostat:



And the coolant tank:



Exhaust is in position to be lifted in to place...real challenge with two set of hands...may enlist a helper...

[Tim M]

Rockauto came to the rescue in record time for overseas shipping! Possibly the final piece of the puzzle...mechanical fuel pump lifter:



Need to check the installed height with the 32% fuel lobe the Cam Motion camshaft comes with...

[Tim M]

In the fuel pump lifter went...added an LS7 valve cap (shim / .060 inch) and checked full lift and on the 'heel' of the cam. No issue so installed the fuel pump for the final time and pulled the new fuel lines out of the bag.



Shim:



Fuel feed:



Fuel cross over:



Expect good progress tomorrow...getting chilly here - no salt on the roads yet!

[Tim M]

Assembled the recently blueprinted LT4 injectors into the rails:



and installed:

[oldman]

Originally Posted by Tim M

Very slow movement due to travel and another project...

Received my precision oil dumbbell...because I needed one and seems like a good idea:



The custom Cam Motion camshaft arrived. Smooth idle, yet more power, and no Displacement on Demand lifters! Hoping for an occasional/reliable 7000 rpm redline:



Specs:



Also ordered a couple of fuel pump shims due to the 32% fuel pump lobe on the cam...one from Comp Cams (6 MM) and the other from GM:



Also dropped the block (love the aluminum weight!), crank, pistons to a trusted machine shop for reconfirmation of specs before heading to assembly. I haven't gotten the rods prepped for the same treatment. Hopefully it will make 650 CHP...;-)

From memory that cam looks like my cam specs, but I did not get a fancy cam card (cause I custom ordered it) LOL... it is an Oldman Cam. I luv that fancy oil pump. You also answered my question about the LS bearings...

[Tim M]

Oldman - glad to help!

Applied battery power to the car after 2 years of sitting - no magic smoke escaped!

Also installed new O2 sensors - replacing the previous that were possibly oil contaminated from the failure:

[Tim M]

Great progress this weekend...exhaust is on and majority of the ancillaries along with the rad fan installed.

Pulled the valve covers to 'prelub' the valvetrain a bit and came across only what an idiot would do - messing up the nice valve cover gasket. Not sure how I did that, but glad I found it:



Swapped the 2.7 inch Griptec pulley for OEM size 2.5 inch. Expect the larger engine/longer duration cam to 'lose' quite a bit of boost. Very quick shipping - kudos to Griptec!:




10 qts going in!...No leaks yet!:



Ready for the blower!:

[Tim M]

Success! Laid the blower in place and snapped all the other connections home, filled it with water (coolant later to avoid mess if any leaks):



...did a couple of no fuel 'starts' to build oil pressure and then hit the 'key'! Rumbled to life after over 2 years dormant with a bit of lifter clatter...(video below):



Let is idle for a few minutes and then mild revs to 2500 rpm...some misses as it is still on the old 376 program, but no worries. Lifters stopped clattering and shut it down at 195 degrees with a smile! Warm oil pressure was 35 psi at idle. Now draining the oil for fresh batch (10 quarts is a lot of oil!):



Today was a long time coming!

[Tim M]

Got the car on the ground finally - took some time as it was as high as the jackstands would go...



Then commenced with a short drive for some break in decels...reminds me how nice this car is not driving it for '2' years! Clutch so light, ride so smooth, V8 music...hope the engine holds together!

Few more parts installed...last one will be the blower reservoir (not making any boost for awhile so...)

Plan to upload the latest Janetty program and get a few miles on it this weekend.

[wnta1ss]

Originally Posted by Tim M

Swapped the 2.7 inch Griptec pulley for OEM size 2.5 inch. Expect the larger engine/longer duration cam to 'loose' quite a bit of boost. Very quick shipping - kudos to Griptec!:

Don't focus on the 'boost' number because it's really not important. What actually matters is how much air you're pushing, and going from a 2.7 blower pulley down to a 2.5 means spinning the blower faster, and therefore pushing more air.

[Tim M]

wnta1ss: Good point. Likely a better response for my change back to OEM is I should no longer be limited due to compression/low timing on pump gas I run. The blower is certainly now on the small side so...we will see how it turns out.

[Tim M]

Decided to go ahead and add the Rotofab (non-Big Gulp) intake...been sitting in the office for like 3 years!



And now 150 miles on the combination...still working on refining the initial tune: