[MeanGreen1LE]

62. I utilized a flywheel lock gradually mesh teeth into flywheel as you install. Just snug it up my bolts were to soft to give much torque. I also placed car in gear for added protection. I did not want that breaking off.

63 removing balancer bolt.
This was an obsolete PITA. But I kinda knew it was going to be. Used a 15/16” impact socket. Probably is 24mm but 15/16” seemed to fit just a bit more snug.
Used heat gun for about 45s and tried with my ½” air cat. It’s never let me down but it would not touch it! Heated another minute and still no budge even after turning my regulator just past 100 psi. I walked up the hill to our farm shop and got a drewalt xr 20v impact. This thing is stout I’ve turned rusty threads smooth taking apart old trailers and such with it. And guess what nothing! Would not touch it. Finally ran heat gun for over 1.5 minutes till I was afraid I was going to melt something and hit it with the dewalr and bam success. !!

64 removing dampener
I used OTC#6667 for a puller. Kit comes with 4 rods use the next to longest one. (It works out perfect as the balancer is about to fall off as it bottoms out.).
Lay the rod into snout of crank.
Start threaded bolt into puller where the claws will orient towards the inside. (Pic 64a).
It will seem like you done have enough hands but push rod into rounded out end of bolt and position claws in the grooves shown in 64b.
When you get it all centered up use a ⅜ reached and start turning. Balancer will start walking off. As the bolt is bottoming out on puller the whole assembly should gently break free. If yours doesn’t you can take it off and use long rod to get the last bit.

65 go ahead and remove top bolt for tensioner and flop it out of the way.

[MeanGreen1LE]

67 revisiting sound tube delete cover to run wires for wideband. Decided to do this step while I was thinking about it and it is easiest to get to.
Make hole in sound tube delete cover big enough to pass power, ground, and O2 sensor cables. I sprayed some rustole to prevent rust. Some people use inside wiring but since you have to have O2 sensor go through I made power and ground in engine bay. Used posi lock to splice power onwards and small amount of adhesive on head ground strap to make it easier to connect later. (I love posi lock connectors!! Try them if you’ve never used them)
Adding add a fuse. Used location 42. It is supposed to be ignition. Several decent utube vids on this. I drilled hole for wiring to pass through so I could still secure lid. Put it here so it is barely seen.
Have to drill hole on top as well. Not as clean as I’d like. But it functions well enough.
Correlated tubing transition with heat shrink tubing. And yes another posi lock. I trust them more than any kind of crimp fitting and they are not Susceptible to vibration like solder.
Final! barely noticeable and should not really let anything in either. Lid closes fine.


68.
Wire was ran underneath distribution block along battery cable and then firewall mostly parallel with brake lines.
I added heat shield to this cable due to lots of people burning through this bundle.

69. Wiring for interceptor and aem wideband.
I did not get good pictures of this step but there are 4 or more you tube videos out there already. While things is a major PITA due to having to drill that hole. However I did it differently than what I’ve seen. I have a 90 degree drill and was able to drill from up top. This seemed so much better than the other ways I’ve seen. Be careful not to drill anything you don’t intend to. I don’t think I did but you can’t see crap in there. Also I used painters tape around the vent to prevent any accidental scratches with drill.
As with many others this pod does not fit well at all. If I had it to do over I’d look into a pillar pods. I know some are out now.
I’m going to have to do some doubled sided tape on it.

[MeanGreen1LE]

70 valley cover for di lifter and sod block off.
13mm x 8 bolts. (10 but Two were already removed with oil pump). Bolts have locating washers.
One 13mm bolt to remove di lifter.
Oil hole faces passenger,( may not matter). Lifter is in work chest
Lined valley with dilapidated but clean old socks to prevent dropping dod plugs. Used cbi streetcars for this as part of gpi kit. Small household hammer worked great. As per many other sources tap them in carefully until they bottom out and sound changes. Layed cover back for continued dust debri protection.
71 preparing to remove steering rack

Disconnecting steering shaft.3 bolts total bottom different. (For future lower bolt 37lb ft and upper [middle] bolt 27lbft and top) locktite on all. Look at orientation closely. A lot of components will have to line up correctly upon reassembly.
Top two bolts Manual states to turn wheel enough to get bolts out from up top. However since that was awkward for the bottom bolt and so much is removed from car it was actually significantly easier with bottom bolt to turn to remove from bottom. Loosen bolts enough you can remove them by hand from the top. Move wheel back completely straight.
Bottom bolt
After centering wheel I wedged ⅜” extension through inside shaft to keep wheel from moving much. ½” might work better but I had a spare in this size. Scary stuff
Painted orange at arrows to help on reassembly
72 steering rack continued
Make marks for reassembly. I’m thinking I won’t be able to get a torque wrench in there.
Measuring to try and ensure wheels stay straight see pics for where I measured. Came out almost the same. I love these big calipers!
Loosen to end 18mm bolts on tie rod end. Outer ones don’t touch inner!! I was so concerned about getting ends out of spindle without ruining my boots. I bought a front end service kit and I still couldn’t see that it was going to work well. To my unbelievable surprise they popped right out. I didn’t even have to hammer them!! Outer tie rods shoe 26ftlb and 40-50 degrees
Remove electrical connectors. Top is locking red tab connector. The bottom smaller one works a little different;the white tab moves but it’s contrary.
Remove 15mm bolt/nut x2. Use wrench on top to brace. Watch out for what it’s pushing against. These are throw away fasteners. Bagged and tagged to compare to the ones I bought.
Pop ends out of spindle carefully pull rack out. Heavy but still fine for one person. Success !!

[MeanGreen1LE]

73
pop wire holding clip off to access 10mm bolt that holds oil cooler line to pan.
Move cooler line away to get this clip off. Tough one.
Remove cooler lines. Front one stays pull it back out of way. Rear one comes off. Box-1
Remove oil level plug.
Remove 13mm bolt holding oil drain back tube to block. Release tube from pan. I just moved it aside for now.
Remove flywheel lock,(it’s already gone in pic) 10mm bolt and dust shield similar on driver side. They are in drawer of table top chest.
Remove can shaped heat shield and then there is an electrical connector underneath.

74 loosen engine mounts to where you can loosen them with fingers.

75a. Driver side brake scoop remove push pin and separate from inner duct. This one is a little hard because aux radiator scoop is still in place. Two stage push pin.
75b push pin is already removed from previous step remove from inner scoop.

76 more access to cradle remove
Passenger remove 4 t-15 bolts and panel.
Driver same panels are by bumper cover.

[MeanGreen1LE]

77 hoist stand under bell housing and stand under rear cradle to try and keep car from shifting. Honestly it is getting scary.

78 begin loosening engine mounts
Remove 15mm motor mount bolts that bolt to oil pan.
79 lossen. Remainder of bolts on engine mount. 3 more on driver 2 on passenger.

80 remove 13mm bolt each side that supports aux radiator.

81 4 cradle bolts on each side. Break loose

82 remove 10 mm tab holding this trans line down to cradle. Further loosen cradle bolts a little at a time. Watch to make sure notching is binding.

83. Remove sway bar end links. This may not strictly be necessary but it does allow more freedom of movement for removing pan and later installing.

[MeanGreen1LE]

84 front to back 3 long and 1 short cradle bolt plus top nut for engine mount.

85 13mm bolts x14 but one stays above oil cooler.
10mmx2 long bolts.
Didn’t get many pictures pan was an absolute PITA. Regretted project for a bit today.
Naked rotating assembly. Unplug variable oil pump sensor up front while you’re thinking about it. Oh and don’t break the stupid locking tab like I did. It’s the absolute worst sensor to have this happen due to its location and the fact you’d have to go through all this again to replace. (It has not arrived as of this writing but I did find the sensor to replace. If it was remotely accessible I wouldn’t have bothered.)
Begin scraping old gasket off. I Mostly used a plastic razor blade. I took baffle off to get little slivers of gasket and dust that were getting into pan. www ahead and cleaned out pan real good. I pulled rubber gaskets out while scraping to prevent getting them dirty.
Of course I managed to get rtv in oil pan. Took baffle out to clean it reall well underneath. It has 10x 10mm bolts. The bolt in the valley of the pan is fiffetent. Torque to 88 inch lbs

The next few steps I neglected to
Get many pics. I’ve honestly had a lot of frustration with this project lately with lots going wrong.

[MeanGreen1LE]

86 removing timing cover. 13mm x 10 bolts. Bottom two are longer.
Bolts laid out
Beneath cover
Cleaned up cover. Notice variable pressure control solenoid.
87 oil pump. 4x13mm bolts and slide off.
Warning!! If you plan to reuse your existing pump you are supposed to use alignment tools. I’ve heard a lot of bad stories with pumps so I’m putting on a katech pump.

88 lining up timing marks. Turn crank until it is dot to dot. This is a good time to lay condensor down diagonally so you can see and pull cam in a bit.
This is a what not to do scenario. Upon reassembly if your off a toothe it will be pretty obvious when you look straight in like this. I’ll admit I looked at it a lot. Taking pics and drawing lines does help.
Correct lines as stated. When you take a squared photo, (holding your phone perpendicular to ground). You can see how the line appears to run through cam bolt and crank bolt as well as through arrow and dot. Remove camshaft actuator bolt. This will not be reused for reassemble but is handy for checking things.
Phaser in all its glory. Add safety bolt before proceeding to limiter or lockout kit.

[MeanGreen1LE]

88 lining up timing marks. Turn crank until it is dot to dot. This is a good time to lay condensor down diagonally so you can see and pull cam in a bit.
This is a what not to do scenario. Upon reassembly if your off a toothe it will be pretty obvious when you look straight in like this. I’ll admit I looked at it a lot. Taking pics and drawing lines does help.
Correct lines as stated. When you take a squared photo, (holding your phone perpendicular to ground). You can see how the line appears to run through cam bolt and crank bolt as well as through arrow and dot. Remove camshaft actuator bolt. This will not be reused for reassemble but is handy for checking things.
Phaser in all its glory. Add safety bolt before proceeding to limiter or lockout kit.

89 cam time!! Remove 4 cam retainer bolts I think they are t-40 torx, be careful they have thread sealant and can round out easily.
Look at all these parts!! After removing cam retainer plate gently remove stock cam.
Install time , (insert obligatory raunchy cam install comment here). Lube it up really well not only does it protect the cam journals and bearings but makes it easier to. I love this Lucas stuff because it’s so viscous.
She’s all in. It really has been the most satisfying part so far. Side not don’t forget to clean up the rtv off the block. I wish I would have done it before swapping cam. Notice position of dowel blue arrow
Wipe off assembly lube from where retainer plate goes. Use a smidge of blue loctite and torque to 11 foot pounds.

90 cam phaser lockout kit. There are several good guides for this so I won’t go into detail. Use tool to move spring away from pin bolt and catch it with clip. Loosen bolt in yellow ½ turn only. Remove pin bolt and green arrow bolts. Use torx bits actually torque plus. Temporarily remove safety bolt then
Swing cover over and insert block. Swing it back and reassemble add safety bolt back unless you’re feeling brave. Torque all bolts to 85 inch lbs.

[MeanGreen1LE]

91 beauty break. Since I won’t have the camaro covers this wiring harness will be exposed so I covered it with this.

92 cleaning up heads.
I have oil and antifreeze in bolt holes and it’s tough to get out. Cut this reusable straw and stuck it in sprayer chuck. When pushed almost all the way to bottom of hole it does awesome but will spray everywhere so watch out.
Used this arp thread chaser. But it’s annoying because it’s to short.

93 preparing for piston to valve check. Based on the measurements I provided them gpi said I should have .035-.040” clearance with no gasket. Added lifter tray to keep lifters oriented.
Added solid lifters that were made earlier.
Notice checker springs on cylinder #1. Added about 4 bolts spread around. Use adjustable pushrod to find zero lash on intake and exhaust. My exhaust and intake were notable different. I’m afraid I’m going to have to buy different sized pushrods. Anyhow careful spin engine to feel for any binding. All good with a ½ inch ratchet. Again sorry no pictures but set up a dial indicator perpendicular to rocker arm where arm of dial indicator will be pushed straight on. Look for valve clearance by pushing rocker down by hand over what it is being moved by pushrod. The amount it will move by hand is the pvc for that particular point. Generally exhaust will have minimum clearance 10-15 degrees btdc and intake will be 10-15 degrees atdc.
To my absolute horror somewhere around 10 degrees atdc I had zero clearance NONE!! I was confused because I had turned it freely multiple times with absolutely no noticeable difference anywhere. 🤬😡🤮😢. I removed the heads and examined scared for damage. Found this little mark on piston where basically carbon was worn away. I could not see a thing on valve. While I still have concern for bent valve. I think I lucked out and am fine. For one I remember reading you could not use adjustable pushrods against regular valve springs so I think they might even bend first?

So it’s back to the drawing board. I’m looking at thicker gaskets, fly cutting. 🤷🏻*♂️

[MeanGreen1LE]

94 I had not planned to degree my cam because I don’t see that you can do much about it anyways. Plus to be honest I had never done it. Well since my cam is hitting when it wasn’t supposed to I thought it would be a great idea to make sure it was cut and installed correctly.

Well I live out in the middle of nowhere and I’d burn what I had left of the day to attemp to get a degree wheel at oreillys, I’m doubtful they even had one. So….

Meet my homemade degree wheel. It is a worn down blade from a metal chop saw. I also found this really cool site where you can enter the specs for your actual cam and print it. https://www.blocklayer.com/degree-wheel.aspx

This was a new one for me but I’m so stoked that I figured it out and the cam specs were correct.
All the measurements I took intake centerline and valve opening and closing at .050” were less than 1 degree different. Sweet!

[MeanGreen1LE]

95 stinking gaskets are on back order due to Biden bucks! So back to the drawing board. Got in touch with David at lindy tools. Awesome old school hot rodder!!
Pistons are .033 “down at 10 degrees atdc add .028” for gasket. That .061 take back about .005 for protective tape. Just about the closest you can get angle wise call it .055 for ease. Ordered his fly cutting tool.

96. Fast fish front crank seal. Used 1 ⅞” socket to pop it and then install. Seal will be flush with most of cover on outside, metal right next to it comes out past). It will sit flush inside. I did use TINY amount of blue loctite as I had seen online but gpi said they just install dry. Again I used tiny bit just to hold it better.

[MeanGreen1LE]

97
Valve lifter oil manifold install
Lifter install 106in/lbs remember lash cap if it applies to your build.
98
Install valley plate two passes 13mm bolts 11ft/lb then 22ft/lb

99 ensuring proper di lifter preload.
Using dial indicator find highest point on fuel lobe. Remove gasket and larger spring. See if the two bolts will tighten all the way down by hand. If you can your preload is not to high. Congrats.
Now find the lowest or base circle on fuel lob. I had to apply pressure to indicator because lifter would not fall consistently down through plastic holder. Now lay pump onto lifter. If you have space and it wobbles a tad you are golden and there is enough preload to keep it on the lobe at all times. If either one of these scenarios is not right you’re going to need a different lash cap. Hopefully like mine it does. Gpi sent the correct one. I laid pump aside again so I’m not turning against it constantly or luring wear on it.
100 tighten cam actuator bolt 48 lbs/ft +90 degrees remember to put new in if not already done.
Oil pump install. Lots of scary failures with oil pump. Hopefully you left alignment plates if you’re reusing I bought a katec blueprinted one. Lots of money but worth it to me for peace of mind. Torque sequence shown to 18ft lbs. remember to plug in variable pump connection in next step when putting cover back on. I did not take picture of cover to show where to put rtv. It’s basically 3mm except for around bottom ears. See torque sequence 18ftlbs. 2 longer bolts go in bottom.

[MeanGreen1LE]

101 As previously mentioned I’m going to be fly cutting my pistons a bit. So I have to disassemble the mast heads. After several attempts I finally got someone to answer me
at mast and found what valve seals they use.
These heads are beautiful it’s a shame there customer service is awful.

102
Oil pan install.
Lift car and place hoist stand under bell housing. Remove engine mount nut, then loosen mounts from block. Raise engine an inch or so. Gradually loosen 8 cradle bolts.
Then lower cradle to where it hangs from suspension. Move motor mounts out of way for installing oil pan.
To save time I wrote torque sequence on pan. It says you only have 10 minutes from application of rtv to final torque. I’ve see people say this system is better but I hate it. I’m already concerned about leaks because you have to go so deep to fix it. The pressure of having one shot. Awful. I also worry I didn’t get enough on. Ugh! Definitely get a helper and using another hoist stand is ideal. It’s not easy to snake pan up without screwing up stupid rtv.
Main bolts get 18ft lbs and tall skinnies in back get 106 inch lbs.
ok breath surely it won’t leak 😬
Now begin to gradually pull together motor mount and cradle. When cradle is lined up enough to start all bolts torque engine mount brackets to 43 lbs feet. Then gradually install bolts for cradle until taught. I used new bolts for these as they are supposed to be single use. Torque to 74 ft lbs.

103 ,(previous pic 77) install Lower bell housing bolts. 37 ft lbs
(Previous pic 78-2) reinstall 10mm bolt and bracket.

[MeanGreen1LE]

104 reinstall aux radiator support brackets ,(see previous pic 80) torque to 16 ft lbs
(Pic 82) reattach

105 (see pic 83) reinstall sway bars. Torque to 96 lbs feet. Use loctite. These are technically single use. Discovered afterwards here and I can change them whenever. Probably won’t they aren’t going anywhere.

106 torque engine nut to 52 lbs feet. Easier after you lower car.
Atach oil level plug (73-4)
Attach trans line bracket (73-1)
Used bags (77, 78, 80, 85 and 85-1)


So fly cutting the heads didn’t go well to say the least. First cut was perfect took tiny smudge and likely .025-.030” just like I wanted. My brother was helping and did the next one. Well something wasn’t right because it just seemed to take to long to get they clean change in alike when it stopped cutting. I had him stop and oh crap it cut a lot more. The collar must have slipped we tightened it with a .025 just like we did the first one. So frustrated. But we checked it out and on the deepest part it was 80 something though. Ok so considering that’s a pretty normal amount for more aggressive cams. I began to wrap my mind around how this was ok. If I can just make the others match. Started looking into figures and estimating the volume of the cuts and I don’t think I’d be losing that much compressions and if I can get them closer it will be fine.
So I began the process of trying to get them within like 5-6 though. I was using a dial indicator to check every little bit because I didn’t trust the tool at this point. It’s been a few days but I think I was shooting for about .175” of top to bottom travel from seat to cutting surface. It was agonizing trying to sneak up on it. The tool is maybe getting dull by this point seems like it does nothing half the time. The chuck of my drill is slipping very often as well.