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The bad oil change.


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#76 rexy

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Posted 28 December 2021 - 04:52 PM

Well it’s finally back together.

 

It took almost forever for the pistons to appear and even longer for the custom cosmetic head gaskets. The bits were finally on deck in late late October and the engine was complete first week of November.

 

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A gentle run in on the dyno and then home at last.

 

 

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Then the roadblock that is life got in the way. So bit by bit stuff got done until it was ready to test fire on Christmas Day.

 

Always a nervous time but there were no fuel leaks and nothing caught fire when I keyed power on. It even started first time which I can’t recall ever happening to me. It’s survived a few shakedown runs but of all the weird problems it’s now developed a starter disengagement issue. Hopefully that and a minor bonnet clearance issue will get sorted when I have some time.

 

 

 

 



#77 LXCHEV

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Posted 28 December 2021 - 09:30 PM

Excellent. What are the specs on the new setup? Did you do power runs?

#78 rexy

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Posted 29 December 2021 - 08:10 PM

Hi Brett,

 

Its your standard style aftermarket combo. Dart big M block, AFR rectangle port heads, forged pistons on steel rods etc etc.

The custom pistons were required as the bores are now 4.65 inches which with a 4.25 stroke crank makes 577 cubic inches.

 

I told them I wanted to make bulk torque rather than top end power and that it would probably never see more than 5500rpm. After all the dramas with the prior setup I wanted to go to a medium size solid cam like I have in the yellow LJ. The old hyd roller was gigantic with 274/282 duration at 50 thou and .702/.704 valve lift. The new solid is a baby by comparison at 248/248 at 50 thou and .595/.595 valve lift. 
 

Compression now 10.6:1, down from 11.2. I spent a few bucks changing the sump for a shallower one that no longer hangs below the crossmember and bought an edelbrock rpm air gap to replace the old C 454 I was running.

 

On the dyno it made 675hp at 5500rpm but was running out of cam and manifold well before then - 622hp at 4500! Peak torque was 740lbft.

 

I’ve only done a couple of long blockies so far but it certainly seems to be what I was hoping for. Much better low end than the old combo and bulk power with a squeeze of the right pedal. Very tempted to put the old smaller converter back into it. The C 454 is a much bigger manifold and might go back on it at some stage.

 

Opening the secondaries and topping 5000rpm are likely to be rarely required events!

 

 

 



#79 LXCHEV

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Posted 29 December 2021 - 09:12 PM

Awesome, sounds like a super good improvement, but still an animal!

#80 rexy

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Posted 14 January 2022 - 02:58 PM

So it wasn’t a starter motor issue after all.

 

After the first start and 10 minutes of letting everything warm up I let it sit for a while while I was doing some odds and ends and when I went to restart it there was a horrible metal on metal sounding noise that lasted about 10 seconds before disappearing. Happened every single start and when I looked under the car while it was being cranked with the coil disconnected it seemed the starter wasn’t disengaging completely. Beginner mistake.

 

So I shimmed it out bit by bit without any change in the noise. Starting to get nervous about taking teeth off the flexplate I looked further afield. The noise was very difficult to localise, even using the old hose in the ear trick.

 

Unbolted the converter from the flexplate and noise still there so not the trans.

 

Starting to get a bit frustrated and worried by this point

 

Thought about pulling a rocker cover off and draining the oil but thought better of it. Given the engine was fine on the dyno it seemed unlikely it now had a problem after a short period of use. The disappearance of the noise after a brief period suggested a terminal bearing, lifter or rocker problem was unlikely.

 

Sent a video to the engine builder and after a reassuring conversation I got around to doing some other what I thought were low probability checks.

 

Pulled the power steering and alternator belts off and lo and behold no noise on startup. Reconnected them one by one and still no noise. The alternator belt was brand new and not as tight as it could have been so that seems to have been the cause.

 

I could have sworn it was a metal on metal rotating noise.



#81 Shiney005

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Posted 14 January 2022 - 08:04 PM

One of my tractors has a big flat Serpentine belt, and for about ten minutes after it gets a clean with the high pressure washer, it makes a horrible racket. I wouldn't say it sounds metallic, but it doesn't sound like a belt either. 



#82 Heath

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Posted 15 January 2022 - 01:14 PM

Perfect street car motor in anyone's language.

 

Holy moly.



#83 rexy

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Posted 23 June 2022 - 02:55 PM

Did the first oil change the other week.

 

Decided i might as well try the old manifold so spent a bit of time rubbing the cracked ceramic coat off it an got it recoated by HPC in Leongatha. 

 

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Best $280 i have spent in recent times.

 

After a run or two around the burbs I dropped the oil.

 

The drain plug had some fur on it.

 

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All expected sludgy stuff from normal break in.



#84 LXCHEV

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Posted 23 June 2022 - 03:06 PM

How exactly did you remove the old ceramic coating? I have an intake manifold that looks like yours (HPC coated 20 years ago and still looks like new). However my extractors look terrible - would love to re-coat one day.

 

Anyway, great stuff with the oil change - happy days!



#85 rexy

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Posted 23 June 2022 - 05:21 PM

Hi Brett,

 

I have done this a few times now and the big not so secret tip is to make the item as smooth as possible before you sent it to be coated.

The coating can be chemically stripped but with the last two sets of extractors i have done and this manifold I spent many ours going over them.

 

With the pipes I used a flap disc to do most of the work - sharp edges, cleaning up welds and blending the areas where the coating was still ok with the areas where rust or gravel rash was present.

 

The intake manifold i rubbed by hand until I was happy with it. Removed a few casting dags and plug welded some not needed bolt holes.

 

Another tip is to run a round file through all the bolt holes to make allowance from the thickness of the coating. The pipes on the hatch were not quite right with the bolt holes lining up so i made sure i corrected that before sending them away.

 

I suppose its like most things - the more effort put into preparation, the better the results!

 

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Good example of before and after.

 

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These ones had done a hard 15+ years as a daily driver.Most of the coating was gone below the primaries on the road facing surface with lots of surface rust lifting the coating. Now looking better than ever.






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