Plastic Fantastic 2

and the repair stuff..
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plan is to bring it up to the attached garage and put the filler on then work on it at the shop.... but after SEMA...edited
 
and worked on this.... the question is do I really want to do the work to make it work or simply do a pan? only time will tell
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moved back 1/4"
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blurry.... the hood still sits a bit high....
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As you all probably know, I do lots of projects - and because I'm totally ADD I do multiple at a time. Right now I'm doing a 1964 Buick wagon (and I just finished a fuel system on a 70 Toyota FJ40)....

but this I think might be interesting here and I would love to hear opinions - even if it's for depth of knowledge in one place for someone doing something similar.

With that set up, I have a 2004 6.0 LS from a Denali, it's not the high hp one, but its 325 hp was adequate. The Denali was just one, continuous electrical nightmare so it's gone and the motor is here. I was going to just swap cams, I should have left well enough alone but here I am at deciding whether or not to go all in.

The motor had 200k and was starting to show low oil pressure.

here's its test fit
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plugs looked fine
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started collecting the basics, the oil pan is wayyyy too deep, so it's replaced
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flywheel because it was 4L65e now 4L80e
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headers
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intake because the truck intake won't fit (and I may, in the end not use it)
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I hate egr on these things... that coating is egr related
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test fit without the pan
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I got lucky that this actually fits (it's close to the steering box)
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Sig Erson cam
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now just swap the pan... just
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I bought springs because it's a 200k motor, but this is where it started going sideways (and it was clean inside)
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the cam looks like it was literally chattering in the bore....
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not just that but every rocker is worn
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of course, the chain was loose - however I was going to replace the oil pump anyway
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between the chattering, the loose rockers, and the strange wear on the cam - my 'line' not pulling the heads was about to get crossed
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I had to pull the cam anyway (for the new cam) but I didn't expect literal steps on the cam and it was time to look further
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interestingly, the inside of this motor looks good (regular oil changes)
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however, if you look close, you'll see where the push rods where hitting the heads
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then I pulled the lifters.... very worn
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however, the rod and main bearings were perfect
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other then the build up due to EGR valve, it looks rebuildable
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crank even looks fine
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and finally the cam bearings....
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I have new heads, but the block came back with egg shaped bores (not much, mind you, but still a .0015 taper and .002 out of round).... I could throw it together, but part of me figures in for a penny I might as well finish it.... cost is roughly 2k for a new rotating assembly with a longer stroke and I could play with the compression ratio if I actually decide on substantial boost .... if I don't stroke it, it's still a balance, rod press and bore but save about 1k ..... and would still get the benefit of playing with the compression ratio...

thoughts?
 
picture of head gasket kit that I think is poorly described (thought I was only getting MLS head gaskets, not a set)
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hmmm.... anti-gravity device is faulty
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electric requires moving '40, which would mean opening the door (it's 20 degrees outside), and letting the heat out of the shop
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wait, I have another option
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anti-gravity enabled
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time to hit my thumb...err... mark rods
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plan b, I'm still artistic with my dremel
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forgot about this catch basin on my washing cabinet.... filled with sludge but very little sludge in tank (win)
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clean pistons
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and honing
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then clean oil passages
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which brings me to a question... why 2 holes in the cam bearings?edited there are not two galleys....
 
new, rebuilt heads arrived
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I'll leave these original size, sorry for the slow load times

two holes... why? only one oil passage
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here's the weld/connection point - I am guessing but it may be part of the problem of the wear because that would divert oil from the bearing - especially if it was tight up against the oil feed hole
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in this picture, you can even see where the oil was diverted out of the bearing
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this surface has a very rough texture
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and then what about the high and low spots of the bearing? presumptively it's a round hole so why would there be pressure points (the shiny)?
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anyway, puzzling and something I've never seen before
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so I have basically 5 months to make this track-ready.... and we start today, slllloooowwwwwlllly
but it was a start
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I need to put these in the front shocks
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update .... compare the new cam bearings to the old.... thinking perhaps someone noticed there was a problem beside me
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another coat of paint, I'm giving the paint a good chance to set up (it has been kind of cold for painting) but plan on slapping this together 'next'
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Oh were these a pain to get out
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then realized I didn't have the right bushings... so I ordered and went onto the next.... bumper
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first cut a space
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then cut and weld the old bumper brackets in place
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and the reason why - I'm keeping the pop up lights but making them lighter and not reliant on vacuum
first remove everything inside
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then start test fitting
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this opens perfectly that if I was using the stock lights and bezel, it'd fit
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my hope is to build brackets so that someone could simply buy the linear actuators, cut a slot then put it in their car as well... and thinking very cheap, like less then $25 cheap (for the brackets - the actuators are $40 each)...edited
 
that's a cool idea. and eliminates all low vacuum worries for sure

and the motors actuators are good to 225 lbs.... and it gets weight off the nose.... and the vacuum issue is no issue, best of all - I'm pretty sure I can run these with existing wiring. The stock, GM light switch has power in the off position - at worst it's one wire to the front, but I think there's power to the closed switch (which turns the light off when it's closed.... if there is, that's what will close the light.

the actuator itself is IP67 rated - that means dust proof and can be immersed in water. I expect it to have reasonable longevity.... but most of all, be rid of the vacuum. Open time/Close time is less then 3 seconds.

and the other thing - I want to put smaller lights in the space, thus the amount the light opens is adjustable.... that video of it opening is about how far I'm going to open it and it will get some combination of LED and projector headlights.... and the other goal, most other conversions are in the 450-750 range, if you keep your stock headlights, this should be less then 200 and likely closer to 100 with the actuators.... I really hope that if it works that I can sell to a supplier who would then put it in the market.... and final edition may eliminate the need to cut the bucket...
 
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