VegasJen
Formerly Known as Clutchdust
Hey guys. It's been a while since I spent any time here. I have occasionally popped in from time to time to ask questions, because this is the forum where people actually know what they're talking about.
Anyway, I got vacationed over in that other place for a month. They've gone all woke and you get punished for wrong think.
Glad to see this place is still here, although it looks like it's a pretty small core group now.
But some of you probably remember what i was going through back in the day. Just an update, that's all done. Now I'm spending time actually working on things I want to work on. And that's not cars so much any more. I still have my projects and I want to get them done, but my ambition has been tempered by age and budget.
Getting ready to take the '81 down one more time. I bought a 4-bolt block and AFR heads for it years ago, but the project got put on the back burner like everything else. The engine that's in there now is strong, but I think I would be right on the edge of keeping it together if I built it the way I want with the AFR heads and cam. So that engine, as fresh as it is, is coming out and is going to be a donor short block for my Suburban.
I bought the Suburban about three years ago from a couple of body guys who tried to figure out why it wouldn't start. In typical fashion for a 90s era SBC it had cracked heads and the cylinders were rusted. This I didn't know when I bought it. I was under the impression it had only been sitting for a few months. I found out after the fact it had been sitting for more than three years. I thought I was going to get lucky and have an easy fix, and it would have been if I had gotten to it before the pistons rusted into the cylinders. Turns out the only reason it went down is because the distributor gear lost three teeth. If the geniuses had bothered to check the distributor for rotation, they would have found that then. Unfortunately, by the time I got to it, the pistons were so rusted into the bores that I literally had to beat them out with a wood 4x4 and 3 pound mallet. But I just wanted to get it back on the road so I honed the cylinders and dropped in stock pistons. Sadly, I'm burning almost as much oil as I'm pumping out of it due to the blow-by.
So I'm using the vette short block, fresh pistons and the reman heads I bought 3 years ago and sealing up that Suburban engine. I figure some full length headers, 1.6 rockers and an MSD and it should be a pretty stout little tow engine. That's the plan anyway. Not really going to do much else to that. I just want it to be a strong and reliable truck that I can occasionally use to tow, especially if I ever get my little track car put together.
The c5 has been a nightmare for the last month. I have an overheating problem I have not been able to track down. I have replaced the 'stat. I ran an open orifice. I've made sure my fans come on. I've pulled the radiator and made sure it's not blocked. I've put seal tape all around it to make sure I don't have air escaping. I pulled the water pump and made sure the impellor is not loose on the shaft. I can't think of anything else to do at this point, but literally within minutes the thing is up to 240*. I'm at my wit's end on this one. And since my Sonic went down last year, it has been my DD the whole time.
And the Sonic is a whole different problem! Last year it blew a head gasket, so I pulled the head off and got it machined. I was in school back in the spring because the classes were required for work so I was busy day and night between work and school all spring. Then two weeks after school let out my dad passed, so I went back to spend some time with my mom. That's when I got the call from my employer that because of the China virus, they had to let me go. So I spent most of the summer back east with mom. Then I started school full time last fall. I finally got the engine all put back together around the end of the year but I again went back to spend a couple weeks with mom between semesters. Finally got the engine back in over spring break a couple months ago. Starts up and runs like a champ! Only problem is the car doesn't move! No idea why. The weird thing is I can put it in any gear with the engine running and the car doesn't move. It's FWD so I had to fight with it to get the engine to drop back in but everything seemed to line up. No idea what's going on there but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pull the engine back out to see what failed.
Seems like it never ends. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just one project at a time. And I had money. I should be so lucky.
Anyway, I got vacationed over in that other place for a month. They've gone all woke and you get punished for wrong think.
Glad to see this place is still here, although it looks like it's a pretty small core group now.
But some of you probably remember what i was going through back in the day. Just an update, that's all done. Now I'm spending time actually working on things I want to work on. And that's not cars so much any more. I still have my projects and I want to get them done, but my ambition has been tempered by age and budget.
Getting ready to take the '81 down one more time. I bought a 4-bolt block and AFR heads for it years ago, but the project got put on the back burner like everything else. The engine that's in there now is strong, but I think I would be right on the edge of keeping it together if I built it the way I want with the AFR heads and cam. So that engine, as fresh as it is, is coming out and is going to be a donor short block for my Suburban.
I bought the Suburban about three years ago from a couple of body guys who tried to figure out why it wouldn't start. In typical fashion for a 90s era SBC it had cracked heads and the cylinders were rusted. This I didn't know when I bought it. I was under the impression it had only been sitting for a few months. I found out after the fact it had been sitting for more than three years. I thought I was going to get lucky and have an easy fix, and it would have been if I had gotten to it before the pistons rusted into the cylinders. Turns out the only reason it went down is because the distributor gear lost three teeth. If the geniuses had bothered to check the distributor for rotation, they would have found that then. Unfortunately, by the time I got to it, the pistons were so rusted into the bores that I literally had to beat them out with a wood 4x4 and 3 pound mallet. But I just wanted to get it back on the road so I honed the cylinders and dropped in stock pistons. Sadly, I'm burning almost as much oil as I'm pumping out of it due to the blow-by.
So I'm using the vette short block, fresh pistons and the reman heads I bought 3 years ago and sealing up that Suburban engine. I figure some full length headers, 1.6 rockers and an MSD and it should be a pretty stout little tow engine. That's the plan anyway. Not really going to do much else to that. I just want it to be a strong and reliable truck that I can occasionally use to tow, especially if I ever get my little track car put together.
The c5 has been a nightmare for the last month. I have an overheating problem I have not been able to track down. I have replaced the 'stat. I ran an open orifice. I've made sure my fans come on. I've pulled the radiator and made sure it's not blocked. I've put seal tape all around it to make sure I don't have air escaping. I pulled the water pump and made sure the impellor is not loose on the shaft. I can't think of anything else to do at this point, but literally within minutes the thing is up to 240*. I'm at my wit's end on this one. And since my Sonic went down last year, it has been my DD the whole time.
And the Sonic is a whole different problem! Last year it blew a head gasket, so I pulled the head off and got it machined. I was in school back in the spring because the classes were required for work so I was busy day and night between work and school all spring. Then two weeks after school let out my dad passed, so I went back to spend some time with my mom. That's when I got the call from my employer that because of the China virus, they had to let me go. So I spent most of the summer back east with mom. Then I started school full time last fall. I finally got the engine all put back together around the end of the year but I again went back to spend a couple weeks with mom between semesters. Finally got the engine back in over spring break a couple months ago. Starts up and runs like a champ! Only problem is the car doesn't move! No idea why. The weird thing is I can put it in any gear with the engine running and the car doesn't move. It's FWD so I had to fight with it to get the engine to drop back in but everything seemed to line up. No idea what's going on there but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pull the engine back out to see what failed.
Seems like it never ends. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just one project at a time. And I had money. I should be so lucky.