Oh and I have 4 new pics...more tomorrow

That nosedrive was UGLY. Was it like that when you pulled it? Tell me that'* not SC oil.

*sigh* yes...yes it is.

I couldn't stand looking at the ugly supercharger anymore so I ordered a new one. Well its new to me but its a rebuild. www.Canadiansupercharger.com gave me a deal at $550 so I'm not complaining. Great thing is that covers *&h both ways. I worked late as hell last night and didn't have a chance to pull more parts off but today should be a different story. I'm going to the store in a minute to get a rubber mallet to take that pesky intake manifold off. Ask questions if you wanna.

Jason

So after almost busting my ratchet trying to take off the head bolts I went to the store and got a solid "Big Boy" as I like to call it. Finally got those off and took a look inside. Ya know I was surely expecting way worse. The cylinder walls are fairly clean and smooth, the pistons don't have too much carbon buildup and the valves are better than the last engine I was in ('79 Pontiac 400cid). I would have never guessed it had 109k hard miles on it and was hit SEVERAL times with nitrous. Wanna see for yourself? PULL YOUR OWN DAMN ENGINE! ....or go check out the new pics I have posted. Post some damn comments fools!

So I pulled 90% of the rest of the parts today. Everything so far has been pretty good besides a head gasket, supercharger gasket (? see above), and a recently found warped valve umbrella seal. But I haven't pulled the valves on the other head yet so we'll see. The valves, valve springs, valve spring retainers and various nuts and bolts are currently soaking in a solvent. As soon as I get them out and cleaned I can decide if I need to replace them. I probably will just for *****-n-giggles and to make sure I won't have to dig in there again in 4000miles. I'm going to have cracks checked Magnaflux style and the price ranges locally from $12-25 each. Speaking of price, I'm debating replacing the pistons. They should be replaced in really any rebuild but at $73 each its not going to keep the price within budget. What do you guys think, replace or machine? Remember this is going to be driven pretty damn hard every day sooo... The cam bearings are going to be a slightly pricy adventure. At $60 for parts plus $50 for removal and installation its still worth the peace of mind. Speaking of cams...I wrote to Comp Cams yet again and told them how crappy their service was and that I'm 40 skymiles away from comming down there and mopping the floor with a tech guy. hehe...actually I just reminded them that I've been waiting a damn month for a price quote so we'll see whats up there. I also told them that it may be worth their while to build a couple extra just incase some of you power freaks out there want one. Keeping on the cam subject that joker is a "B" to get out. Actually its probably going to be easy since its about the last piece left in (besides the crank) the block. But having to pull all that junk just to dig it out..maybe I'm going about it the hard way. Anyone know where I can pick up freeze plugs? They have to be pulled to do much of the block work and should be replaced anyway. gmpartsdirect.com doesn't carry any and I'd shoot myself before going to the dealer again. Will Series II plugs fit? Seems like they should but who knows how else pontiac would have messed around with the design. Other than that the new supercharger is on its way tomorrow. I got an additional $50 off by singing the Canadian anthem over the phone haha. I'm excited to see it. The fuel injectors leave tomorrow for www.injectors.com to do their magic, hope it works out. These are the questions at hand:
Where to find freeze plugs?
Replace the valves?
Replace the valve springs? (probably yes)
Where to get keepers, seals, and umbrella seals? (dealer blah)
Replace or machine the pistons?
What other performance parts should I get?
New fuel pump?
Adjustable fuel pressure regulator?
Who is going to charge less than $300 to port my damn heads? (local issue)
Best place to rebuild my trans?
Why do they put the names of football teams on baseball caps?
Why do they call the small candy bars the "fun sizes"? Wouldn't be more fun to
eat a big one?
Why do we teach kids that violence is not the answer and then have them read about wars in school that solved America'* problems?

As you can see I have a lot of unanswered questions..Any suggestions?

Freeze plugs? Probably the dealer.....yes, I'd replace the valves, but remember, with the heads going in anyway, it might be a good time to oversize the valves. Springs yes, too. Not sure if I'd mess with the pistons at all, really. New fuel pump and adjustable FPR would be a good idea if they're in your budget, cuz the car ain't running now anyway. Lotta miles on those suckers. 300 bucks for the porting? That does seem high. I'd think you could oversize the ports for bigger valves AND port for that price. You may consider going farther than the old hometown for a better price. Might be worth it.

Why do you park in a driveway and drive in a parkway?
Why do they call them apartments when they're all stuck together?
Why is there an interstate in Hawaii?

Interesting how Comp Cams handles mistakes...they just avoid them. Like I said the tech guy a month ago said a certain Buick cam will work and that he'll call back with prices and more info. I just got this back from Comp Cams:

Jason,
That Buick cam will not work in your engine. That may be why the tech did
not call you back. We don't have a core for your particular engine. I am very
sorry.

Thanks,
Matt@CompCams

SOOOOoooooo.....I wrote back asking for pricing an a custom grind of a core I'll send. Then I wrote to Colt Cams who does custom cam grinds for a pricing just to get an idea for the market. So the waiting game continues. Anyone know the compression ratio of a '93 SSEI? Will I'm looking in your direction Anyway dinner time

Jason

A few promising words from a Ford Cougar performance page. It carries the Ford 3.8L and after hearing they suffer the same problems with parts as we do one guy made a page to help. Sure its a completely different engine but the leads are all the same. Some is as follows:

Clevite offers a custom-ground performance cam for the 3.8. The cam specs are .050" duration, 204 degrees/intake, 214 degrees/exhaust. It requires the stock valve springs and hydraulic lifters. The valve springs must be checked for coil binding. The rpm range is 1500-4000 for low-mid range torque. Clevite'* cam kit comes with a new cam, lifters and assembly lube. The part number is K845 and when ordering, you would have to specify that you want the 229-2054 performer cam. Call 1-800-637-7654 to check on the pricing of the kit.

Hmm...I'm in the process of contacting Clevite for info on ours.


You can use roller rocker arms from the 5.0 V8--they'll work, and sometimes can be bought in sets of 12 instead of 16. Since the stock ratio is 1.7 you should use this ratio in roller rockers as well.

Wonder which Pontiac/Buick 3.8 has higher ratio rockers that would fit...

I know its probably a little late, but I wanted to put the word out about a great company that rebuilds superchargers for our cars. The company is Performance Solutions Engineering and is owned by Ed Martinez out of California.

When I first purchased my '94 Ultra it had 138K miles on it and I hadn't noticed the nose-drive was leaking SC oil. Anyway, I did some research and came to find PSE. They offer a 3-year, no questions asked, unlimited mileage warranty on superchargers rebuilt for our cars. The only downside is the price tag, I paid $800.00 for the unit and there was a $350.00 core charge if I didn't want to send mine in, or if the one I sent was junk.

Later on, I came to find out I probably only needed a nose-drive replacement, which sounds like what Doc needs, but who knows. I believe the nose-drive replacements run about $300.00.

A few days after I ordered, my package arrived with all the gaskets needed (yea you have to pay for them, but he gets GM gaskets for cheaper prices). A friend and I swapped the SC out in no time, dropped it back in the box and sent it back to California. After the turnaround time I had my $350.00 check in hand for the core, and after putting 3,000 hard-driven miles on it I still have no complaints.

Ed is a great guy, and very knowledgable about the processes of rebuilding SC'*, and he seems to be a very meticulous individual. I had also talked to him about performance solutions for our cars. At the time he offered a port job on the SC, along with an FMU that would add an additional 30hp to a stock setup. The price tag on the upgrade was $500.00 extra I believe.

Hopefully this will help anyone looking for a rebuild in the future, just thought I would pass along the info. In addition, Doc, great work on all your dedication to the Series I engine. I am dying to mod my Park Avenue, but alas have had no luck in finding any performance goodies, that'* how I wound up here. And lastly, I want to comment on the forum you guys have going, seems like a great bunch of guys all in love with their cars, its good to see. Catch you all later.

Greg