You won't like this update.....

It'* def. a rod bearing. Not sure which one yet...still have to drop the pan, but now I am certain that it is. Front bank was still torqued to spec, and just as the rear bank, the pushrods were all nice and tight.

Time to think of some viable options. I am very leary now about putting in another used short block straight from a wrecker. Personal opinion, if this car is worth keeping, the most viable option is to take out the new(ish) motor, get a crank kit (or grind the crank it has now), scuttle a good rod or two from the old motor, and reassemble. No other work should be needed.

Marik, if you are reading this, don't sweat it. We are finding more and more that these engines don't like to be resurrected without dropping major cabbage into the rotating assembly. Keep in mind folks that this engine sat in storage for over a year before I tore into the upper end. For all we know, the rod may have started it death throws long before we got a hold of it.

Makes me very grateful I picked up my replacement motor with certified oil pressure and compression just over 30 days after it was tested and pulled from the donor.

*Nods*

Nothing short of actually seeing and hearing a used motor before it goes into the the bay this next go-'round. If there IS another go. Decisions will have to be made between all concerned parties with this car, and the budget will have to grow. Fortunately, I can salvage a great deal of the work and parts that was put into this engine, even some of the gaskets, so the only $$ lost was in the fluids basically and some of the unrecoverable gaskets (like the head gaskets). Even the head bolts should be salvagable (I'll measure them out just to be safe).

It'* all up to the house of Booze on the next steps.

Dangit :(

*sigh* :?

Ok, well...

umm, I'll get with my dad later and lay out all our options...
for now I have a physics quiz in two hours, so i'll focus on that

Good or Bad, Thanks for the update again

I hate to be the one to ask this, as it seems that someone always does, but is there any chance of just going to a Series 2? It seems to me the biggest problem for you Series 1 guys is that the market for low-mileage motors is drying up. Simply put, the only way to get a replacement motor at all is from a high mileage car now.

It'* a definate possibility. But it is all in what the budget will be. I'd like to see this become an S2 swap, but there is the matter of getting not only the motor, but the wiring, the PCM, and refitting his current trans to accept a temp sensor (though with the miles on his trans, he would be better off getting a combo). Not to mention the time involved in such an enterprise. I'm quite full with what I have got going on with my own projects, and there may be some personal issues that I will have to contend with in the coming month. I honestly forsee the next time I put a wrench to Boozes car will be sometime in March or even April.

New video of the internal carnage that is happening. Much more pronounced this time.

AHHHH. Please stop with the videos. :( I hate that noise. Same exact sound my L67 had in the Fiero I bought last year. :(

If there is going to be a Series 2 swap, I don't think I'd be leaving that in Brads hands, thats much more work and he has already done ALOT just on this.


*shudder* that sounds nasty

Really March or April? She might be coming home on a trailer :?


just another random question, How many miles did you put on this second motor?

66 miles. Plus about an hours worth of idle time.

how much would a crank kit be for a ser 1 . i recently was callin around for a sbc and those were only about 120 and came with main and rod bearings. 3800 cant be that much more. and add the cost of piston rings and cam bearings, and you have a new short block that would last 200k easy.