Projects Project Mattitude: the Beginning

So.. I think this is officially the first "bad" update. There's still a chance that it could be a little bad, but also a chance that it's worse than it appears. Life's just funny like that.

I bought the engine from my brother-in-law and it was supposedly rebuilt, and for $500, I thought it was worth a shot. It does have all the right early Chevy parts (intake is 1955, carb is 1958, 4-blade fan, pressed on pulley, and a Mag-Spark, etc, etc) and was destined to be installed in an early Corvette. So it was a good gamble.

Until I tried taking the intake manifold off. I took the distributor out, carb off, then all of the bolts on the intake manifold and tried yanking it off myself. No luck.. Maybe the gaskets had gone bad, so I attached the engine plate to the top of the manifold and pulled my cherry picker around to pick it up. Hopefully the weight of the engine would be enough to pull it off.

Then the engine came off the frame being held to the intake manifold with just the overly-attached gaskets. That was something I had never seen before (keep in mind, this is my first ground-up build). So I put the engine back down and then pumped the cherry picker until the engine was hovering just slightly over the brace and took a small chisel and stuck it in between the head and manifold and gave it a slight tap. That did the trick.

This is what I found inside..



It looks like something over the third cylinder wasn't sealed well and it let water into the engine. It could be the water was just on that side, on top only.. and that only a little got down into the bottom end. I took the engine/trans off the frame and took them apart to put the engine back on its stand. Took the generator off, and the water pump which has a hole on it, so I guess a NOS water pump needs to be put on the "to-get" list. Then I put two graded bolts in the pulley and used a pry-bar to see if it would turn over. It only spins freely a little in either direction and I had to exert a lot of pressure to get it to slowly spin.

Taking a closer look, it does appear there are signs of a rebuild in the past..




But just how long ago is the variable here..

I tested the starter that came with it and it spins just fine, so my plan of attack is to get some MMO, put some in each cylinder through the spark plug, then maybe add some oil, hook up the starter, and try using the starter to break the pistons loose.

Is that okay to try, or is that a bad idea? I'll be using the search function to figure out what I should do, but thought you guys should know. Someone may have a good 2-cents to add here.

I do want to try and get this engine firing soon, if everything checks out okay.

In compensation, I'll leave you with a picture of the engine with the Weiand on it. At least it's nice to look at.

 

Matt, pull it all the way apart. Pull the pan. It could be that the lifters are rusted in enough to not allow the motor to turn all the way over. Or it could be worse and have rust in thy cylinders. Pull the heads. For the price of a couple gaskets you need to check that everything is right as it will be cheaper to fix it now that break it later. If you need help, motor stand, torque wrench, plasti gauge, you send me an email.

From the look of the lifter you will need new ones as those will be pitted on the inside and outside. You may be able to get the rust out of the lifter valley, but be prepared to disassemble the motor and vat the block. You do not want a bunch of hidden rust to let loose down the road.

David.

 

That sounds really reasonable.

I've got all of the overhaul tools here. My dad was an avid engine-rebuilder and taught me a few things but they were mostly pointers and facts. I've never completely rebuilt an engine myself (although I have helped him build a few) but I'm willing to try. I've got a couple books here on rebuilding them, so I should be able to put 2 and 2 together.

Thanks for the advice David.

 

A 302 ford I picked up for the wifes fairlane had one rusty cylender. The block was .030 over & had supodidly under 10k on it so im gonna get the one sleved & bored to match. Should be good to go

 

Great thread, gives me a lot of hope for the basket i just picked up. Cant wait to see more

 

I agree with David. You may be able to get it running with a little lube and some cleanup but who knows for how long. The chance of breaking some of your cool stuff is too great.
Every silver lining has a cloud.

 

dude, that suck.....Like others have said. Pull that thing all the way apart and clean it up. Gasket kits for SBC's are CHEAP. I bet it will be fine after you get it apart and clean it up.

Don't be afraid to tear into it. You're building a car from scratch. A disassembly and re assembly of the engine is perfectly within your skills.

 

Haha. Thanks everyone. I've been tearing it apart since the last post.

I took all the rockers off, rods, then flipped the engine over and took the oil pan off. It looks pretty good on the bottom end. Peering past the crank and rods, it looks like there's rust on the cam, but the rods, pistons, crank, and oil pan bottom were covered in some dark red-orange oil. I guess he coated the inside with oil and let it sit.

It does look like it's been sitting for a while. But I have hope that it's just the top end that needs cleaning.

The pistons don't look factory however.. At least not from what I've seen. Did early Chevys have pistons that were particular to them other than size?

(Forgive the iPhone picture)




Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

The timing chain has some sagging.. How much is considered too much?





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Do it right. It'll never be cheaper and easier then now. That chain does look a bit sloppy, but it's had to tell.

 

On the timing chain it looks like the crank gear has a ware pattern, if it dose its used and needs replaced for cheep insurance,a timing chain set don't cost that much,just remember that dirt on any thing when your building a motor will scar the bearings you want every thing clean clean good luck and have at it

 

Ha. So, this was a fun night. First time ever disassembling an engine myself. Proud to say it was an early Chevy. Measured everything and it comes out to be 3.875" x 3" which equals a stock 283. I see this as an excuse to bump up the displacement a little.

After swapping out one of the other SBCs for the rotating stands, I got to work right away, taking off what I could take off.




The bad news is the entire engine will need to be rebuilt. After a few pointers from Eric (Anderson), I knew what to look for. The bottom end was still covered in oil pretty good, and that's what saved it. Taking the timing chain off and trying to spin it, it spun freely. The cylinder walls are scored however, and there are ridges at the top of each wall, so it needs to be gone through. It also appears the number three piston had to be replaced at some point. All the cylinders had their respective numbers stamped on the ends of the rods except for number three. It was also a lighter shade than the rest and had different stampings.





The cam is stuck in there good.. It won't even budge. All the lifters are stuck in there, so I'm not sure how to get them all out without harming the block. Any ideas?




The oil-covered rust on the cam is making me think of the baja sauce from Quizno's.. So good. But that's nothing compared to the food I'll be indulging myself with at Austin next weekend.. Come on LSRU.

 

Mix up some auto-trans fluid and acetone. Pour it over the lifters in the valley and let it sit awhile. Start working the cam back and forth until the lifters free up. Obviously the lifters will have to be removed before the cam will come out. It doesn't look that bad, not bad at all actually. You should see some that I've had that turned out fine.

Get that thing bored .030 over (or whatever it takes) and get you a new set of pistons and you should be good to go. Make sure while you have it apart to go with a good lumpy cam.

 

Seen a lot worse! Just do what everybody above says and you will be good. 283's are a hardy lot. Just for the record, my favorite cam in these is the repop of the factory 327/350 cam. Just lumpy enough and not too much for the small inches. Oh and did I mention, cheap, and usable with generic lifters. Nothing is more annoying than an overcammed small block.

 

Be sure to take a good look at the cam bearings. After soaking you can drive the lifters you can reach and maybe turn the cam to reach more lifters. They just have to move out of the way so the cam can slide out. You can then drive them out if need be. Get it as clean as you can and don't use a lot of force. You don't want to score the lifter bores. These guys are giving you good advice. Keep it clean, slow and easy and you can give me a ride in July!

 

Do all the above and Koz is right on the size of cam being too big, don't ask me how i know

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be doing the ATF/Acetone mixture today and hopefully I'll be able to get everything out. I'm having Anderson do the work for me since I know him personally and he works at a machine shop. I'll bore it out just a little. No need to go crazy here.

I'm also going to look up cams and figure out what I want. I'd like something that's lumpy, but doesn't detract from street-ability.

Think this would work? Haha.

 

Don't think so!

 

I just read through this whole thread. WOW!

I have to say I doubted the story of the 283 being out of a vette..

Those are low comp heads. Don't go very big on the cam if you are going to keep them. A small cam for a 350 would be massive in that.

I'm glad you tore it down and are having it redone. I love 283's, great little mouse motor.

I admire your guts!

 

Hahaha. I knew that. Way too big to even try playing with. There's a reason why it's sat up high on the shelf the last several years.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I'm very well aware that the 283 isn't a Corvette engine. Seems like out of all the 283s in the world, I get the one that isn't. I'm perfectly happy that I got an early Chevy engine to use, and a complete one at that. From the start, I wanted a vintage engine, something from the period, to use. I would have not been happy with using an engine from outside the period.

The covers say "Corvette", but that's the only part of the engine that's Corvette. The covers aren't staying either.. A pair of chromed "Chevrolet" script covers will take their place in the future.

I thought about using the '64 283 I have sitting in the corner of the garage, but that wouldn't have been right. This car deserves an early Chevy.

I just poured some 50-50 mix of ATF/Acetone on the top of the block and am letting it soak for a while.

 

Updates?!?! Aren't you supposed to be REALLY inspired to get that thing on the road? haha....

 

School, dude..

I did pick up a few parts to get my steering done and get me along a bit on the roadster, but I'll have to wait until I get a few things done for school. I may work on it some tomorrow.

But for right now, my number one priority is graduating in May and putting school behind me for good.

 

My 283 corvette engine came out of a pick-up truck...

 

No shit! Some guys have all the luck..

 

What...? You mean all 283's didn't come from Corvette's? That can't be right.

You are a smart young man Matt. Glad to see your education is on top of the list. Now get that diploma, job, and get back to work on this car...

Did you get the engine freed up?

 

The cam and lifters are all still stuck in there. After Anderson pointed out to me that the cam looked like it had assembly lube on there, I took a flat-blade screwdriver to one of the lobes to lightly scrap on it and see. Shiny new metal underneath.

As it turns out, the PO must have assembled the engine, using some lube on the cam, then let it sit. The lube dried up and got everything stuck up pretty good. I assembled the engine minus the pistons and put it in the corner so it wouldn't take up so much room.

I'll just build the rest of the car and rebuild the engine last. Unless I come across another engine that's pre-1959 and runs for dirt cheap.. (no Hemi. I like flat hood-sides). Then I may just snatch it up and use it in there. I'll do the firewall, engine mounts, radiator, and whatever else the engine relies on last, just to be safe.

(crossing my fingers for a Caddy.. )

 

If you put a cool Caddy engine in there, it doesn't need hood sides...

 

I'm dying to run hood-sides without a top. I really love the look of those.. The full-hood sides makes the car look more complete, but without the top and the engine peeking from just over the sides just looks awesome.

But I get what you're saying.. Caddy engines are classy.

 

I'm just giving you a hard time matt...... I hear what you're saying about the hood sides too, I think it's a cool look!