Meissen's LT1 Rebuild Thread

[1BADAIR]

that crank doesn't look good at all. I am not sure it can be cut
you prime an lt1 before the intake is installed.

[ICEPICK]

that crank doesn't look good at all. I am not sure it can be cut
you prime an lt1 before the intake is installed.

thats just what i was going say, in the back where the distributer would go.

[WMCCjames]

Try not to fret too much Brian....most of us hotrodders have already been in your shoes at least once. I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars I've pissed away on my car in the past.

I spent a ton of money on a 406 buildup for my car quite a few years ago....the whole bottom end consumed itself during the cam break in...(20 mins) due to improper maching. Machine shop wouldn't stand behind their work so I ate the cost.

That being said...your cam and crank don't look good at all.

[meissen]

Yeh, just hoping today's results are good news.

that crank doesn't look good at all. I am not sure it can be cut
you prime an lt1 before the intake is installed.

How do we do that? Just want to make sure whatever we do we do it right. I thought yanking the injector and ignition fuses, disconnecting the main spark wire to the coil and then letting it crank over a few times was the way to do it.

[steddy]

The 350s I've done, what I've done is take the distributor drive shaft from a disassembled dist. and a drill. You should also have a seal on the shaft, so that both sides of the engine will develop pressure. Turn the drill until you see oil coming out onto the rockers. I'm just not sure if the newer style small blocks can do this. It's pretty cool to watch the oil come up to the rockers though. Hopefully this method works. They also make a primer that utilizes the same basic thing with the seal attached. Last I saw, they're around $25. Just attach a drill and watch the show. That way, when you do start it, oil's prelubed everything.

Of course, the 355 in y '79 is the HEI style, so before I ever started it, I'd crank the motor till the pressure came up before starting. I wonder if there may be a way to install a pre-luber (or even if it would be worth the price).

[tenpin842]

Sorry to hear about that B. My fingers are crossed, I hope you hear some good news.

In all honesty, I don't think that cam looks that bad at all. They should be able to polish it and you should be all set.
When I did my cam swap, I used my stock roller lifters.

I swapped injectors also on my car.
We tried to start it without a tune. We could not get it running.

And I actually had more gas in my oil then I had oil.
I about flipped out seeing how much gas had gone into my oil.
The big pan you use when you change your oil and set on the ground............I filled that up! yeah that's a little more then 5.5 quarts out of my little 305!

But I swapped my whole top end (less the heads)

Like I said though, the cam might look good. Just get it polished. I think it will be ok.

Best of luck bud!
keep us posted, I know you will!

[1BADAIR]

Yeh, just hoping today's results are good news.




How do we do that? Just want to make sure whatever we do we do it right. I thought yanking the injector and ignition fuses, disconnecting the main spark wire to the coil and then letting it crank over a few times was the way to do it.

you remove the cam sensor(i think) and prime it just like a normal SBC.prime tool or a disassembled distributor

[meissen]

Wouldn't letting the car turn over on it's own with the ignition and injector fuses pulled accomplish the same thing, though?


And so far so good on the news. Block and parts are dropped off at the machine shop and after a brief glance over everything he said the cam looks good to him but he'll try cleaning and polishing it to make sure. He's also going to hone the cylinder walls and see how much he can get out by doing that. On the low side it's going to cost me $800 on the high side... well, sky's the limit.

[MP81]

Lets hope for the best, Brian. I really don't want to see you have to get another cam...

[WMCC Doug]

Wouldn't letting the car turn over on it's own with the ignition and injector fuses pulled accomplish the same thing, though?

..... after a brief glance over everything he said the cam looks good to him but he'll try cleaning and polishing it to make sure.

Turning the engine over without starting isn't exactly the same as priming the oil pump prior to that. By priming the pump, it forces oil through the engine without any parts moving. So there is no chance of anything moving against each other "dry". Doing it with the starter, there is a chance of parts moving against each other without oil. Probably not a huge difference if everything is oiled well during assembly. In the valve train area, the lifters, push rods, rockers and such will make several cycles before the oil makes it's way through everywhere. Again, low speed stuff, probably not real dangerous, but still priming before moving would be better.

I really hope the cam can be polished and deemed OK. From the pics, (which is all we have to go on) it looks questionable, but if your engine machinist gives you his blessing, then all the better.

[meissen]

Turning the engine over without starting isn't exactly the same as priming the oil pump prior to that. By priming the pump, it forces oil through the engine without any parts moving. So there is no chance of anything moving against each other "dry". Doing it with the starter, there is a chance of parts moving against each other without oil. Probably not a huge difference if everything is oiled well during assembly. In the valve train area, the lifters, push rods, rockers and such will make several cycles before the oil makes it's way through everywhere. Again, low speed stuff, probably not real dangerous, but still priming before moving would be better.

Good point - I'm sure that didn't help any priming it the way we did... just thought that's "the way" to do it for 4th gen FBodies. Will have to remember the other ways described here for next time.

I really hope the cam can be polished and deemed OK. From the pics, (which is all we have to go on) it looks questionable, but if your engine machinist gives you his blessing, then all the better.

Thanks Doug - the flash really makes the cam look worse than it looks in person. Who knows, I'm at the mercy of the machine shop now.

[my95z28]

Good point - I'm sure that didn't help any priming it the way we did... just thought that's "the way" to do it for 4th gen FBodies. Will have to remember the other ways described here for next time.

I mean, it does help. There is no heat in the cyliders from actual firing occuring, and just spinning by the starter motor is a lot slower than idle. So yes, it is better than just firing it up, but, priming the oil pump with a drill is better.

[WMCCjames]

Good point - I'm sure that didn't help any priming it the way we did... just thought that's "the way" to do it for 4th gen FBodies. Will have to remember the other ways described here for next time.



Thanks Doug - the flash really makes the cam look worse than it looks in person. Who knows, I'm at the mercy of the machine shop now.

Actually, if you want to go one step further, and better, pull all the spark plugs out and crank it over....with the plugs in the cylinders still build compression and that puts force on the bearings. Before I fired up the LS1 for the first time I pulled all the plugs and shot oil into all the cylinders...then cranked it over until oil pressure was seen on a mechanical gauge.

[meissen]

If you shoot oil into the cylinders - would you be shooting the oil in on top of the pistons and putting it into the combustion chamber? Does that just help to let the oil film up around the rings? We had applied assembly grease to the cylinder walls - said it was good for any area that had metal to metal surface contact. Not saying that was the right way to do it, just saying what we did.

[WMCC Doug]

When we did this to the engine in Project DZ74, we shot some oil into the cylinders, hooked the 1/2 inch drill motor to the modified distributor/primer and ran the oil pump until we had oil running out of all 16 push rods. Then we turned the engine over by hand a little and primed it some more. I think I primed it again a couple times over the next couple of days before we wrapped everything else and fired her up the first time.

Of course, it's the "old style" small block, which made the priming easier.