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Well I waited till I began the engine build to post my build thread but finally it has arrived.
The car in question is a 1994 Pontiac Firebird base model with T-Tops. I bought the car on September 13, 2008 with the intention of making a unique Street/Strip ride. I picked up the car with 263,000 miles with the underpowered 3.4 and 4L60E at a great price. I only drove it home so I'm glad it went out when it did. Sure the heads were shooting coolant and reverse died when I got it in the driveway but hey the body was in great shape. After pulling the engine and trans during the winter of 2009, I couldn't decide what I wanted to power this thing. Should I go LT1 or LS1 for the ease of it or something different. I thought of the SBC and BBC conversion seeing how it often it is done. I even looked into Grand National drivetrains. For a while, I decided I was set with the turbo 3.8 and started to research hop up parts for the boosted 6. The plan was a cam, larger turbo, exaust work, fuel enrichment, and some tuning. Out of the blue, one of my friend's dad had a spare Pontiac 350 laying around complete except the carb. Then I thought that would awsome to have a Pontiac power a Pontiac So I got into Pontiac literature and joined a couple of forums. So my plan was set, a set of forged rods and pistons, a good mid range cam, intake, carb, and a nice shot of sauce. Coupled with a mild stall and TH350, I should be in the 12's. However after reading more and more, it made more sense to step up the larger displacement motors (About the same price to build). I looked and looked for a 455 for a couple of weeks. Could not come up with nothing that would fit into my budget. So I opened myself up to 400's as well and low and behold a 400 longblock was available at a great price. This engine had been for sale for a couple of weeks so I was weary of it. However, I went and picked it up. Tore it down and the bearings were shot. Fine, I planned on redoing the entire block and heads anyway. Right now, I am currently machining both the block and heads as we speak.
So the plan is:
-4.5 Stroker Kit w/ Ross Pistons
-Comp. Cams XE274 Cam
-Edelbrock RPM Manifold
-A Q-Jet by Cliff
-6X-4 heads with fresh valve job, casting flash removed, gasket matched, minor cleanup of the ports, new valve stem seals, and valve springs (Compression should be around 9-9.5:1 depending on piston choice and final valve and seat machining. Currently all 8 chambers measure between 93 and 94.5 CC)
- Some 1 3/4 headers cut to fit
-Th400 with manual/automatic valve body and mild stall (most likely around 1800-2200)
-The 10 bolt will stay intill I either break it or I swap a 9 inch in
I will eventually spring for some aluminum heads after I get her up and running.
As of 3/2/10, I am in the process of cleaning up the heads and installing some bronze liners in the heads. The deck of the block was milled last thursday and this thursday the cylinders will be bored.
Sorry about the lengthly intro and feel free to ask any questions or voice concerns.
Thanks and hope you guys enjoy the progress,
Dave
Here are pics of the clean block. I will have to take more while she's up on the mill.
The car in question is a 1994 Pontiac Firebird base model with T-Tops. I bought the car on September 13, 2008 with the intention of making a unique Street/Strip ride. I picked up the car with 263,000 miles with the underpowered 3.4 and 4L60E at a great price. I only drove it home so I'm glad it went out when it did. Sure the heads were shooting coolant and reverse died when I got it in the driveway but hey the body was in great shape. After pulling the engine and trans during the winter of 2009, I couldn't decide what I wanted to power this thing. Should I go LT1 or LS1 for the ease of it or something different. I thought of the SBC and BBC conversion seeing how it often it is done. I even looked into Grand National drivetrains. For a while, I decided I was set with the turbo 3.8 and started to research hop up parts for the boosted 6. The plan was a cam, larger turbo, exaust work, fuel enrichment, and some tuning. Out of the blue, one of my friend's dad had a spare Pontiac 350 laying around complete except the carb. Then I thought that would awsome to have a Pontiac power a Pontiac So I got into Pontiac literature and joined a couple of forums. So my plan was set, a set of forged rods and pistons, a good mid range cam, intake, carb, and a nice shot of sauce. Coupled with a mild stall and TH350, I should be in the 12's. However after reading more and more, it made more sense to step up the larger displacement motors (About the same price to build). I looked and looked for a 455 for a couple of weeks. Could not come up with nothing that would fit into my budget. So I opened myself up to 400's as well and low and behold a 400 longblock was available at a great price. This engine had been for sale for a couple of weeks so I was weary of it. However, I went and picked it up. Tore it down and the bearings were shot. Fine, I planned on redoing the entire block and heads anyway. Right now, I am currently machining both the block and heads as we speak.
So the plan is:
-4.5 Stroker Kit w/ Ross Pistons
-Comp. Cams XE274 Cam
-Edelbrock RPM Manifold
-A Q-Jet by Cliff
-6X-4 heads with fresh valve job, casting flash removed, gasket matched, minor cleanup of the ports, new valve stem seals, and valve springs (Compression should be around 9-9.5:1 depending on piston choice and final valve and seat machining. Currently all 8 chambers measure between 93 and 94.5 CC)
- Some 1 3/4 headers cut to fit
-Th400 with manual/automatic valve body and mild stall (most likely around 1800-2200)
-The 10 bolt will stay intill I either break it or I swap a 9 inch in
I will eventually spring for some aluminum heads after I get her up and running.
As of 3/2/10, I am in the process of cleaning up the heads and installing some bronze liners in the heads. The deck of the block was milled last thursday and this thursday the cylinders will be bored.
Sorry about the lengthly intro and feel free to ask any questions or voice concerns.
Thanks and hope you guys enjoy the progress,
Dave
Here are pics of the clean block. I will have to take more while she's up on the mill.
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