my newest project - not a Civic, but cool nonetheless

[hey_mikey]

plus, the block was already bored to .060 over, which suggests it's been rebuilt at least twice so far. although it's in decent enough shape that it probably wouldn't need much in terms of machining, the heads probably need to be completely redone. with all the work it needs, and with no real exprience with machine shops that we know of that will stay within our time and budget, we'd just feel more comfortable sticking a crate motor in for now. the owner will have a reliable car to enjoy and we can take our time rebuilding this motor.

 

[webby]

so any further progress? What motor are you guys going with?

 

[CivicCanuck]

That is an excellent plan to install a crate motor, GM and others offers a wide range of crate engines with warranty, although chances of getting one with those old style heads on it is slim. This isn't a problem though, as all the accessories will bolt up, you will have to use the short water pump style to fit the chassis.

 

[hey_mikey]

so any further progress? What motor are you guys going with?

That is an excellent plan to install a crate motor, GM and others offers a wide range of crate engines with warranty, although chances of getting one with those old style heads on it is slim. This isn't a problem though, as all the accessories will bolt up, you will have to use the short water pump style to fit the chassis.

since the warehouse end of work has been busy, i really haven't been able to work on the car much as they've been pulling me away to help with other jobs. but after doing some research, i think we're going with this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12499529/media/images

it still has the old style heads with perimeter bolt valve covers, so we can reuse the original valve covers, intake manifold, and the carb that we already had rebuilt from the 62. exhaust manifolds will also bolt right up. like Michael Hurd says, all the other accessories will also bolt right up. the water pump we have looks worse for wear, but the short-style water pump replacements are still available so that shouldn't be a problem. even the 4-speed should bolt right up, and the block has a threaded boss built in that allows one end of the clutch linkage to bolt up. this allows us to maintain the period correct look.

technically, later large journal 327s had the exact same block casting as the 350s. the only difference was the stroke (different crank and pistons). although the one in the 1962 corvette is a small-journal version, the only notable (in our case) difference in the castings between this and the 350 is the lack of a road draft tube in the 350. since the newer style motors started using PCV instead of road draft ventilation, i will have to rig up a way to run a PCV valve with the non-PCV intake manifold and valve covers. since the old 327 has a vented oil fill cap towards the front of the manifold, i think i just need to find an area to tap towards the rear of the intake manifold (somewhere that doesn't hit a runner and goes straight to the lifter valley) and run a PCV valve between there and a vacuum port on the carb. that should give good crosswise (front to back) ventilation. the other option is to change to a sealed oil fill tube and run valve cover spacers. tap the spacer on one bank for a breather and tap the other spacer on the other bank for the PCV. in theory, as long as the breather (or in the first option, the fill cap would be the breather) and PCV are on opposite sides of the motor, it should provide enough ventilation.

the reliability, warranty, 4-bolt mains, and extra power of the new motor would be nice additions as well

 

[CivicCanuck]

Great choice, but I would check to make sure the valve covers will fit, as all of the later pre-1985 cylinder heads had symmetrical bolt holes for the valve cover. Take a look at the picture I posted earlier. Does the carb have any larger non timed ports that you could T into the PCV valve? These would be the vacuum ports below the throttle blades.

 

[hey_mikey]

Great choice, but I would check to make sure the valve covers will fit, as all of the later pre-1985 cylinder heads had symmetrical bolt holes for the valve cover. Take a look at the picture I posted earlier. Does the carb have any larger non timed ports that you could T into the PCV valve? These would be the vacuum ports below the throttle blades.

as far as i can tell, only 283s from the 50s (maybe up to 61) used the staggered pattern valve covers. the ones on this car are symmetrical.

 

[mattsbobo]

 

[hey_mikey]

Work has been so busy that I really haven't made much progress on this, but since I haven't updated this in a while, I figured it's time to bump this thread.

Still waiting on the frame to come back. The stripper and powdercoater estimated two weeks and it's been over a month now. They say they still haven't gotten to it, which kinda pisses us off, but what can you do. Started putting together the smaller stuff as they get cleaned and repainted. Unfortunately, not all parts are easy to come by, so the whole thing is slow going. However, I have been pretty happy with what little I have been able to do so far, and can't wait to get the frame back so I can start really putting it back together.

I have more pictures, but not on my phone right now. I'll post more later.

 

[Nix]

Yeah dude! I totally forgot about this build. Nice! More updates!

 

[hey_mikey]

more pics...

rear leafs - before and after rebuilding with new paint, liners, and bands









new pinion seal




drum brake backing plates



positrac differential housing



refinished axle



still waiting on the wheel bearing seals to come in before i can fully assemble the rear end. and the frame...i wish carolina chem-strip would hurry up...or at least give me an accurate ETA

 

[Nix]

How flush are you going? Gonna need fender work?

 

[Phillip Lambrecht]

This build thread gives me nightmares of when I worked in a vette resoration shop,lol. Good looking build though.

 

[hey_mikey]

How flush are you going? Gonna need fender work?

haha. what is that, camber? with the straight axle out back, there's not much you can do...

 

[hey_mikey]

This build thread gives me nightmares of when I worked in a vette resoration shop,lol. Good looking build though.

yeah, "nightmares" just about sums it up. haha. i wish we had a better equipped shop at work, but at least i'm not on a tight deadline...

 

[Phillip Lambrecht]

yeah, "nightmares" just about sums it up. haha. i wish we had a better equipped shop at work, but at least i'm not on a tight deadline...

Body and paint work on those things is a nightmare. Nothing but fiberglass, and trying to restore a body that wasn't straight from the factory is so agrivating.

 

[KennyGS]

Loving this thread. Thanks for keeping it current with your progress.

 

[Dragos]

This build thread gives me nightmares of when I worked in a vette resoration shop,lol. Good looking build though.

They're a very special breed of cars though, amazingly consistent looks with serious performance. I think only Ferrari and Lamborghini manages to deliver that in a completely different price point. If I would ever wind the lottery big time Vettes are on my short list.

In one short sentence I love this thread!

 

[hey_mikey]

More pics! Still waiting on the frame.

 

[webby]

eta on your frame? I know it's been a while

 

[hey_mikey]

eta on your frame? I know it's been a while

Last update was that it was waiting for powdercoat. Which probably means it hasn't been touched yet.