Another old chebbie

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Joined
Apr 29, 2014
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Location
Ozarks
My Car
I have a low rust/lots of dents '71 sportsroof.
Just when I thought I was getting close to working on the '71, the BOSS says "get that darn '69 back on the road." I have what was sold to me as a fresh 350 that I was going to use with a few hop up parts I have on the shelf. After looking at the bearings, that 350 is not going into a car in the foreseeable future. Adding up my projected costs to build a typical GEN 1 sbc the BOSS decided this should get an LS3 instead. Sometimes cost savings can be fun. Tons of loose ends but it should be running soon.

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Oh geez... I think I need a towel (for all the drool... :p ). rofl

Gorgeous car - I'm still trying to talk her into getting one for herself. She keeps making the "Jonesin'" noises when we see an old 'Vette, but is still hangin' tough about not getting one.

Don't forget to share the "Done" pics. ::thumb::

 
Don't forget the pepperoni pizza wrap!

Just kidding. Nice looking vette. I'm not a vette guy but one of my other neighbors (not the vette collector neighbor across the street, another neighbor) is thinking about selling one of his vettes - a green one with a tan top and tan interior. I have thought about it. lol But no vettes are in my future.

 
Don't forget the pepperoni pizza wrap!

Just kidding. Nice looking vette. I'm not a vette guy but one of my other neighbors (not the vette collector neighbor across the street, another neighbor) is thinking about selling one of his vettes - a green one with a tan top and tan interior. I have thought about it. lol But no vettes are in my future.

No pepperoni for me. I go for green pepper and oinion on mine. A plain mat black Corvette wrap might work.

 
sweet vette again, great choice with the ls3 future tinkering will net some nice easy hp. You will have to show us your aloha bobby and rose tribute too. When you do give me fair warning as i will need to find yet another bucket to dribble into

 
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A cam change will happen before this engine fires up for the first time.

Here's a good article about cam swaps into an LS3.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/engines-drivetrain/1404-three-cam-tests-on-an-ls3-engine-bumpstick-boomerang/

Mild cam, headers and ECU tune can surpass 550 FWHP.

I found a cam that is in between number 2 and 3 in the dyno tests. I'll give up a little lift though . From a valvetrain life standpoint I prefer not to go over .600" lift. It's still more aggressive than the cam in the 525 HP crate LS3 That only has 226/236 @ .050, .525/.525.

Advertised Duration (Int/Exh): 277/288

Duration @ .050 (Int/Exh): 227/238

Gross Valve Lift (Int/Exh): .583"/.600"

LSA/ICL: 112/108

Valve Lash (Int/Exh): Hyd/Hyd

RPM Range: 2200-6800

The Bobby and Rose car is high on the priority list. My plans for this season had been to work on the '71, the FFR and the ABAR Camaro tribute. This Vette is bumping into the time/budget allocated for the Mustang.:mad:

 
Great article. The LS engines really make it hard to justify fitment of anything else these days. Cheap to buy make good power, durable and get reasonable economy to boot.

 
I agree that they are much "less ugly" with a carb. The single plane remindes me of some FE intakes (that is a very good thing). I think FEs are some of the best looking engines ever made.

Still a bit like lipstick on a pig though but as long as the pig has a nice personality.......

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Made the engine adapter plates (moves bellhousing forward .300") and received the ECU. 268 page instructions and it is not printed in multiple languages. Looks like pretty much a page per loose wire :huh:

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The cam I swapped into the crate engine is smaller that the consensus of what fits with adequate piston to valve clearance in an LS3. I didn't want to put in a cam that was so big I'd have to worry about clearance issues. You can see the slight kiss given to the uncut piston by the intake valve. I've read about creating the needed clearance by using adhesive backed sand paper on a spare valve rather and thought I'd give it a try. The engine is pretty easy to mask and there was not much debris. The head will need a thorough cleaning but the engine stayed clean.

I determined the position of the piston at the lowest P to V condition for the intake and the exhaust. There was only about a .02" difference in the location of the piston for the tightest intake and tightest exhaust points. I decided that this is not enough of a difference to be a concern. If there had been a larger difference I would have done the intake and then repositioned the piston to do the exhaust. To help with radial P to V clearance I left the head gasket out and did both valves in one set up. If I did my trig correctly this gives a theoretical extra .012" radial clearance on the intake and .018" on the exhaust. I made the pockets about .080" deep on the intake and .065" deep on the exhaust. Looks like there is now a bit over .08" vertical p to v clearance on the intakes and a little more on the exhausts.

The exhaust valve had a cone shaped indentation on its face. The sand paper came right off when trying to make the pockets. I filled the depression in with brazing rod to give a relatively flat surface for the sandpaper to adhere to. Burned the crap out of a finger doing this. That made the rest of the evening seem to take a long time.

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"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" I don't know who I'm quoting but from an engineering stand point I'll take an American V8 over most other power plants for versatility and power and yes appearance. Nice Vett, you didn't say how nice it looked when we spoke last. I love the paint job and 1972 was the last good year in my opinion for the Corvette.

 
I love the paint job and 1972 was the last good year in my opinion for the Corvette.
Damn...I wish I had read this before I picked up my '73 :D

Sweet looking car, I've always loved the '69. I'm keeping my eyes on these threads to learn from you guys. I just replaced the freeze plugs and an oil leak on mine so I'm back on the road with it.

Cheers,

JHawk

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"In the day" I too thought the pretty ones ended in '72. The rubber bumper cars have grown on me. I worked at a chebbie dealer in '74 and I even have a soft spot for those rubber/blubber butt cars. All the C3s same are abouit the thing under the skin (some might say that's not a good thing) and if you put a decent engine in the smog era cars they move pretty well.

 
"In the day" I too thought the pretty ones ended in '72. The rubber bumper cars have grown on me. I worked at a chebbie dealer in '74 and I even have a soft spot for those rubber/blubber butt cars. All the C3s same are abouit the thing under the skin (some might say that's not a good thing) and if you put a decent engine in the smog era cars they move pretty well.
Very true...it's funny that I struggle with the Urethane rear bumper the most, mainly because it just changed the look so much. I just never could get used to it. I guess it's like all of these old sports cars we each have our own opinion.

Look how some favor chrome (like me) over Urethane and vise versa on our Mustangs. It just comes down to personal taste.

Cheers!

 
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