Here are some shots of the engine on the engine stand. I wanted to take lots of pics of every angle to know where everything went.
I already removed the AC Compressor as I think it was putting my stand over capacity. So I wanted to get it off of there before I broke the stand. So now that I had the engine all documented, I started to strip off the accessories. Got it down to the bare essentials.
I decided that machining the block was not something for me to do. So I asked around and decided to do with IDJ Automotive in Roseville. They were reasonable in price and the services they offered, and they were highly recommended. So I took all the internal parts out and took them the block, crank and heads. I needed it all checked out and cleaned so I knew what size of parts to buy. I also had planned on them pressing in the camshaft bearings as well.
So IDJ cleaned up the block and polished up the crank. Due to the miles on the engine we had to go 0.30 over on the bore and 0.20 under on the crank. Now I was able to buy the complete rebuild kit and get all the right parts. I bought the rebuild kit also from eBay for about $300. It was a complete kit with all the internal parts, bearings, oil pump and gaskets.
It turned out that I had one 350 head and one 400 head. The heads for a SBC400 has an extra steam port to help cool the engine. At this point I had already started to buy other Impalas and Caprices for parts, and luckily the one I had also had a SBC400. So I took IDJ both 400 heads and they picked the better of the three. IDJ put in all new valve seats in exchange for the SBC350 and SBC400 heads. A good deal for me at the time.
After I got the block back, my father in law again helped put it all together. I won't bore you with pics of the assembly, we've all seen how that goes. I went with a Lunati Voodoo cam and 4bbl 650CFM Holley carb. I bought the cam, carb and intake as a kit from Jegs. I don't see my exact set up anymore, but I paid about $750 for all of it. Assembly was pretty routine, no major obstacles. It was done in a few days.
Here is a shot of the completed engine.
It's shown with an aftermarket timing chain cover, but just before we painted it Chevy orange, I opted for a stock style. No one was going to see it anyway. The engine sat on this stand for about 1 year, then it was finally mated to a B&M converter and attached to the transmission. It came time to put all the accessories back on the engine. My power steering pulley and crankshaft dampener were not worth saving, so I started to look for those as well. To my surprise, my buddy at Jay Chevrolet was still able to buy these from GM! So another win for OEM parts! We painted most all the accessories black and bolted them on. Over the months of the restoration, I accumulated many extra parts, including alternators and brackets. For some reason my alternator is not quite right yet. Its sitting a little crooked. We think it is due to the aftermarket Weiand intake. It may have shifted that bracket in a little bit. The frame was now done so it was dropped onto the frame.
Here is a shot of it painted Chevy orange.
Yes, OEM exhaust manifolds.... No emails please.
Here is a shot of the brackets and accessories after being painted.
Next up frame overhaul!!!
