Hmmmm. What to do with this engine...

DorianL

DorianL

solid fixture here in the forum
Staff member
The motor in my 1969 corvette is... well not sure I have much good to say about it:
- it stays cool
- it has decent oil pressure
- good vacuum
- good cold start
- it doesn’t leak (much)
- decent idle.

The heads are 882s. The cam is unknown. The intake is an original Torker, not even a Torker II. Open plenum, tarantula style. 750cfm Performer carb. Full length headers and dual exhaust. It’s a bit torquey at 1500 to 2000 but at 2500 the motor seems annoying like it’s misfiring and rumbling.

The timing tab is missing. I installed one, but it’s only holding with a single bolt. There’s no way to get the other bolt in. It was missing. I’m guessing the rest of it is broken off and still in the block

(There’s also an intake bolt missing. I haven’t explored it yet, but I suspect there’s a broken bolt in there as well.)

I tried to check timing with that tab I threw on there. At idle it seems to be at 20 BTDC. Above 2500 rpm it seems to add another 20 degrees and begins to scatter wildly. (This is an aftermarket coil in cap, HEI with a mechanical tach drive in the shaft).

Hmmm. Thinking as a I tap. I guess the first thing to do is find TDC. Maybe do a compression check while I’m at it?

Also I need to get a look inside that distributor. I have little confidence in it.

When I started this thread I was thinking asking your opinion about just driving this V8 till I rebuild or replace in a year or three...

Now considering the positive points... maybe I’ll just bring it up to whatever optimal I can bring it to.

Hmmmm
 
your plight is extremely common and the best advice I can suggest is to keep it operational and drive-able until,
you have assembled a replacement engine,
you can swap into the car , during some convenient week-end

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/storing-a-spare-engine.614/#post-46169

ITS almost always faster and cheaper and less problems in the long term,
If you do build a second performance engine rather than modify your single existing original cars engine,
theres some advantages, that us older geezers have come to appreciate at times.
as a general rule,
its best to take your time and build a separate performance engine that you can swap into,
the car over a weekend, this has several advantages

(1) you will not be tying up the car, in an un-driveable condition waiting for weeks on parts to arrive or waiting on machine work to be done,
and you can always swap the original engine back into the car,
to have the car as dependable transportation while the performance engines being built or worked on.
(2) you can sell either engine separately from the car itself and still have a drive-able car.
(3)having your performance engine out on an engine stand certainly makes it far easier to work on.
(4) having a second engine available allows you to drive the car while you make repairs on the original engine, or the performance engine.
(5) if you screw something up, your not effectively stuck with a non-driveable car for long.
(with practice swapping engines in a c3 corvette can easily be done by one or better yet two people in a single weekend.)
(6) buy a engine stand, find a decent local machine shop you can trust, decide on the engine you want ,
and make a detailed well thought out combo, do the math,
start collecting the required components,and stick to the plan.

ntenginestand1.jpg


http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=engine+stand
21269a.jpg

baredfghj.jpg


http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...gine-to-match-the-cam-specs.11764/#post-57987

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...extra-engine-or-transmission.4523/#post-12094

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/matching-parts-and-a-logical-plan.7722/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-a-383-sbc-combo-planing.12168/#post-62715

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...k-for-in-a-good-engine-combo.9930/#post-38324

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/tbucket-engine-project-dart-shp.3814/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-now-going-to-be-a-400.7804/page-2#post-26903

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/block-prep.125/#post-30125

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/383-building-advice.10710/#post-46660

if you have a complete spare engine that you intend to store for years
its old school but I know it works,
(filling a stored engine completely full of fresh oil)
its done, or at least was done.. ALL THE TIME,
it virtually ensures there's zero moisture & rust damage from condensation,
most knowledgable people also back off all rocker's, seal intake and exhaust ports,
for long term storage.
buts so the valve springs are not compressed and cam bearings are not under compression
just remember to pull all the sparkplugs and readjust the rockers,
and manually spin the engine over a few dozen times to work out most of the excess oil,
reset the ignition timing and check coolant levels.
before you re-install the plugs refill the oil to a proper level before trying to start it
exhaust block plates are commonly used
BSC90176-L.jpg


https://behrents.com/parts/bsc-9017...9cW-DIVgros6KsWnq_7El-v-npEUrzShoCSjIQAvD_BwE


BSC90175-L.jpg

https://behrents.com/parts/bsc-90175.asp
 
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I have a spare block in my basement. I’ll get it looked at in a few months but I think it will be a good candidate for a reasonable performance rebuild.

I presume it’s still a good idea to sort out the ignition.

Not really sure I should bother with a compression test.
 
 
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