Ignition Shielding Grommets

[Patrick H.]

K,

Yes, you should be able to use a standard 350.

One question I have is why you believe that it will be less expensive to build a second motor than to de-tune yours. The standard 350 components which were installed in these motors generally was not of high performance potential, unless you had an L-82. Now I will confess that I do not know whether the 81 had forged pistons (vs cast) as there was only one motor, but knowing GM, I doubt it. If so, using standard rebuild kits should be all you need. In other words, it will be LESS expensive to rebuild your present motor than to rebuild one twice.

In addition, I hate to say it, but your Corvette motor was, in base form, really not much different than a passenger car engine. The induction (carb) was different, but likely again, little else.

Also, you may find that the short block in yours still has original components, and that only the cam was changed. If so, it may cost you even less to rebuild it. Do you have receipts from the previous owner as to what was done?

I would HIGHLY suggest finding someone in your area that can help you IN PERSON examine your engine casting numbers, head castings, etc to see their origin. Then, consider having them take the engine apart and giving you an opinion BEFORE further work is started. You may even be able to just pull the heads off the engine and examine them for porting and polishing, as well as then view the pistons, without having to remove the motor.

Good luck.

Patrick

[Joe L.]

Re: Replacement Engine

Kevin-----

I agree with Patrick. Unless minimizing downtime is of the essence(i.e you need to get the car back on the road as soon as possible), your best bet is to rebuild your existing engine.

You will not need a bevy of expensive "original" parts to accomplish this. Your original block, cylinder heads, intake manifold and exhaust manifolds should be reuseable after cleaning and machine work. As far as machine work goes, you will probably need to bore the block(smallest oversize possible), have the valves ground and replace any valves requiring it(or, replace all the valves with good quality, US made stainless steel valves). Your crankshaft will very likely be ok, as is. Have your machine shop check it and, if the journals are within specs, they can just polish them and let it go at that. If necessary, have the crankshaft reground, but I do not recommend going more than .010" undersize. If more is required, purchase a new or reground crank of .010" max undersize. The cast iron crankshaft used in your engine is very plentiful and inexpensive to obtain if you need one. Have the machine shop recondition your original connecting rods. This is not very expensive and you will end up with rods very suitable for continued street operation.

You will need to replace your camshaft, lifters, pistons, rod bearings, main bearings, cam bearings and all seals and gaskets. I also highly recommend replacing the oil pump, water pump, and fuel pump. Your original camshaft is available from GM under part number 14088839 and lists for $215.00. A GM oil pump, GM #10055849, is available for a list price of $84.28. Both of these parts can be obtained in reproduction for a lot less and many GM dealers will sell you these for 25% off list, too.

I strongly recommend the use of GM hydraulic lifters---in my opinion, these are the best available. The lifters for your engine, GM#5234200, GM list for $18.32/each and you need 16 of them. However, you can get these through the Delco parts system for a lot less.

The GM pistons for your engine are no longer available. However, that presents no problem at all-----I wouldn't use them anyway. Your original pistons were cast aluminum. I would use modern-technology hypereutectic aluminmum pistons. These pistons are nearly as strong as forged pistons, but provide the tight cylinder wall clearances and long life of cast pistons. These are the pistons that GM uses in the LT-1, LT-4, LS-1 and ZZ-4 crate engines. You can get a set of Federal-Mogul manufacture for less than $200.

As far as bearings go, GM used to produce the finest engine bearings available, in house. These bearings, Moraine 400, were incomparable, in my opinion. However, they are no longer produced. Instead, today GM obtains most of its engine bearings from Federal-Mogul. They are still of the premium aluminum type and you can buy a set from aftermarket sources for a lot less than buying them in GM boxes.

For gaskets, I recommend Fel-Pro premium.

By the way, and in answer to one of your other questions, for your model year engine, there were NO differences between Corvette cylinder blocks and cylinder heads from those used in other Chevrolet products.

[Tom Freeman]

Ignition Shielding Grommets

I want to keep the stock ignition shielding but use the modern 8.0 or 8.5 mm wires. The original wires are 7.0 mm. As such the rubber grommets that the wires run through to protect them from the sharp edges are much too small for the larger wires. What are those of you who are running the large wires with stock shielding doing? Any suggestions.

tom...

[Dale Pearman]

Re: Ignition Shielding Grommets

I threw away the stock shielding, gromets, and spark plug wire guides. Next I put red fiberglass heat shields over my yellow accel 8.8 mm solid core wires and tied them all together with red and white plastic wire ties. I rerouted the wire looms for maximum eye appeal and topped the whole thing off with an MSD Cap-a-Dapt using a red plastic Ford distributor cap. All in all a BEAUTIFUL combination!

Dale.

[John C.]

Jeez, Dale...

...and so why didn't you jump on the guy with the one of twenty '67 L-82s?!?!? Too easy?

[Dale Pearman]

Hey, I'm Not

jumping on anybody! The above is REALLY how I did the ignition system on my 1962 Corvette Fuel Injected Driver. This Vette is modified for my pleasure ONLY and that's how I want it! The cap-a-dapt is the best thing going if you want to run 0.075 inch gaps on your plugs! In fact it's a REQUIREMENT! I actually run 0.050 plug gaps. All the other stuff is for heat insulation as well as electrical insulation. It's a super reliable system with the S-10 coil and star-wheel TI distributor. I use a Kelly Davis custom HEI module.

This beast starts right up AND runs as high as 7000 rpm with NO ignition problems. I use a vacuum advance. (I have to remove the air cleaner element in order to get enough air into the big engine to turn that rpm)

Dale.

[Tom Freeman]

Not quite that far out....

Dale, My tastes are not quite that far out...perfer the more stock look.

Is anyone out there running the larger wires with the stock shielding? If so, how are you handling the grommets?

tom...

[Michael W.]

Re: Not quite that far out....

Tom,

What do you expect to gain with the larger wires?

If you want, you can have the set from my small block. I noticed no difference at all except that my complete ignition shielding set gets to sit on my bench waiting to be polished.

I envy Dale having the time to enjoy such things......

[John C.]

Sorry, Rev but.......

just sounded so unlike your philosophy so sarcastically delivered in your other posts that I thought you were BS'in the guy! My apologies!

[Dale Pearman]

Hey I Wear Three Hats

One of them says, "Jegs" and I built my driver to please me and no one else. It will never be shown. It does look very original with matching numbers BUT it has many modifications. I derive the VERY MOST FUN out of Corvettes by driving this car.

Hat number two is restoration fanatic. And that means the purest of pure. PERIOD! No ifs, buts, or ands!

Hat number three is an NCRS 400 Club Master Judge's Hat of which I'm very proud.

Dale.