Bandits back and still in need

[79Bandit]

welp guys im sure you remember a long long long long time ago when i tore out the engine to my 79 t.a (engine is a 68 400) anywho 3 months go bye and after making numerous stops to the machine shop he has not got anything done at all!!! so i take everything back money and all and now im left with this should i just rebuild the engine myself? (i own and have read; how to build high performance pontiac engines by jim hand, and i also have the chilton's automotive service manual) is it that hard to do if you just take your time? can anyone guide me threw it or tell me of another place that has good knowledge on the subject? thanks guys sorry i was away for so long i was in the process of moving.

[hotrod_chevyz]

The cylinders need to be bored, the crank needs reground, it needs new cam bearings, and new pistons put on the rods. If your going to do it right, it needs to go to a machine shop for at least a block prep if nothing else.

[doodad]

welcome back man..

l bought how to build chevy small block for my car and it looks VERY hard.. well as you know l am auto expert. l read that you need to machine some parts inside the engine and l believe you dont have those machines..

also, you tore the engine down a long time ago.. so you havent built it up yet? l thought maybe your cars was done already!

[79Bandit]

Originally Posted by hotrod_chevyz

The cylinders need to be bored, the crank needs reground, it needs new cam bearings, and new pistons put on the rods. If your going to do it right, it needs to go to a machine shop for at least a block prep if nothing else.

hey man its been bored .30 over im not sure what reground the crank means but i got a brand new crank (as i bought every component new and mostly forged) the block has been preped and is ready for assembly minus the crank being balanced... thanks again

[79Bandit]

heres a couple of pictures

This is what my garage now looks like

During the move someone somehow destroyed the shaker for my ta.. rip

Pretty much the whole assembly for the heads

New starter

New fuel pump

New water pump and a New Oil pump

New headers

New crank

Old harmonic balancer...not being replaced.

New Pistons old Connecting rods..not being replaced

Refinished Oil pan, Battery, Old carb and Intake + other asortments of old parts all to be replaced

Cylinder Walls

Engine repainted

[79Bandit]

no one there to help?

[hotrod_chevyz]

Lookin good so far. With a book telling you what to do it shouldnt be too hard to pull off. If your doing it yourself make darn sure you dont scuff the bearings when you put them in or you will waste all your time and money.

I think i would take the short block down and have sombody else put the crank in it, and do the rods/pistons/rings. That way if somthing goes wrong the warrenty should cover the bottom end. Other than that like i said lookin good.

[FormulaLT1]

Nothing to add besides Summit rules and can't wait to see her when she is done .

[wrightz28]

motor looks to be in good shape and you might be able to get away with just a good honing. You just need to make sure all you rcylinders are the same diameter from top to bottom, that's when you get in to taper (like a cone) where the top is wider than the bottom. Or out of round, the cylinders aren't uniformly circular. But atleast from the pic, it seem in order.

Did you mark all the main caps before you took it apart? I hope so, that would be the one thing to really screw things up. Other than that, it's not all that bad. I would hwever recommend doing it for the first time on a less expensive motor.

[2000LS1Z28]

Looks like a big project to me. If you want it done right send it to someone that knows what they are doing. I think you'll get it fixed quickly that way. Honestly a project like that may end up wasting your time, and damaging an engine.

It's up to you though. I'm the pessimist of the board.

Can't you buy a pre-assembled block like Luos did?

[doodad]

looks like our forum's second monster coming..

first one is mr.luos's T/A...

[poormillionaire2]

Originally Posted by 2000LS1Z28

Can't you buy a pre-assembled block like Luos did?

Yeah, I don't think his was pre-assembled. I think he got the bare block and built it up himself.

But dude, have fun with this project if you chose to do it. But you definately need to have a shop hone and clean the block and balance the rotating assembly. I know in GM High Tech Performance mag, their doing an LS1 stroker build right now and they go into good detail about some of these things (I know your's isn't an LS1, but a lot of the stuff is technically the same).

[79Bandit]

Originally Posted by wrightz28

motor looks to be in good shape and you might be able to get away with just a good honing. You just need to make sure all you rcylinders are the same diameter from top to bottom, that's when you get in to taper (like a cone) where the top is wider than the bottom. Or out of round, the cylinders aren't uniformly circular. But atleast from the pic, it seem in order.

Did you mark all the main caps before you took it apart? I hope so, that would be the one thing to really screw things up. Other than that, it's not all that bad. I would hwever recommend doing it for the first time on a less expensive motor.

Hey thanks for the help yes i marked EVERYTHING when i tore it down and took pictures almost everystep the block has already been hot tanked bored .30 over honed out re hot tanked, Freezer plugs and main bearings installed, my crank connecting rods and pistons have all been balanced and are ready for installation; the only thing im worried about is assemblying the heads. hope you guys stick around to help me out thanks!


EDIT***
i know this engine will be a torque monster but anyone think they have any guesses on horsepower put out? the 68 400 block with the yt code from what i can find out is rated at 350 hp (automatic trans) so with the bore bigger cam better pistons and a lot lot better heads i've got i hope to see the 400+?? with a shizille lot of torque

[hotrod_chevyz]

You might just put out 400HP. The torque is going to be pretty intense. What do you plan on doing in the way of a transmission. Do you have somthing fresh enough to stand up behind it?

[79Bandit]

Originally Posted by hotrod_chevyz

You might just put out 400HP. The torque is going to be pretty intense. What do you plan on doing in the way of a transmission. Do you have somthing fresh enough to stand up behind it?

a th-400 with 3000 stall and shift kit..