Category: My Projects

Joyous fun pulling a crease out of the front fender with my nifty vice-grip-slide-hammer tool.

Read More: The Crusty Chevy – Tremclad and a Roller

Potato potato potato.

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Used headers (electrolysis rust removal and BBQ paint), 2-1/2″ pipes to the mufflers, and 2-1/4″ out the back.

Ford Windstar cooling fans next.

Read more: The Crusty Chevy

Now to get it installed

Read More: Re-Ring the 350

Made my own piston stop and located true Top Dead Center (TDC) – new harmonic balancer was 1° retarded.

Checked the cam, and the duration was slightly different than the cam card (but the same as current specs).  Cam needed to be advanced 6° to be in spec – good thing I degree’d the cam!

Heads went on with a Felpro 1094 steel shim gasket shortly afterwards.

Read more: Re-Ring the 350

New Speed Pro/Sealed Power .020 Hypereutectic flat top pistons to replace the dished cast stock pistons.  So pretty.

Read More: The Crusty Chevy

New camshaft vs. original camshaft. Do you see a difference?

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I got half way through cleaning the pistons on the Crusty Chevy’s 350, when I started thinking this wasn’t the best way to go.  Instead, I dropped the block off at a machine shop to get punched .020 over with some Speed Pro Hypereutectic flat tops and have the guts balanced.  More money, but probably a lot better in the long run.

Read More: Re-Ring the 350

Pleased to find the engine is a 3970010 block (I was expecting it to be). Surprised to find how little effort it took to turn the engine over by hand to unbolt the torque convertor. Took me 2 hours to pull, which I guess isn’t bad since I’m rusty, old, and feeble.

Question is, do I want to clean all this up? I mean, it’s just going to get dirty again….

Read More: The Crusty Chevy

Yeah, my first major porting job too.  My hands are numb and I don’t want to do this again.

Read More: The Crusty Chevy