'89 Stepside "Way Cool Jr."

[Erik the Awful]

I got my sister-in-laws inherited Explorer finished up and given to her last Friday. Then I pulled the Mustang into the shop and replaced the inner tie rod ends because the steering was getting scary. The day I finished that job my wife's Chrysler 300 developed a hard miss, so immediately got it into the shop. Yesterday I had the Chrysler apart and found that the upper intake had been on and off so many times that the gasket and EGR gaskets were all wore out. You have to pull the intake to replace spark plugs and we've had spark plug, coil, and coil wiring issues with this car over the past few years. I got it back together with new gaskets and now it's running in safe mode. WTH? I ran out of time last night, and now I have to figure it out this afternoon.

My wife was driving my Mustang yesterday, so I needed to drive WCJr to the parts store. I decided to check the oil first because it's leaking so bad, and the oil on the dipstick looks like milkshake. It's been raining and the dipstick doesn't seal good, so I checked the radiator, and it's so low I can't see coolant. Ruh Roh. My goal now is to get the 300 finished and out of the shop so I can pull the Mustang in and rebuild the rear end. Once I have that done I can pull WCJr in, drain the oil, and then possibly yank the motor.

I'm split on what to do. I have the $150 350 I scored last year torn apart and I can have it ready for the machine shop vat after a little block deburring. My plan has been to build it into a 383 with AFR Enforcer heads, and have the two-bolt block tapped for splayed 4-bolt main caps. However, I don't have the parts yet, and I don't have the budget for them. I'd need the stroker kit and caps before it goes to the machine shop. If I go this route, I'd also take the opportunity to ditch the 700R4 for an NV3500 that I have in the shop. I'd be targeting a much larger cam, serious weight reduction, and relegating WCJr to autocrossing.

The alternative is to pull the current motor out of WCJr and go though it again. I built it several years ago, and I need to pull the head bolts out to see if I actually sealed them. It was my first SBC build and I don't think I knew about sealing the bolts at the time. If that solves the coolant issue, then it's just a matter of figuring out where the oil leak is coming from. Also, I never ported the Vortec heads before installation, so I could do that while they're off. This means delaying or curtailing my end goals for WCJr and it also means I'll have to actually diagnose the 700R4's hard shifting (ugh). This means that instead of eventually putting this motor into Roscoe (after the fixes), I'd build the cheap 350 with the stock 217 heads and stock bottom end for Roscoe. With a cleanup port job on the heads and a good torque cam it would be a great towing motor, but again, I'd want to upgrade to 4-bolt mains.

At the same time I'm trying to find a sub-$2000 vehicle for my son because the engine in his Crown Vic is knocking like the landlord on the 31st. I put bids on two trucks this last week and got just barely outbid both times. Still hunting. If anybody in the OKC area has a cheap vehicle that runs and drives somewhat reliably, PM me. I'm especially considering GMT400s because he needs something that can be fixed cheap and easy.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

My plan has been to build it into a 383 with AFR Enforcer heads, and have the two-bolt block tapped for splayed 4-bolt main caps.

www.blueprintengines.com/products/blueprint-engines-383ci-stroker-crate-engine-small-block-gm-shortblock-plus-bp38318sp

GM SB Compatible 383 c.i. Engine - 436 HP - Short Block Plus

Description: HP & Torque: 436 HP / 443 FT LBS Compression Ratio: 10.0:1 Hypereutectic Pistons Cast Steel Crank Block: 4 Bolt main 4.00" bore Passenger side dipstick Align honed main bearing bore Cylinders honed on computer controlled machine to within .0002 straightness and roundness Cylinders...

blueprintengines.com

 

[Erik the Awful]

Dude, if I don't even have the money for the stroker kit, I sure don't have money for that. If I had the money I'd go that route, but I'm still trying to score a cheap beater.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Dude, if I don't even have the money for the stroker kit, I sure don't have money for that.

Yeah, I get it, been there done that - still am. I figured, what the hell.

Honestly I should have bought the Scat rotating assembly with flat tops, and done what you're aiming to. Enjoy building yours, it's always fun doing it and experiencing the satisfaction when it 1st fires up, and you can burn some rubber (then buy new tires, it never ends, ha ha)

 

[Erik the Awful]

WCJr's sitting in front of the shop. The 700R4 I built is leaking fluid and shifting hard and I think the rear china wall is seeping oil.

Ugh.

I'm in the middle of building the $150 350, and I think I'm going to take the opportunity to swap it in and get the current motor resealed and ready for Roscoe. I'm also going to ditch the 700R4 for the NV3500 I have sitting in the corner.

But first I have to rebuild the rearend for the Mustang and finish assembling the $150 350. I think I have all the parts on hand to finish assembly, but I'm sure something else will crop up. I'm building the motor with future upgrades in mind on the budget I can afford right now.

Marine L98 crate motor
2 bolt main block with one-piece rear main and roller cam provisions
stock crank, rods, and pistons in beautiful condition, reusing the original bearings because they're all in great shape
stock L98 iron heads with a cleanup port, combustion chamber polish, and intake gasket matched
stock Vortec camshaft, pushrods, and roller lifters from Pull-A-Part
LS-style lifter brackets instead of the L31 dogbones
stock L98 valvesprings, keepers, rockers, and a new set of stock retainers to eliminate the rotocap retainers
stock 1.94"/1.50" valves, but the exhaust have stupid-big .371" stems
Melling M77 oil pump, heavy duty pump shaft, ARP stud, and Weiand 7qt oil pan
remote oil cooler adapter
stock L98 single roller timing chain and Summit SFI-rated balancer
Edelbrock Victor Jr intake - aftermarket EFI systems prefer single planes
the gaskets and other parts are all stuff I had laying around

 

[Erik the Awful]

Doh! Last year I promised to put up pictures of the stereo installation, and I forgot. I was getting near retirement and my AF Reserve unit was having a mini car show alongside our Family Day. I had to scramble to get WCJr together for the event. A week before the show I ordered a Kenwood KMM-BT328U for $120 shipped. When I first screwed the interior together I'd thought ahead and installed two pairs of cheap Pyle 4x6 speakers. I also managed to score a single-DIN bezel at Pull-A-Part a few years back. It looked passable enough for the show, and if I'm driving around on errands, the stereo produces decent noise.

At right around $200 this is as bare basic simple and cheap as you're going to get in a new stereo on these trucks. Typically I provide links for the stuff I recommend, but I'm not going to put links to the Pyle speakers. They're f***ing garbage. Note in the pictures below that they don't even fit under the speaker grilles in the dash.

Here's the stereo. The microphone is stuck in the replacement pocket for the stock stereo alongside the Sniper handheld. I have no idea how well it works because nobody's called me while driving the truck yet. I imagine all they'll hear is V8 glory. The phone connects readily to my Android phone, but sometimes I have to unlock my phone and tell Spotify to start.
www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KMM-BT328U-Digital-Media-Receiver/dp/B07ZPDJB5J/

Here's a single-DIN kit - I can't guarantee the quality because I'm not even sure what brand mine is.
www.amazon.com/Harness-Adapter-Fits-1988-1996-Chevrolet-Complete/dp/B0085W3PE8/

I have a magnetic mount for my phone or the Sniper handheld on the dash. It works great. I run one in my Mustang as well.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I3E17RA/

Gratuitous interior pics. No, I didn't bother to detail the interior for you. Sorry, no pictures of the speakers in the B-pillars because all you'd see is the stock B-pillars.

Heres' just a simple dash shot. It almost looks like a factory setup.

You must be registered for see images attach

The Kenwood head unit, installed, with the faceplate in place.

You must be registered for see images attach

The Pyle speakers sound terrible...

You must be registered for see images attach

...and don't even fit. Notice that the edge up against the windshield is popped up instead of snapped down into place. It's not obvious, but also not optimal.

You must be registered for see images attach

Just in case anyone's forgotten, I did put sound deadener under the carpet, on the back wall of the cab, and in the doors. With the windows up the road noise and engine noise are fairly muted, but the Pyle speakers still suck.

I do plan on a much nicer stereo for Roscoe, because my plan is for that to be comfortable for longer distance towing. The current plan is a double-DIN stereo, Infinity 6.5"s & tweeters in the kick panels, Infinity 4x6s in all the factory locations, and a 12" Infinity sub under the seat. I already have the 6.5"/tweeters and the sub in my stereo parts stash, and I plan to run all the speakers with amplifiers. I have about twice as much sound deadening to put in that cab.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I have a few weeks of use-or-lose leave to burn before the end of the year, so I scheduled four days with the holiday next week so I could have an entire week of gettin' stuff done.

I went to Pull-A-Part today, mostly to look for a door handle for my daughter's Honda CR-V. They didn't have the door handle, but I found a set of stock 3+1 rear springs for WCJr to replace the homebrew 2+1s that can't support the weight of a trailer. I got one side, but I'm going to have to go back tomorrow and get the other side. I didn't bring my heavy tools, and the u-bolts on that side weren't giving up easy.

I'm not entirely sure the transmission issues I've had weren't caused by the TV cable being a non-OEM setup, so I picked up a TBI throttle bracket. The fun part is going to be figuring out how to mount it on my Summit 4-barrel intake.

I also found a good black-painted front bumper for Roscoe so I can ditch the bent chrome bumper that doesn't match the black rear bumper I also found at Pull-A-Part.

What blew my mind was the engine block sitting in the aisle. I saw a 350 with roller lifters, so I flipped it over. Four-bolt mains! The perfect block! The pistons were rusted in place, but a .030" overbore would likely solve that. I looked for cracks and couldn't find any. The only rust I saw was in the cylinder bores. I was ready to heave it into my cart, but the main caps were missing. I looked all up and down that aisle, and I couldn't even see a truck that engine would have come out of. No main caps, anywhere to be found. WTF? Sure, I can buy a set of main caps from Summit and have the machinist fit them, but that will cost me as much as the block. I really want to smack someone upside the head.

My main goals next week are to scrap the Crown Vic, scrap the Altima, make two quick fixes on the Ford Forkedus, and then get WCJr in for the transmission swap, TV cable fix, and rear spring replacement. If I only get the two Fords done I'll still call it a success, but I'm hoping...

 

[Erik the Awful]

On post 395, just above, I mentioned that I was working on putting my $150 350 back together. Ugh, that was five months ago and I haven't made hardly any progress. I've had a bit of "waiting for parts" going on, and spending on my kids' cars has curtailed the planned budget.

The stock head bolts were rusted, so I threw them away. I ordered a Summit bolt kit because I can't justify spending $200 on head studs when I don't have the rest of the parts that would legitimize them. The current problem is that the bolt kit is on backorder with an expected ship date of November 10th.

I forgot that Vortec cams have a smaller bolt circle than the older cams, so the stock L98 single roller chain won't work. I had to order a Vortec timing chain. I also had the stock-style dogbones on hand, so I used them instead of the LS-style lifter trays. If I were going with a cam that had more than .530" lift I'd use the LS trays.

I still don't have the SFI rated balancer, but since I don't have the heads and stroker kit I really want to put on this motor, I'm going back with stock. The Weiand pan is nice, but absolutely won't fit a big block oil pump. The pan is really a diamond on a goat's butt, but it's readily reusable, so I threw a used stock oil pump on the engine and I'm going to run with the Weiand 7 quart pan.

I have a set of Harland Sharp rockers on the shelf that I was planning on using, but when I inspected them I discovered the stud holes are too small. They're LS rockers. They won't work, and I have another potential project I can use them on. Instead I ordered a set of Elgin 1.6 self-aligning stamped steel rockers. They should put me just shy of a 200 duration and a .450" lift with the stock Vortec cam. Anemic in my book, but it'll run harder than stock, so who am I to complain?

 

[Erik the Awful]

Elsewhere a while back I posted my LS motor engine build spreadsheet. It has formulas and tables of parts data so you can quickly mix and match combos to check for issues and quickly identify if there are any problems with your engine combination. This past weekend @whitewheels asked about his 305, so I reworked my spreadsheet to work with older SBCs. Today I was dorking around and put all the parts in WCJr's motor into the spreadsheet.

Doh! Now I know why I'm getting pinging. I obviously need a larger cam with more overlap.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Supercharged111]

Use/lose? I have 40 days to burn this year and I'm hoping to plop 30 of them in front of Skillbridge. We'll see how generous leadership is feeling. Off topic I know.