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.
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.