Post by Dave Young on Feb 16, 2008 16:27:53 GMT -7
About three years ago I decided to rebuild the engine in my truck. It was on its last leg when I parked it 7 yrs. previously. When I started the project, I really didn't have any plans to start the restoration process, but I need a truck for work.
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At this point, the closest I'd come to rebuilding an engine was when I rebuilt my carburator some 10 years back, but a good friend of mine offered to help me out. He has a lot of experience rebuilding engines, GM V8's inparticular, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
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What I decided to do was replace the 283 that was in it with a 350 out of a '77 Caprice Classic that my brother wrecked. The engine was in pretty good shape when it was parked, so all I had to do was polish the crank shaft, clean and resurface the heads, and replace the rings, lifters, and bearings.
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I went with Chevy Orange with black peripherals and brackets. No chrome. I kept the 4BBL intake manifold for the oil filler tube, the ram-horn exhaust, and the embossed valve covers from the 283. I wanted to keep the vintage look. I upgraded to HEI ignition and made my own spark plug wires because nobody makes a set of spark plug wires that fit a '77 GM 350 with HEI and ram-horn exhaust.
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I topped the 650 cfm Carter AFB with an air-filter housing comprised of pieces from 2 different unknown vehicles. I had to paint one of the pieces black, but I like the way it looks. Not wanting to drill a hole right through the logo on the valve covers, I drilled through the back and put a PCV valve in. The fan shown in the picture above is no longer there. I had to go back to the stock fan when I installed the fan shrowd.
It was a fun project. I still have some work to do on it, but it runs strong. The carb needs tuning and the spark plugs need replacing. Otherwise, it runs like a champ.
spacerAt this point, the closest I'd come to rebuilding an engine was when I rebuilt my carburator some 10 years back, but a good friend of mine offered to help me out. He has a lot of experience rebuilding engines, GM V8's inparticular, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
spacerWhat I decided to do was replace the 283 that was in it with a 350 out of a '77 Caprice Classic that my brother wrecked. The engine was in pretty good shape when it was parked, so all I had to do was polish the crank shaft, clean and resurface the heads, and replace the rings, lifters, and bearings.
spacerI went with Chevy Orange with black peripherals and brackets. No chrome. I kept the 4BBL intake manifold for the oil filler tube, the ram-horn exhaust, and the embossed valve covers from the 283. I wanted to keep the vintage look. I upgraded to HEI ignition and made my own spark plug wires because nobody makes a set of spark plug wires that fit a '77 GM 350 with HEI and ram-horn exhaust.
spacerI topped the 650 cfm Carter AFB with an air-filter housing comprised of pieces from 2 different unknown vehicles. I had to paint one of the pieces black, but I like the way it looks. Not wanting to drill a hole right through the logo on the valve covers, I drilled through the back and put a PCV valve in. The fan shown in the picture above is no longer there. I had to go back to the stock fan when I installed the fan shrowd.
It was a fun project. I still have some work to do on it, but it runs strong. The carb needs tuning and the spark plugs need replacing. Otherwise, it runs like a champ.
anyone know if its possible to turn my c10 into 4x4 ?