1979 Chevy C10 Hellride
- Thread starter irk miller
- Start date
JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
I can dig it.
The block just came back. Bored 30 over and notched for the 400 crank’s 3.75 stroke.
I hoped I would have the engine back together this weekend, but this is where i'm at. Nothing fancy, but clean and freshly coated.
Just waiting on the shiny pulleys and accessory brackets to finish it off and ready for install.
Small block Chevy engines are akin to building with Legos. It’s really just bolting things together. The most major adjustment to the block is having the underside of the bores notched to make room for the longer stroke.
I had the machine shop install the cam bearings, since they have the tooling to do it. You can see in that pic where there are 3 of 5 cam and crank bearing locations. The block was also line bored to the bearing sizes.
I don’t have in-process pics, but here’s right when I got the last piston in...
You are essentially lining the crank up to the hole, sliding a ring compressor over the piston, then hit the piston in with a dead blow.
When it comes to timing the cam and crank (sorry, no pic again), it’s a little different than with a stock crank. The longer stroke moves the timing, so you have to push the #1 piston to tdc (like the pic) and line the mark on the crank sprocket with the mark on the cam sprocket. The procedure doesn’t change because of the stroke, but the cam position ends up being different.
I had the machine shop install the cam bearings, since they have the tooling to do it. You can see in that pic where there are 3 of 5 cam and crank bearing locations. The block was also line bored to the bearing sizes.
I don’t have in-process pics, but here’s right when I got the last piston in...
You are essentially lining the crank up to the hole, sliding a ring compressor over the piston, then hit the piston in with a dead blow.
When it comes to timing the cam and crank (sorry, no pic again), it’s a little different than with a stock crank. The longer stroke moves the timing, so you have to push the #1 piston to tdc (like the pic) and line the mark on the crank sprocket with the mark on the cam sprocket. The procedure doesn’t change because of the stroke, but the cam position ends up being different.
I got the motor in today. It was an adventure. I didn’t want to take apart my front end, so I had to get resourceful to get enough reach...
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Something I’ve learned with these SBC’s is you can gain horsepower with the rockers. Now installing a set of 1.52 Comp Cams roller rockers. No more stamped rockers.
Yep, other V shaped pushrod motors like roller rockers too.
Yup, did my C10 about 6 years ago when the crate motor went in (my Fbody about a decade before that).
Just having the roller tip is kinda irrelevant though, without the roller cam/lifters/fulcrum. But the extra .02 doesn't hurt. Like tossing in a slightly bigger cam.
Shame you had to remove your hood though
Crate motorYup, did my C10 about 6 years ago when the crate motor went in (my Fbody about a decade before that).
Just having the roller tip is kinda irrelevant though, without the roller cam/lifters/fulcrum. But the extra .02 doesn't hurt. Like tossing in a slightly bigger cam.
Shame you had to remove your hood though
. The stamped rockers also flex, so there's an hp difference in construction alone. They're not consistently 1.5. Depending on the heads, you can lose hp going all the way to 1.6, so I'm starting here and maybe trying out longer ones later to see where it goes. You're wrong to say the rollers are irrelevant. They still reduce friction at the valve tip, so it's still a performance upgrade. I will eventually go to a roller cam and lifters, and possibly full roller rockers, but not before I put some miles on this build. As far as the hood, if you know what you're doing it's nothing. It took me all of 10 minutes to get it back on and lined up by myself. It's a lot easier to clean the underside when it's off the truck anyway.
Yup, plain ol' run of the mill replacement truck block 350. Works great and gets the job done. But I can understand how some people want theirs to be bigger.Crate motor
Yea... Duh... That's why I did it to mine. Even a little bit helps. But the full potential isn't realized until you go full roller. I went full roller with the motor I built for my Fbody. You'll see if/when you eventually get there.
Yup, panel alignment is easy, and there are techniques you can use that'll have them "self align" during reassembly. Zero minutes spent "lining up". You should check into them. But I was just bustin your chops as my hood rotates completely out of the way. Didn't/don't need to remove it at all to pull the engine
Oh yeah, just busting back. I considered the crate motor, but once I decided the block I had needed an 030 bore, I figured I might as well do the 400 crank and go full stroker. Full admit to learning a bunch as I go along. Lots of hidden tricks with these lego motors that we don't get to play with as much with the motorcycles. I also admit that I ran out of money, so that's the real reason I am putting certain things off and buying them as I get the extra cash along the way. It would be nice to be fully suited by the end of the summer. Still trying to figure out the best carb situation and/or eventually EFI or TBI. Ordered a 750cfm Demon that I'm still waiting on after 10 days.Yup, plain ol' run of the mill replacement truck block 350. Works great and gets the job done. But I can understand how some people want theirs to be bigger.
Yea... Duh... That's why I did it to mine. Even a little bit helps. But the full potential isn't realized until you go full roller. I went full roller with the motor I built for my Fbody. You'll see if/when you eventually get there.
Yup, panel alignment is easy, and there are techniques you can use that'll have them "self align" during reassembly. Zero minutes spent "lining up". You should check into them. But I was just bustin your chops as my hood rotates completely out of the way. Didn't/don't need to remove it at all to pull the engine
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