Richie called me Thursday to bring it in Monday morning. The hold-up, along with the fact the engine build itself ran a little behind schedule, was the fact that when one deals with a small shop (basically a one-man operation) such as Richie's, one must sometimes wait one's turn before there is enough room to accomodate one's car. Sheesh, I'm getting impatient!04.29.02 -- The Vette is in the shop. I dropped it off this morning; the old engine and transmission should be out in a day or two and ready for the new units to go in place instead. Man, we're getting close now, what a learning experience this has been -- only two months behind schedule!
05.01.02 -- We're getting there. I delivered the engine, the transmission, the camber brace, the radiator and all of the other many parts I had remaining in my garage today. The old engine and transmission are out of the car, the new engine should be in place tomorrow. I may even have it back on the road by the end of next week.
05.06.02 -- The engine and transmission are in place, and sure enough, I encountered a few minor inconveniences almost immediately.
The first and most expensive mistake I made was ordering a hydraulic release bearing for the new clutch and transmission set-up. It turns out that the Tilton release bearing is not compatible with the Centerforce clutch; there isn't enough clearance due to the extended fingers that Centerforce utilizes to aid in the centrifugal force being applied to the disc. It would also wear a groove in the bearing face I'm told. I'm out for over $600 on that one!
The next mistake I made was ordering the incorrect motor mounts for the new engine; I ordered the "early" style mounts instead of the later model's "clamshell" type mounts. That was another fifty bucks.
I dropped off the cat and splitter today to have the custom pipe made up, I should get that back tomorrow. It won't be long now before we fire it up for the first time.
05.09.02 -- Another wrinkle to the plan developed today. The Lakewood bellhousing won't fit in the transmission tunnel with the factory style clutch slave cylinder. It's nothing to sidetrack the schedule or anything like that, but I won't be able to race it until I address this issue. The thing is, I didn't even realize this until I was loading the old parts onto the truck to bring them back home.
The NHRA Rulebook states:
All cars using a clutch and running 11.99 or quicker must be equipped with an SFI 6.1, 6.2 or 6.3 flywheel shield. (See section 2:6 for motor plate and general requirements.) There shall be a minimum of seven 3/8-inch diameter Grade 8 bolts or high strength steel studs in the top half of the bellhousing. There shall be a minimum of eight 3/8-inch diameter Grade 8 bolts or high strength steel studs in the bottom half of the bellhousing used to fasten the bellhousing to the motor plate. Modifications or repairs to the flywheel shield prohibited except if performed by the manufacturer.
Exceptions to this rule: Volkswagen and Porsche engine cars are not required to have a shield when the engines are normally aspirated and gasoline burning. Porsche engines must use a steel billet flywheel. All other RWD cars running 11.99 or quicker for which an SFI 6.1, 6.2 or 6.3 flywheel shield is not commercially available may use an SFI 6.1, 6.2 or 6.3 flywheel shield from another application and mount it to a motor plate that is mounted to the engine block at all available bolt holes; or must be equipped with a flywheel shield made of 1/4-inch minimum thickness steel plate, securely mounted to the frame or frame structure and surrounding the bellhousing 360 degrees. The flywheel shield shall not be bolted to either the bellhousing or engine. The flywheel shield must extend forward to a point at least 1 inch ahead to the rear of the rotating components of the clutch and pressure plate.
I'm sure I'll figure it out, but why can't plans just go the right way the first time.05.13.02 -- We lit a fire in her today. It fired right up and we were able to break the cam in without a hitch, except that the other businesses in the complex were a little upset at all the smoke and noise I think. It sounded bitchin' without the cats to help quell the exhaust notes; sounds more like the old-style sidepipes the Sharks used to run.
We had a few minor glitches, things like a couple of small coolant leaks at the front of the intake manifold and also at the thermostat housing. One of the spark plug boots (#7) is toast already; it is just so close to the header that I don't know how we will handle that one.
Other than that things went well today. We still have to do the wheel bearings while it's in the shop, and we'll change the u-joints and balance the half-shafts while it's there as well. Soon, very soon.
05.21.02 -- Here it is with ten miles on the new engine. I didn't put many more on it today because we still have a few minor glitches to work out, as usual. The main thing is that it's way too loud for the street; I'd get busted for sure!
I'm almost finished. Of course, there's break-in time to consider and the usual glitches one encounters when hot-rodding a car, but we're well on the way to completion.
The project is almost complete. The piece of red insulating material you see by #4 cylinder is wrapped around the fuel line to prevent vapor lock. That is another issue I must deal with eventually.
06.01.02 -- I received the "Touring Module" the other day and installed the thing today. It helped quiet the noise somewhat, but it's still too loud. I have to wait on the new "Sound Capsules" to see if that will do the trick. If I can't bring the decibel level down with the sidepipes, it looks as though I may be forced to lose them. I'd really hate to do that because I receive compliments on them all the time and I personally like the look it gives the C4.
I'm sorta in a "Catch 22" here also; the exhaust is too loud to be running it around to different shops, but I have to get it to someone that can help me solve the Code 33--MAF Sensor trouble code being set. When that occurs, the car goes into "limp home" mode, and with the loud exhaust, sounds especially bad. Patience, right? And it'll all work itself out.
06.13.02 -- I received the sound chambers yesterday and attempted to install them today. There are a couple of bolts that I can't quite reach without the vehicle being on a lift, so I quit for the day. Lately I've been too busy trying to find another (bigger) truck and a trailer with which to tow the Vette.
06.15.02 -- It's never as easy as it first appears, but the new sound chambers are in place, and I'm sore and tired.
I haven't had it out on the street yet, but I think I can live with the sound level now, and I hope most cops can too.
Now, to get the ECU/ECM thing under control...
12.03.02 -- Wow, it's been six months since I've updated this page, yet nothing has really changed. If you've read my Road Trip 2002 story, you'll know that I've had the Vette both on a chassis dynomometer and the drag strip, twice both times. Suffice it too say that I am not pleased with the results so far. There is still tweaking to be done, and more importantly, the driver has quite a bit to learn yet; I embarrassed myself on the track more than the car did.
The numbers from the dyno runs were a bit disappointing as well, but at least I expected that. What I didn't expect was that it would be a much different responding car now that I've built the engine, and that I would have such a difficult time adjusting to it. Oh well, that will come in time I guess. I'll be sure to update this page as it progresses; meanwhile if you look at my "Project: Interior" page, you'll get an idea of where I stand currently. I've stripped the interior again in preparation for the roll cage installation, and I've also removed the radio, amplifier and CD changer, and the aftermarket alarm system. What a relief that is to be rid of all that excess wiring from under the dash!
The newest purchase in the continuing saga of attempting to get control of this newfound horsepower, is the addition of an Electromotive TEC3 (Total Engine Control) ignition and fuel management system.
For more information on this product, visit www.electromotive.com
These pictures depict the fifteen-year-old car's engine; they show it "as it was" -- however that has changed now that the engine swap is complete.
