Well with some issues with massive oil loss I decided to pull the engine this winter. After removing the engine I was able to pull the heads and check stuff out.

The pistons look fine, nothing out of the ordinary here.

As for the heads well..... the valve seals are hosed as wel as the guides I would assume. So we have found the oil burning culprit, but since the engins out and tore down I might as well check out the rest of it.

Well first I pulled the rod bearings and they all lok great, then I pulled the Mains and ewwww its not good.

They are trashed so is the crank. After much diagnosis Ive concluded that it was a combination of contamination on initial startup with the vibration caused from my converter that broke a while back. So the plan is as follows....

- Crank will be cut and polished

- Clevite 77 H Series Bearings

- New rear main seal

- Head Work will include - clerance the guides, positive seals, replace guides

Other plans are to have my Air-Gap intake Powdercoated "Black Chrome"

Well I received some more parts for the motor today including GM head gaskets, a new Melling 55A oil pump, Summit/Hastings cast piston rings, front and rear seals.

Here is the crank cut 10/10 and ready to go back in.

Well today I did a double check with plasti-guage and all of the bearings spec out at .0025 ~ .003 so all is good. I lubed it all up good and torqued it down to 75ftlbs. It spins real easily so it looks good to go.

The pistons have been rings and all but 2 of them are installed and show good clerances of .002~.003 dead on. The heads should be back from the shop soon so well see how it goes this time.

As you can see shes back toghter and almost ready to go. Soon I will drop the oil pump and pan on and give it a fresh coat of paint. Past that I will do some work on the transmission and then wait for the heads, which actually I could put on the motor with it in the car so depending on the timeframe from the shop we will have to see.

I painted the Oil Pan, Timing Chain cover, and wter pump today with the same Cast Grey paint I plan to use on the rest of the motor.

Today I bolted down the oil pump and set the sump height. Once set I tack welded it into place. After that I set the timing chain in place and locked it down. All thats left to button up the bottom end is to put on the rear main seal and bolt on the pan and timing chain cover.

I received the Vortec heads back from Biers Auto Supply.  They look great, they have a fresh grind on the valves, stock valve locks, guides are cut down for massive clerance, and a new set of positive valve seals are installed.  They resurfaced the head and put a nice black paint job on them, they should go on the motor in a few days.

After cleaning up my ARP headbolts I oiled them up and torqued them down to spec.  Along with priming the lifters and squirting oil in the pushrods Ive got the longblock complete.  Next is to clean and install my roller tip rockers.

Ok time to get to business, I have ordered a set of Comp Magnum Roller Tip rockers from Sallee-Chevrolet. And the block has been fully painted. So its time to get the transmission sealed up and painted, finish the interior and give the wiring a once over so its all ready to be dropped in and fired up.

The new Comp Magnum Rocker Arms are here and below are some Comparison Shots to the CAT and Stock Roller Tip rockers.

COMP VS. CAT

COMP VS. STOCK

As you can see the guides on the Comp Rockers are much better design, they are enough to get the job done unlike the CAT Brand which are way too much bulk and were causing interference.  Compared to the stock type the Comp Brand are a great way to free up HP and cut down on wear on the valve tips and also have a longer slot for more lift.  The Comps are also a true 1.52 so you'll get a touch more lift with them.

Well today I got my ARP Intake Bolts.  On my first attempt to tighten it down I had a few issues.....  look at this bolt stretch!! Also I got the water pump installed. 

This morning me and dad pulled an early morning engine install when I got home from work.  Took a bit of work but its all lined up and partially bolted in.  I've got to finish bolting in the transmission and bolt the converter up to the flexplate.  Then onto installing the accessories and wiring it all back up. Then transmission lines and she will be ready to fire up...last but not least I have GOT TO LOWER THE FRONT END!!!!!

Ok well here we go.... She has a full belly of 30W (non-detergent) all the lines and hoses are hooked up. All I have left is to prime the oiling system and fire her up. Here is what I got done I was hooked up the Transmission using some "PUSH-ON" Fittings and hose. They are like a barb fitting that you don't use a hose clamp on. They are good up to 150psi also. Then I filler her up with oil, hooked up the exhaust using some Copper seal gaskets and attached everything else I could think of....

Well After using our custom made oil priming tool I was getting a good reading of 75psi so I let it run for a min or two to prime everything nice and good. Then I stabbed in the distributor hooked up my wires and tried to fire her up... *crank**crank* *crank* *crank* *crank* *crank* *crank* *crank* and nothing.. humm no spark then I realized I forgot to plug in the distributor harness. So in it was plugged and wham she fired right up. I played with the timing and the idle mixture and got her running good. But I have horrible exhaust leaks everywhere that I will have to look at today but the good news is there are no leaks, now funny noises, no knocking. There may be a slight miss but once I get the exhaust leaks fixed I will look into that, probably just need to set the valves on it once more.

Well I got the exhaust leaks fixed, there are no fluid leaks, hell the vibration I had before is even gone it feels real good... but #4 and #6 were both clattering real loud. I tried to adjust them to no avail. Then I checked the studs, the pushrods, everything is good. So I replaced them with stock rocker arms and viola! its quiet. So im going to move them to another cylinder and see if that one gets loud, if so ill call Comp and see about getting them exchanged.

Took the car tonight to the Local Car Cruise. Despite the spotty rain showers we had a good turnout and so far the car runs grand. I have some exhaust leaks to seal up still but other then that all good. I have about 50 miles on her and since I don't have a tach yet ive been trying to keep my foot out of it...

**UPDATE**

With about 400-500 miles on the motor all is well.  She runs good and feels like the same old car again.  The rockers were sent off to Comp Cams and I am awaiting their return.  I did pick up a new Air Cleaner for the car and ive been busy prepping her for the Trip to G05.