Hey guys, little update. Finally got my son's car back into the shop to continue working on it. He was ready... He went ahead and drained the coolant to begin removing the stock 4 barrel intake manifold. I had mentioned the trick of hooking up a vacuum hose to help "blow" the residual coolant from the intake manifold. Well...when he called me to come give him a hand, (we had company over), I asked what happened when I walked into,the shop... He forgot to put the cap back on the rad, and hooked the vacuum hose up to the rad hose, and blew coolant up and out the top of the rad...all over the shop wall, window blinds, and everything else that was in the flight path. So, here is my concern...besides how the heck do you get coolant off stuccoed walls... When we lifted the intake off, we were very cautious to not damage the tin tray under the intake. ...but there are no gaskets on the intake.....so how did the tin plate seal? How are we supposed to install .062" thick gaskets in between the new intake, and the heads? Do you still require the tin plate? (The fella at TA Performance spoke like it is still used with the aluminum intake.) The new intake gaskets were destroyed in shipping, so we have to order new ones again...so now I'm kinda at a loss as to what thickness to use. And at this point...should we pull the heads off? I'd like to, just to install thinner head gaskets, if possible, and properly clean the whole head/intake area. Anyone know if you can install headers with the heads removed? (Cuz there is no way for us to raise the car up high enough to do it from underneath the car. thanks!
That tin plate is the gasket. It is a combination gasket/valley pan. The valley needs to be covered so that the PCV valve does not suction oil from the valley. If you use the composite gaskets, you must still seal off the valley. You can either use your old metal pan and clip off the gasket section, or AM&P sells a stand alone shield made for that purpose. Your choice. Follow the directions from TA's website, http://www.taperformance.com/PDF/Intake_Instructions.pdf Or get this pan, http://automachperf.com/oilsystems.html Scroll down to Lifter Valley Oil Splash Baffle. I would leave the heads alone.
Bummer about the coolant. I Hate that slimy stuff.:rant: Good Jackstands on highest ratchet get the clearance you need to slip headers right in from underneath.
Thank you! We have a couple of small jack stands that only raise up like a foot or so, but I read the car had to be like two or three feet off the ground. (That's why I was wondering if pulling the heads off now would help.) We also have the other 350 engine that we could rip the heads off, and have rebuilt...then install them. (Since there's still no aluminum heads out yet...Boo!)
It's a lot simpler to unbolt and lift the engine, than to take the heads off. Get the car as high as you can with a floor jack and stands.
6 ton jack stands. They are the only way to go if you don't have a lift. I think they are much safer and give you much more height.
Wow...just to put headers on.ou: Wonder if we should pull the engine to change out the starter at the same time...we have the top half off already...just didn't wanna go too far, because I know if the engine comes out, he will want the cam, and everything else done then too. ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
I don't mean pull the engine completely, I mean get the car nice and high, and then if you need a bit more, just unbolt the motor mount long bolt(s), and lift the engine up a bit.
Yes, I get it.:TU: Its hard to put sarcasm on paper.p The starter doesn't kick in every time, just free wheels, and probably needs a good cleaning. Ordered a 14" chrome air cleaner with no logo. Stainless bolts for the intake manifold, and headers. Billet oil filler cap. And a set of 0.032" & 0.062" intake gaskets from TA Performance this morning.
Those oil filler caps were backordered for almost a year. Reminds me I have to call TA back to tell them I still want one. They just got them back in stock
Anyone know how the VFN fiberglass front fender attach to the body? Do they use fasteners, or do they bolt on like stock fenders? Cheap price...no more rust...
I too only have the small jack stands unfortunately, as for the heads, I got a porting kit from Jim at action it was only a hundred bucks and it's not that bad to do the majority of the work yourself...I have a good set of cutting burrs too so you just need the kit save a little cash
Back from holidays... Went down to Sweet Grass today and picked up a bunch of parts. Got the intake on tonight...only issue was when we opened the bag of stainless steel bolts from TA Performance, they were for a stock intake, not the SP-3. They were all too long...and I didn't want to pull the intake off of the silicone sealant on the ends, so I grabbed a handful of 3/8" X 1 1/4" bolts, and used the stainless steel washers under them. Told my son to let it sit over night to cure...he then took the rest of the parts and set them in place just for pictures sake. Lookin good:
Sweet looks like it's time to strike a deal with red on all his 15 inch tires in stock so he's not short a ride from all the burnt rubber red cliffs' about to see haha!!
Slowly...little by little, we are gettin there. Bought Eric's Centerline Convo Pro rims too. The stock 14" rims with the pizza cutters on them look silly. Not sure what combination to run though....225/60/15 front, 275/60/15 rear, or try to squeeze something wider/not as tall? The 275 in a 60 series is a really tall tire. If they made a BFG 275/50/15, that would be the perfect size.
Should find out what your rear gear is... it's probably 3:42 posi if so should stick to 26" tall tire for the back..should ask him what he had them wrapped in they looked alright from the pics I saw
Those pictures were not of the rims for sale...just pictures of the Convo Pro rim style. The front rims are brand new, never mounted, and the rears had drag radials mounted on them. Here is a picture of the front. (Still wrapped in plastic)
