Please, just tell me to put the wrenches away and lock'em up...

The 289 Chet set me up with needs a timing chain badly...so while I'm there and a cam/lifter kit is only 90 bucks....and there's only a few bolts to get off to do some head work....and since I'll probably run the engine longer than "just a day for inspection"...please talk me out of tearing it down...

Please...please, someone be the reasoning for common sense....

 

Just do it... Is nothing!!!!!

 

Isn't a 302 the same block? Maybe bore it out, new crank, and pistons and stuff. Port and polish the heads. Give me a bit and I can think of more ways you can sink money into that tired old temporary engine.

 

Grrr....I'm gonna do something, just not sure what...

I must repeat to myself "The engine is temporary".

I'll have to say that maybe 50 to 60 times tonight before I click "confirm order".

 

OKay, I think I've talked myself into a win-win situation, I will do a cam in the 289, and will port up the heads on the 5.0 and bolt'em on, with only 51K on the 5.0, the valvesprings should be good enough for a bit until I put the 5.0 into it...then I'll swap the heads and put in new springs with a new cam on the 5.0.

This way there's only one set of heads to work over, and unless the 289 eats a valve, they should be fine to go no the 5.0.

Yeah, that's the ticket!

Maybe I can get a bulk deal on full engine gasket kits

 

Ya know, the whole point fo this exercise uis anything stock sucks...I mean, I'd even have to do something to a 500HP "stock" engine...just "because".

I hate myself sometimes, but until they come up with a wrech-aholics 12 step program, there's really nothing I can do about it.

 

Maybe twin turbos, or a Paxton Supercharger, no, no, I got it, the SOHC 427 rusting away in the garage should work nicely for this project, a little fender cutting, some frame strengthening. It never ends.

 

Darn - Server died or something post didn't show.... guess I'll have to rewrite:

3Mike6 - You might not even have to have the motor running to get it registered. I didn't have to with the Camaro. You might look into that. '67 with '71 pumped motor and nothing was said. Registered for the street no questions asked. Pleasanton DMV.
I just drove it over there on the trailer. No safety check or anything. I expected all the above so, the car worked with lights and everything. But, since it was a non-smog year.... No problem. It was a lot easier than I thought.

Have others had a different experience?

BTW- Just heard that we might have the RC Camaro's motor back by end of week. Woot - Looks like 780HP @ 683lbs and lot's of wide range torque. The motor is still going to rev to 7500. Looks like I'm going to have some track days in the early spring ..... finally, and I can use them. I'm soooo out of practice. ;-)

 

If you're gonna do all that, we might just as well have put one together from stuff I have. I thought the point was just buy a running motor, quick n' dirty...

 

Yeah....I've come to me senses...just put a timing chain on and be done with it...I'll get a 20 dollar AZ special and some gaskets and call it a day.

 

AJ, I have a bit of a different thing though, I have to have the CHP come and stamp me a VIN on the frame...who knows, maybe they won't worry about seeing it run...but the DMV lady told me to call the CHP out once it was "running under it's own power".

We'll see, best get it running anyway.

 

I have no experience - but didn't one of the TV stars get into trouble over this?

But mostly I would remind everyone that it is the smog people who would be interested in the engine year - not DMV. If you can avoid a smog check more power to you!

Clint

 

I never heard of the Highway Patrol doing any work like stamping the frame. They are there to confirm the frame number that YOU locate.

DMV shouldn't care what engine is in there as long as the frame is confirmed as prior to 74. Good luck, Jag

 

The CHP issues the VIN, not the DMV, in cases like mine where there's no legible numbers.

This is according to the DMV visit I had a few weeks ago:

DMV lady told me to get it running and call the CHP, the CHP will stamp the number on it and give me the paperwork that gives me the year model for emissions standards (hence the reason for the '66 289 engine and not the '93 5.0).

Then bring the CHP paperwork to the DMV for title and plates.

I did call the CHP, I didn't speak to the commercial man, but the guy who I spoke to had some experience with the stuff...he's the one that told me the emissions would be based on the engine year...but wasn't sure it the Tiltle would indicate engine year, or chassis/body year.

 

Mike, that squares with what I learned last year. I think it was Boyd Coddinton (sp) that brought this issue to a head - he was playing with titles on his hot rods so that the new engines he installed did not have to meet smog.

The CHP does not stamp the frame, they issue a self-sticking silver tinfoil plate you place in a location they give you. You will most likely get a salvage title and a tinfoil plate to glue onto your left door pillar. Since your vehicle still looks like the original it will be titled as a '36. I don't know about the smog - they may issue a separate waver or it might be a check box on the title forms.

The smog rules were made for replica cars - you remember the Model A kits you could buy powered by pinto engines. They had to meet the safety and smog requirements of the year they were manufactured. The engine casting numbers were the most available way to date one of these.