Long story short my Z has been down since novemeber for a rebuild. I am setting it up for a procharger as seen in my sig. On top of that I have NEVER built a motor before in my life. I wouldn't be now had I not been getting completely jerked around and lied to for months. Hell in three hous I made more progress than my "engine builder" has in five months!

To stop my rant and get back on point I was wondering if there are any common things to be careful of when putting this thing together? I am sending the block out for machine work on monday but am having a tough time finding someone who has time to assemble it. To be honest I am very nervous about it but very excited that some progress is finally being made.

I always thought that assembly was a major ordeal with a lot of clearance checking and measurements. Is this true? Is it really as difficult as I am making it out to be? If anyone has any tips or tricks they would be appreaciated greatly!

 

i have come to realize one thing, either you WILL have knowledge about engines and cars or you WON'T. i have done so much research and watching others on tv and in person working with engines. it's really common sense when you understand how an engine works. get to know your parts first (ie. heads, block, cam, valves, etc). you be alright once you do that. books are good but not better than just ripping into a motor first hand and rebuilding by step by step. of course some things you won't be able to do such as machine work. if your car isn't a daily driver, just a playtoy like most of us, that makes things a lot less stressful because there's no time limit.

 

You're not alone. I finished off (ruining) my stock shortblock in late October and got a spare block to the machine shop. They're just now getting it back to me. I did a couple engines before, and in spite of the fact that I just put them together with minimum knowledge and tools, they worked out fine. This one, I'm measuring everything, and doing a top notch job on it. My advice to you is to educate yourself the best you can, don't take shortcuts you might regret, and decide what you can and cannot do without help, knowing that these cars are very hard to work on, and, while, there's a lot of expense in doing it right, there's more expense in doing it wrong. I have a lot of respect for the guy who does things himself imperfectly vs. the guys who pay to have it done, but that's just me. At some point, things become impractical to DIY. Just got to find a place you're comfortable and go from there.

Oh, and watching TV won't help you much, and having everything done at the speed shop is no guarantee it will come out perfect

 

man..

l didnt have no knowledge about cars.. l swear.. l replaced first my drivebelt and l felt so good cuz l did something.. and then l replaced both side power window motors and then front turn signal bulps and switches.. and then radiator.. and then tintet windows perfectly..

on my daily driver toyota 2 days ago l removed the starter and install the new one and l am about to tune up by myself but about tune up l am not sure if l am gonna **** it up or not..
l still do not have much knowledge about cars..

but these people here and other forums made me work on my cars and l really do not know how to thank them all..

l totally understand you.. how you feel about it.. l can just suggest you.. if you have a friend who at least knows a little bit about cars help you.. and you guys work together.. or if u have your own mechanic, go and tell them that you wanna built the engine together so at least you would have some experience..

good luck man..

when u start, do not forget to take step by step photos, so we will see what u did and that would help next rebuilts for newbies.. (like me)

Erdal

 

In taking it apart today I fell I have a pretty good understanding of how the components work together. In reality it was a lot more straight forward than I had ever thought. Don't get me wrong I'm no guru on this stuff by any stretch but it seems to be very self explanitory. However the assembly is what I am concerned with. I have a book on rebuilding the LT1/LT4 motor to factory specs, and it seems to be very informative. While the block is out getting a second wind I'll dive a little deeper into it. I don't have much of a grasp on degreeing the cam or checking out the valvetrain yet but at this point I am so far into the build that there is no turning back and absolutley, positively, not a snowball's chance in hell that this motor comes out of this car ever again. So it WILL be done right come hell or high water. I have no choice now, it's just about getting it done right.

I wish I could snap my fingers and have it done. OR just have the knowledge to knock it out in an afternoon. If that were the case I'd have to open up my own shop!

You all make excellent points and I will not over look a single detail, just be on the lookout for me and the occasional "stupid newbie" questions.

Oh yes there will be pics. Knowing me I'll probably have a damn scrapbook!

 

My LT1 was my fifth engine build. And I still used the HPBooks #1393, How to Rebuild Small Block LT-1/LT-4 Engines.

The book covers everything from removal, measuring, cleaning, assembly, installing, and starting/break-in.

BUT, you still have to have some common sense with any rebuild.

Summit sells it as do other outfits.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Now I see you already have the book...

 

I rebuilt two older Camaro engines long ago without much first-hand knowledge.. With the first one I did lots of reading research, but mostly just used my Haynes manual... I made sure I was extrememly organized with everything and had a checklist of what needed to be done to make sure everything went back together properly... I bagged all brackets and bolts together, and made notes and drawings... Made sure the block was extremely clean and tapped out all the bolt holes so I knew they were clean and would give me the right torque reading... When it came to measuring clearances with a feeler gauge, Plastigage etc.. It wasn't as difficult as I thought and I just took my time... I double checked everything and it fired up and ran fine... It looks intimidating with all the measurements, but if you're organized, take your time, and follow everything by the book, it all comes together... I did it and I'm no mechanical genius.

 

I wish you the best of luck. In fact, I would like to thank you because I had always kicked this idea around of building my own engine. I used to work for a drag race company, but I only did measley suspension work.

I am in college and got a super badass internship this summer and with that money, and my part time job I have, I can fully afford to build my own LT1 motor on my own time.

Even going out to buy the engine stand and the book tommorow.

 

I use this too

 

Most important what kind of power are you looking for? Next make sure all the parts your gonna buy can handle the stress of the force induction. Take it easy go slow when assembaling your parts. The easiest way to go is to buy a kit. Assembaly is fairly easy when putting in the crank bearings make sure you don't let them roll or your new engine will knock like crazy. thats about it.

 

ok guys..

since we have a thread l would like to ask..

can someone please shortly explain how to built an LT1? where do u start and finish?

which parts do we have to have?
tools??

and sure, how much rebuilt parts costs?

Erdal

 

Buy this book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155...Fencoding=UTF8

It is an excellent resource to have around for our engines.
Easy reading and very well layed out.

 

l bought it!!!

my engine is fine.. nothing is wrong but l goot 132k miles on it.. should l go ahead and rebuilt it or wait till somehting goes wrong?

 

are you rebuilding it to complete stock ( stock internals and all or are you planning on building it up?

 

actually l am not sure if l should go ahead and try to build an engine.. but yeah cvompletelty stock engine.. if l would have knowledge, l would like to build it up././