OK guys this is where I'm going to post photos, brag and cry about my car during the process to get it from its current condition to back on the road again. I chose not to put it in C4 Technical section because I don't plan on getting real technical with this job. I'm going to leave the real technicalities to guys like PeteK, and other real Gurus on this site when I need them to step in. If you moderators feel it needs to go over to C4 Tech later then that's ok with me, but I think it will just be a place to document the process. A journal of the journey. My second journey and hope that some might learn from my mistakes that I have made along the way. I don't know how fast this will move along, I assure you not near as fast as Matt's did, but who knows it may be something easy to fix and I can be done before I know it.

Tonight I finally got off my butt and got out to the garage to actually do something albeit small, its progress. I moved the car another foot from the wall again to give me a good 2 feet on the driver's side, and then I got her up in the air on stands where she will probably sit for the next six months or however long it takes to complete this project.

By the end of the weekend I plan to have the wheels off, the exhaust system off. Oil and Coolant drained, AC compressor removed as it was leaking oil before the track episode and I had the system evacuated before being towed back home. Remove the air intake stuff, PS reservoir and tubing and move everything out of the way.

Here are some photos of tonight's first steps..



Got to listen to George Thorogood while working in the garage!



Cool Picture of the front end and the BMAD



Poppin' a Wheelie



Finally at rest

That's great and all...but who's George Thorogood?

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Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - children! ;-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Thorogood

Don, you'll have that beauty runnin' again in no time!

Before you tear it apart take as many pictures as you will need to document every hose, wire and fitting. Also devise a labelling system for 'tag & bag' every nut and bolt. What seems fresh now will only be a dim memory six months from now.

ps--I would still take nothing apart until I checked what metal is in the oil filter and bottom of the pan.

Pulling the pan is what I would start with. Check to see if there is any play in the rods or something else visible. Pull some bearing caps. Feel free to ask question. I have a bunch of stock lt1 parts if you need anything.

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I still have ziplocks marked from last time!! and photos too!
Your right, and I have a pretty good method of doing this.
I have a set of steal shelves on the opposite wall that I place everything in an orderly fashion as it gets removed. I spent my early years in an electro-mechanical fab shop and did lots of tedious R&R work on underwater naval equipment that the Navy boys dragged across the bottom of the ocean! It will actually be my fourth engine R&R, just not all from this car. LOL I know it pretty well but it never hurts to document as good as you can.

The oil drain is going to be the first order of business. If I find nothing in the oil, I'll still pull the pan to take a look.

Thanks for some great suggestions!

Sorry you have to go through this but it has to be done. Seems it is becoming a right of passage around here. I wish you nothing but the best. Let the carnage begin.

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Turn the volume up. Way up. Annoy the neighbours.

Oh, he is from Delaware. George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers.

Keep us posted regarding what you find in the oil.

I will be real curious...

Be sure to cut the filter open for inspection.

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Andy - I'm gonna try to run the oil through a paint strainer as it drains.

Pete - good idea about the filter too. I realy can't imagine not finding anything... but I'll know for sure soon. If I have time tonight I'm gonna drain the oil and pull the filter. So we may know that result sooner than later. I want to get the car up a little higher too. What's the minimum height to pull the L460E out from under the car?

18 inches.

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The higher the better, Don. It makes things easier.

Probably not a problem with your garage door setup but, make sure it's npt high enough that the garage door hits the hood when it opens (ask me how I know).

Looking at the car on stands, it's too low for comfort. I like those stands at the middle of the min/max height, but that's for me,

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Right now I can open and close the garage door with the hood up. When I go higher I won't be able to have the hood and the garage door open at the same time. I just have to remember to shut the hood before opening or closing the door. I had to deal with this little inconvenience last time.

The front stands are taller and are at the very bottom or their height. I plan on replacing the shorter rear one's with taller one's like in the front. IIRC I had the stands in the middle settings last time I worked under the car like you stated.

Best of luck

still debating swapping engines myself.

Good luck and I hope you have fun.

Don - you might need to use a 4x4 post with the jack to get the car higher.

As far as bagging the bolts/parts, use an index card inside the bag. I learned that the hard way after oil and trans fluid washed off the sharpie from the ziplock bags.

Matthew

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What do ya think happens to the stuff you marked 20 years ago?

Somebody post Movin on Over on here to teach these kids some music. I don't know how the hell to do it.

Ultraman - DONE!

Are you considering getting the oil tested?

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Bitchin'

http://www.corvette-guru.com/modules/ ... id=132648#forumpost132648

you shoudl be able to get the trans out from under the car with it as high as it is in the pic. just aim the back of the trans in the direction you want to pull it out from and lift the back of it while pulling.. it will dip the bellhousing down for more room.. you should plug the dipstick hole with something or you will have a huge mess on your hands.. i would stick my thumb in the hole.

In my experience HIGHER is better and I always raise my jackstands to the top position for engine/transmission work.

Workroom gives you options.

...and I keep the car level for engine or transmission removal it simplifies reinstallation.
Mike

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I'm draining oil as I type this. I'm draining it into a new clean plastic container and will strain it for any particlulate. I'll save a sample in a clean container for profesional analysis if I decide that is warranted.

Amsoil offers oil testing for about $35 but I know that the engine has failure somewhere internally so knowing chromium, lead, etc levles from the analysis may not really tell me anything I don't already know.

The oil has been drained and I saved a small representative sample in a clean, sealed container if I desire to send it off for testing. I drained the oil filter and observed the oil film from that as well but did not cut into the filter yet.

Here are some of my observations of the oil drain.

I used new clean containers for everything. I filtered the oil through paint sieves but its obvious that they are not fine enough for the particles we are talking about in this context. There were absolutely no large metallic anythings in the oil. That doesn't mean that there is none left in the pan, but nothing found larger than a fleck and I assure you that there were lots of metallic flecks. When viewing the oil residue film on the bottom and sides of the plastic container it becomes obvious that something in the rotating assembling has worn excessively. There was a homogeneous mix of copper colored or gold colored flecks seen throughout the oil, almost like a metal flake paint job but just not as densely packed as metal flake.

This photo is a good shot of what I observed in the oil although maybe just a pinch out of focus.



So with this information I think its fair to say that there is definitely internal damage and the motor will need to be removed. Now I'm thinking about my next steps.

Any comments or suggestions?

I would not put too much thought into it. If it is hurt, it will be obvious when disassembled.

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Yep. I know what it sounded like when it was running afterwards. It was pretty bad.

That's kind of how my oil looked when I spun a bearing - had a bunch of gold-ish residue.

I agree. A bearing has failed.