BUILD THREAD 1985 Grand Prix SBC 400 Swap - "Lady Sif"

[Highlord_Fox]

September 13th Update: Well, technically the engine is disconnected from the car, but I ran into some issues. Firstly, I was a bit distracted this morning helping with this-


We finally got it off the trailer, so now we're in a position to dispose of another "project car", a 1999 Grand Am GT.



But beyond that, here is the car as she was this morning, basically everything stripped away and removed, with just two engine mount bolts holding the 6.6L in place:


I also got a shot of her miles- Yes, those are original, and yes, to my knowledge it has not rolled over. She doesn't even have 100k on her, but she sure doesn't look it!



Now onto something serious - I got some shots and video of her rear end (ha!), and of course there is no tag on the axle. I've got some pictures, and I'm going to go deep dive into Google for some information, but if anyone knows anything, please let me know.



That's it for today- This weekend will be Removal Day 4, and hopefully the actual removal. Unforuntaly, I learned my 1-Ton Harbor Frieght Garage Lift/Engine Hoist isn't long enough to get over the engine on a G-Body. The jack pump butts in against the V of the bumper about a foot, foot and a half too far away to hook and lift upwards. At around this point, it started to rain, and it was getting dark, so we elected to push it off to next week.

Gives us time to get the hood off, pull it up and out with the 'hoe, and then carry it over to the area where we're going to put it on a stand and actually get to work on it.

 

[Highlord_Fox]

According to a cursory search, without numbers it looks like a 7.5 Chevy rear end, from sometime between '78-'88. I will need to get in there with a brush and clean it off when I pull the cover to change the oil & gasket in it.

I also got a shot of the engine casting code, in case anyone was curious:

 

[Injectedcutty]

Definitely a 7.5 rear and original to the car. Does it have an SPID tag on the underside of the trunk lid? If so, that will help decode alot more of the options and such.

 

[Highlord_Fox]

Definitely a 7.5 rear and original to the car. Does it have an SPID tag on the underside of the trunk lid? If so, that will help decode alot more of the options and such.

Unfortunately, my Father vouches that it's a replacement axle. Back in the day, he put a set of 14" rims on the car, which spun the OG axles too much and burned out all the oil. It blew out the seal and ground to a halt on the side of the road, and we needed to have it replaced. It's good to know he had it replaced with the same thing that was in there, which is good.

I can get a shot of that next time I'm over at the car.

 

[fleming442]

14" wheels were standard size.

 

[Highlord_Fox]

14" wheels were standard size.

My bad, they were 13s. With some tiny tires on them. I can take a picture of the RUINERS OF AXLES this weekend as well.

 

[Highlord_Fox]

Update time! GOOD NEWS EVERYONE, I'VE PERFECTED A PLAGUE RIPPED OUT A HEART! I also didn't take any stills of the bay with the engine out, because I'm a dumbass, but I can get some next week.

First things, first, some requests:

The trunk heiroglyphics. I think they're some sort of occult symbolism that describes my vehicle.


The door tag. As this is a replacement door, the normal tag is missing. It also confirms this ol gal came with 14" tires. Speaking of tires....


Story time! These are the exact tires that were on the car 20+ years ago (why my father kept them, I have no idea) when the rear axle blew out. According to him, the rear axle in the car when we bought it was not the original one, so when he moved from larger 15s to these smaller 14s, the rear axle gearing did not like it. As both the original transmission & rear axle were replaced before we got the car (in the mid 90's), my assumption is that someone beat the ever living shirt out of it and blew most of the drivetrain, which lead to the engine damage that later killed the poor baby 305.

Remember the backhoe from the prior comment? It's baaaack!





That's right, we got it out without breaking the engine! And brought it over to our workshop, where we mounted it up on an engine mount. The process wasn't without its casualties though...


It popped forward out of the engine mounts and leapt into the condenser core. Thankfully, I was going to replace that anyway (and the A/C system didn't work when we parked it). I'll have some more engine shots in the next comment, but bonus picture for this one: Can anyone guess what is in the package, and where I found it?

 

[pagrunt]

Update time! GOOD NEWS EVERYONE, I'VE PERFECTED A PLAGUE RIPPED OUT A HEART! I also didn't take any stills of the bay with the engine out, because I'm a dumbass, but I can get some next week.

First things, first, some requests:
View attachment 157669
The trunk heiroglyphics. I think they're some sort of occult symbolism that describes my vehicle.

View attachment 157670
The door tag. As this is a replacement door, the normal tag is missing. It also confirms this ol gal came with 14" tires. Speaking of tires....

View attachment 157671
Story time! These are the exact tires that were on the car 20+ years ago (why my father kept them, I have no idea) when the rear axle blew out. According to him, the rear axle in the car when we bought it was not the original one, so when he moved from larger 15s to these smaller 14s, the rear axle gearing did not like it. As both the original transmission & rear axle were replaced before we got the car (in the mid 90's), my assumption is that someone beat the ever living shirt out of it and blew most of the drivetrain, which lead to the engine damage that later killed the poor baby 305.

Remember the backhoe from the prior comment? It's baaaack!

View attachment 157672
View attachment 157673
View attachment 157675

That's right, we got it out without breaking the engine! And brought it over to our workshop, where we mounted it up on an engine mount. The process wasn't without its casualties though...

View attachment 157676
It popped forward out of the engine mounts and leapt into the condenser core. Thankfully, I was going to replace that anyway (and the A/C system didn't work when we parked it). I'll have some more engine shots in the next comment, but bonus picture for this one: Can anyone guess what is in the package, and where I found it?
View attachment 157677

First item is the SPID tag that has the RPO's (Regular Production Option's) that the car was built with. It'll even say what kind of 14" tires it had (only the 2+2 Aero Coupes had 15" wheels when new.) I'll say Mr. Gasket wire looms & was found between the oil pan & front X-member for the win.

 

[Highlord_Fox]

Here's the 6.6 sitting on its new home for a while:

We popped a Valve Cover off, and she is still mint inside. You can still see pools of oil on top of the rockers!




I am beyond delighted that the engine is finally out, this means I can work on it after my... work! I have to swing by tomorrow and properly prop up the transmission. My father and I discussed it, and we're going to drop the transmission down while the engine is out, so we can replace the front and rear seals.

This actually brings me around to some questions for some of you wiser/more experienced rebuilders:

1. I need want a replacement steering wheel, because the weird dinky racer one inside irks me. Can I go with basically any G-Body one, or do I want to hunt out a Grand Prix specific one?
2. Brake proportioning valve. This thing has rear drums, and I'm planning on re-running all the lines with NiCopp (at least the engine bay ones while it's out). Should I replace the valve while I am at it, or leave it until I have rear disks ready to go?
3. Engine paint. I'm looking at Duplicolor Ceramic engine paint (from a rattle can), but my Father is advising me against painting the oil pan, as he's concerned it'll hold in heat. The paint itself says it should radiate it away, but I would like a second opinion from anyone who has used it.
4. Paint colors: I'm planning on painting the block and heads a cast aluminum (Dupli-Color DE1650) color. I have a replacement timing color, which is chrome. Should I paint the oil pan & valve colors the same chrome, or should I paint them the same as the block/heads? I'm torn between my choices! D;

 

[Highlord_Fox]

First item is the SPID tag that has the RPO's (Regular Production Option's) that the car was built with. It'll even say what kind of 14" tires it had (only the 2+2 Aero Coupes had 15" wheels when new.) I'll say Mr. Gasket wire looms & was found between the oil pan & front X-member for the win.

You are correct, they are wire looms! However, I found them on the dashboard of the car- That's sun damage to the plastic, the paper underside is still in good shape.