BUILD THREAD my 1980 Grand Prix w/BBC 454 build thread

[454GrandPrix]

Bar50 deserves a gold star. My old pump was so covered in goo that I didn't even realize the fitting could be removed. But after a bit of cleaning, it only took a few seconds to determine the correct socket size and spin it out of the pump. A few more seconds allowed me to remove the same fitting from the new pump, and then I installed the old fitting in the new pump. Tah-dah! I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of this on Thursday.

At last, I was able to reinstall the stock V6 pressure hose in my car. It looks goofy as all get out since the shape/length of this hose doesn't come anywhere close to looking correct for this application. I don't care, so long as it just works. You know, because Roadkill. 🙂

 

[454GrandPrix]

I spent most of yesterday and an hour or so this morning working on the car. Man, all the last-minute details are exhausting. I've done a few engine rebuilds in my past, so the idea of pulling and installing an engine sounded easy enough. But now that I've done this, my hat is off to everyone out there who has done a similar engine conversion on their car. This is a lot of work.

Brown Santa dropped off my new starter right on time yesterday, so that got bolted in place. This let me fiddle with the wiring harness until I found the best way to route everything. I spent hours adapting a Taurus fan into the car; this morning I was finally able to bolt it in place for (hopefully) the last time. I borrowed an inline fuel pump from Mike and installed it next to the tank; I attached a long power wire, encased it in convoluted tubing, and ran it through the frame to the front of the car. I still need to finish wiring the relay for the pump and I need to wire the Taurus fan connector to my existing fan relay, but that should be pretty straightforward. Most of the transmission stuff is still waiting to be completed.

I also found some acceptable radiator hoses. The upper one was pretty easy; I bought the part for a big block Chevelle, snipped a bit off of one end, and then it went on perfectly. The lower hose was much more challenging, because my aftermarket water pump inlet was not the standard size. In the end, I bought a hose for a '70s Ford Capri V8 and forced it to fit. One part of this hose was kinda touching the frame rail, so I "insulated" the hose by adding a protective sleeve over that part. Looks like it will work fine.

It's getting closer.

 

[454GrandPrix]

"Buy a four core radiator," they said. "It'll be fun," they said.


I've pulled my hair out trying to install fluid cooling lines into the side of the transmission. My OEM fittings were rusty junk, so I yanked them and installed some shiny new aftermarket fittings. Why not OEM? Because I didn't want to use the factory 'quick connect' style connections. Instead, I found a pair which used traditional NPT threads. I thought I would appreciate the flexibility.

Once I crawled under the car to install them, I realized I still had a problem: there is not enough room between the trans and the tunnel for us to install a bent brake line into the fittings. After a couple days of brainstorming and searching, however, we stopped by the oldest NAPA in the county... where, after blowing the thick dust off them (literally!), we found these 90^ adapters (pictured with the front trans fitting):

It looked like these could work, so I laid out $21 each (!) and took them home. I attached some rubber hose to each barb and clamped them tight, being careful to rotate the clamps in the optimal way so as to leave clearance for tightening the pipe fittings. I managed to wedge them into place, and then actually tighten them down properly. You can't get much more than a feeler gauge between the back side of the fittings and the tunnel, but they do clear. I'm just glad we found a solution.

I have two 5ft pieces of hard brake line. I cut the threaded fittings off them, then bent them into shape to connect the trans fitting hoses to the hoses on my cooler in the nose. I wasn't able to get them installed just yet, but that will happen soon.

What else is there? Well, I need to add fluids. A tall oil filter fits, though one header tube only leaves about 1/2" of clearance in one spot. It'll do, I decided, and I poured in the oil. Next up, I filled the new power steering reservoir. So far, so good.

I went to fill the radiator. I had two and a half gallons of fresh green coolant sitting in the garage. After I had poured it all in, I could barely see it down in the radiator. Really?!? So I went out and bought three more gallons of coolant plus three more gallons of distilled water. (I bought a lot since the Jeep is waiting for me to install a new water pump.) After a little more mixing, I added another two and a half gallons. The radiator still wasn't full, but at least now the level was up near the filler neck. It took another 1/3 of a gallon before it was full enough to justify reinstalling the cap. Wow. I guess I'm still used to my FWD Mopars and their tiny radiators.


So... what's left?

I need to crawl under and install the hard lines for the trans cooler. While I'm there, I need to attach the positive battery cable to the starter. Then I need to rotate the engine to find TDC for cylinder #1, thus allowing me to properly install the distributor and plug wires. At that point I can connect the battery cables, which will let me find a suitable ignition source to power the fuel pump. Once that works, I can actually crank the engine.

Now I just need it to stop snowing.

 

[454GrandPrix]

It's Alive! It's ALIIIIIIIIIVE!!!

Thanks to Mike's help with the carb and setting up the distributor, the 454 finally sputtered to life tonight. It took a few tries to get the distributor in the proper range for the engine to run, then another attempt or two to set the base timing (~ 16 degrees). But once that was done and the electric choke played nice, the engine ran and idled fine.

My plan was to get the engine up to operating temp and make sure the rings seated, but I forgot about the transmission. Specifically, there is no driveshaft installed in the car... which let the trans puke all over my formerly-pristine concrete RV pad. (sigh) So I ended up shutting it down after only a few minutes of run time. I don't even have enough kitty litter on hand to absorb the spill, so I'm sure I'll never get the stain out. Oh, well. On the plus side, the engine was showing ~ 65 psi of oil pressure so at least that was nice.

Sorry, no photos or video. By the time it fired up, it was pitch dark. I decided to wait until another day to shoot video.


Now, to have a driveshaft made....

 

[ZZ4CutlaSS]

Nice work Man can't wait to see a Video of it running!

 

[454GrandPrix]

Earlier today, this happened:

(Sorry for the shaky picture. The ambient temp at time of recording was only 25^, and I had already been outside for an hour and was shivering, making it difficult to hold my phone steady. This video is my second attempt to hold my phone steady; the first video was even shakier.)

To prepare for starting the car, I had to address the number of coolant leaks at the heater hose fittings and the temp sensor. I removed all the fittings, put some liquid thread sealant on each one, then reinserted them and reattached the hoses. Doing all that dribbled some coolant out of the engine, so I poured another half gallon into the radiator (which still isn't full--this must be what it's like to feed a teenage boy). Since my last startup spilled some ATF (and the trans hadn't been properly filled at that point, anyway), I poured a whole gallon of that into the trans. And not wanting to repeat the Valdez experience, I carefully inserted** the yoke into the tail of the transmission and I even put my drain pan in place below it, just in case. I am not going to make another ATF spot on my concrete, I told myself. Then I started the engine.

This video is a bit embarrassing because of the header exhaust leak at cylinder #3, which you can hear in this video. I wanted to run the engine through a complete heat cycle, then I'll see if I can re-torque the header bolts and fix the leak. I did manage to cycle the engine as desired. I waited for the thermostat to open, then I turned on my Taurus electric fan; from that point on, the engine sat at precisely 180^ until I shut it down about 10 or 15 minutes later.

Toward the end of that time, I started playing with the throttle a bit. At first I would slowly rev up a bit, hold it there, then gradually drop back down to idle. Then I'd ramp it up and down faster. Soon I was giving it quickish stabs of throttle, and I admit I was loving the sound (exhaust leak be damned). After a bit of that, I decided to take a peak under the car... and I was horrified to see another trans fluid puddle forming. Eeek!! I quickly shut everything off and killed the engine, then crawled underneath to investigate. It seems the revving caused either increased transmission fluid pressure or general vibration (or both), which pushed the yoke to the point that fluid began shooting out the tail. I wiped off the exhaust pipes and the underside of the body, then poured out more kitty litter and ground it into the stains by hand.

I have decided I won't start the engine again until the driveshaft is properly bolted into place.


**: I didn't know it at the time, but I did not have the yoke fully inserted into the transmission. It was only in just over halfway. When I went to measure for my driveshaft length, I found out I needed to give it a gentle tap with a rubber mallet for it to go in the last two inches and fully seat. Maybe that's part of the reason why it backed out and allowed for another fluid spill.

 

[MrSony]

Hot damn man, congrats! I remember my regal in the exact same position yours is now, jackstands and all. Me and my little brother got it started and broke in the cam (no oil pressure at all. That graphite lube saved my *ss),

, and it was a euphoric moment. Glad to see yours went off without a hitch. And don't worry, you aren't the only one who bathed the concrete in ATF. Man, the EPA would have my *ss if they new how many fluids I've left all over Iowa.

 

[Bar50]

You can use some ready mix concrete (dry) dust after you sweep up the kitty litter. Or, scrub it down with some degreaser like Power Clean/Purple Power or whatever brand. Dawn and Joy dish soap both work well.

Feels good to be alive!

 

[MrSony]

You can use some ready mix concrete (dry) dust after you sweep up the kitty litter. Or, scrub it down with some degreaser like Power Clean/Purple Power or whatever brand. Dawn and Joy dish soap both work well.

Feels good to be alive!

Or a pressure washer. That works well too lol. But once you clean the one spot, makes the rest of the driveway look like crap.

 

[L67ss]

I know not a priority at the moment but id get a second set of vortec 454 valve covers and polish them. I think they'd look good either polished or brushed 🙂