New Bullet Has Arrived!!!

[turbonatr]

Originally Posted by trbochrgd1

Nicole has the engine hoist swing in the back of her van. I put it in there because I didn't know if you guys needed it this weekend.

Got the hoist, thanks!

I think the plan is the engine is going to go in after I get the flexplate. Trans and converter will go in after (converter will be done by the end of next week). Besides the flexplate, all I think I need are water pump, thermostat housing and header gaskets and then the engine can go in.

Trans is going to get completely overhauled. 1.80 straight cut first gear set and much stronger high gear clutches, etc. At that point I can get the trans back in so the car will be mobile. Rear gears will be next. New parachute and slicks will be done at some point, too. Slicks will go on after the car is mobile and the chute is simply a matter of unbolting the old one and bolting the new one to the mount.

Might be a LOT of Midnight Auto nights coming up!

[impaloligist]

Originally Posted by turbonatr

Thanks!

R-M actually offers a really nice pump gas 540ci BBC. Advertised at 680hp, it actually makes a little over 700hp all on pump gas! That would make a fine little mill for your Impala!

I am already working on a fuel injected 468 for the Impala, with Pat Musi's help. If he can ever get his hands on the injection, without it going out on his 555 crate engine. We spec'd out a nice high reving cam (roller ) and had the competition port and polish job on the heads that came with the engine (no matter whose name was on them). He has a pretty high expectation of the horsepower that it would be able to produce (pump gas too), but the dyno will be the tell-all. I am seriously conserned about putting that much engine in an X-frame car and am considering my chassis options.

Jack, do you install roll cages in other cars?

[turbonatr]

Nothing wrong with a 468! We had a 468 in the Vega when I got my comp. license the first time around back in the 90s. 13.5:1, aluminum heads, .722/.722 solid roller. It was a good running engine. In fact, it's the engine that was in the car when I put it on the rear bumper (see avatar).

This time around we wanted an engine that could grow (in cubic inches) if we wanted to go faster down the road, hence the current 565. At 980hp, this engine is still far from a "maximum effort" 565. It currently has 23* heads. 12* heads would make a minimum of 100 more horsepower and Big Chief heads would make even more power still. The cam is basically a mild (for an engine this size) solid roller that is easy on the valve train but still makes decent power. This is another area where we could make more power if we decided to later on. We can also increase bore size a bit more as well as stroke.

Yet another option would be nitrous. While our engine wasn't specifially built for nitrous, Reher-Morrison assured me it would easily handle a 200hp shot. If we decided to have it built for spray when we send it in to have it freshened, their nitrous 565 makes 1450hp while still using the same conventional BBC 23* Dart CNC 355cc heads, Edelbrock intake manifold (drilled and tapped for nitrous foggers) and 1150 Dominator. We could easily build our 565 to make more power than the Vega can currently handle.

For now though, I'm pretty content with nearly 1000 naturally aspirated horsepower. We are going to be spending a good deal of time next year testing and getting the new combo sorted out. We are picking up in the neighborhood of 400hp and at least a second in ET and 20mph in trap speed so there will be a lot of tweaking and changes made to make sure the car is happy with the added power and most of all, safe.

[turbonatr]

New billet converter, new chute, assorted gaskets, spark plugs and trans blanket arrived yesterday. The converter wasn't supposed to be done until tomorrow, so that was a nice surprise! Saturday I'll be pulling the trans. If I can get it out early enough, I'll run it over to my trans guy that morning. If not, that will have to wait until next Saturday.

Can't wait to hear this thing run!

[impaloligist]

Don't forget the diaper! Not that you'll be using it.

[turbonatr]

Originally Posted by impaloligist

Don't forget the diaper! Not that you'll be using it.

Roger that. I still have a few more things to order. Diaper, fuel filter, new dipstick and tube (the 565 has a 1/4npt threaded hole and needs the appropriate dipstick), oil filters, etc. Gotta get the trans out of the car so I can drop it off at my trans guy. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I may be taking the trans out with the car in the trailer. I'm NOT looking forward to that...

[turbonatr]

Well, after stewing for about half hour, 45min after my last post, I decided to take the trans out now instead of waiting until tomorrow morning. So, it's out and ready to go to my trans guy first thing in the AM.

Hopefully, he remembered to order my flexplate for me. If he did, that's the last part I needed to get in order to put the engine in the car. Guess I'll find out soon enough!

[turbonatr]

I dropped off the trans this morning and picked up the new flexplate. Trans should be done by the ned of next week!

Gotta order a few more things from Summit tomorrow. The engine can go in at any point now. Just a matter of having decent weather (which I don't have right now).

[turbonatr]

Only got to a high of 37* today, but we managed to get a lot done. Gotta order a new starter, install the dipstick, oil pressure switch and header gaskets (they are just hanging on with a couple bolts in these pics).

Thanks for lending us the hoist swing, Michael. It worked great!