denny411

The two most likely culprits would be... Maybe part of your rear brake hardware has come loose and is dragging the brake drum. I have heard ringing noises in this situation. The second and possibly the most costly would be low or NO gear oil. I say this because you stated that the previous owner had made lots of repairs and parts changes. If he neglected to fill the differential it could possibly cause this problem. The brakes also may not have been adjusted properly which could heve left some component loose enough to fall out of place. BTW... bearings will usually HOWL, WHIRRR, click or grind. I personally have never heard one ring.

SAAWEEEEEEEEEET

I thought all of the camaro/firebird v6`s were of the 60 degree variety? Even the 3.4`s were 60 degree. there are 4l60e`s 700r4`s and t5`s available for all of these. The supercharged Bonneville ssei is 90 degree.

35 for anyone who was wondering.

It says on the web site that she was from Brunswick Ohio and heading to N Carolina

Sorry, My wife said NO.

I DIDN`T mean to just bear hug it and throw it in the truck. What I did was, bolt the engine stand to the back of the engine with the engine on its side. I made sure that the pivot bolt was tight on the stand and kinda used the front leg of the stand as a lever to help roll the engine onto its back. With the pivot shaft/pipe of the stand setting on the ground and the front leg of the stand as well as the front of the engine sticking straight up. This gives plenty of room under the engine to get a good hold on the arms of the stand that bolt to the engine.(they make great handles) Then "just" lift. You will know immediately if you can do it or not. Then as I said before... When you break the plane, or just as the engine starts to roll forward put one foot in front of the rear wheel to keep it from rolling away. This also serves the purpose of getting you more centered under the weight. I`m NOT suggesting that you do this if you have any doubts about your ability, because once you start to lift there are only two directions the engine is going. UP or DOWN Also... this description will show just how I did it for those that thought I was kidding or exagerating. BTW, I am 6' and 220 and I`m very used to heavy manual labor. If you are not in similiar condition, DON`T even consider trying to do this.

Some companies that sell header kits sell just the flange that bolts to the head. They are almost 1/4" thick and might work well for your purpose.

I think there are less than 10 tools on Grumpys list that I don`t have, but I think my mill, surface grinder, 30 ton press, blast cabinet, 9k lift, 2 transmission jacks, tire changer, tig/mig welders,plasma cutter, and metal cutting band saw will balance it out. I have noted the tools that I DON`T have and will pass the list out to frinds and family to use while Christmas shopping.

How TOUGH are you? I`ve done it by myself before. Once you break the plane, be sure to put one foot ahead of the rear wheel on the stand to keep it from rolling away.

Somthing else to think about here, is how to (hopefully)NOT need to use easy outs, extractors, and/or drill bits to remove broken bolts and studs. Most broken bolts or studs could be avoided by taking your time and having a little patience. When you encounter nut or bolt that is rusted or corroded and looks like it may break off. Take your time...use a breaker bar or T-handle to work it back and forth. Sometimes it`s better to tighten the the troublesome bolt slightly BEFORE trying to remove it. Be sure to use some sort of penetrant first.(NOT WD40 ) One of the BEST penetrants to use is USED MOTOR OIL. The acids and contaminants from combustion work great for disoving rust and help the oil to work its way into the threads, and it will not evaporate like most other products on the market.

If you decide to just repair the hole, be sure to cut out ALL of the existing rust. If you don`t the rust will just eat its way through again.

Why do you only want the job to last for 5 yrs? When you buy a NEW car do you expect the paint to only last 5yrs? I reccomend telling whatever body shop that you go to, that you want the car to be BLACK, but you want to see the car after all of the work is done but BEFORE it`s painted. AFTER you see the car and are satisfied with the work, tell them you want it to be white instead. Every bodyman knows that white will hide ALOT of flaws. If they know ahead of time that the car will be white, they will be more lkely to cut corners. Black on the other hand will show EVERY flaw, which will prompt them to do much better work. I`m not a body man, so i really can`t say what the final paint and body work should cost, but you have put a large dent in the total by having everything stripped already. If you really don`t care if the paint lasts only 5 yrs, you could do the body work at home and take it to Maaco and have them shoot it. They frequently run 229.00 specials which might fit the bill for you.

On the 700r4, the filter just pushes in with a neoprene steel cored grommet to hold it in place and seal it. When you pull the old filter the grommet will most likely NOT come out with it. The easiest way to get this gommet out is to use a pick or awl,wedge it between the grommet and the wall and pry it to bend one side inward. This will pull the outside diameter in and break the grip from the wall. Then it should almost fall out. To reinstall, lube the new grommet with some atf and simply push the new filter into place. be sure to push evenly and not to cock or side load the tube because they have been known to crack.

I would tell them to total up the hrs they have in it so far, subtract that from the 3K that you paid them and to refund the difference. If they refuse, I would take them to court. If you get out now, you might still have enough funds to have a LEGITAMATE shop finish it. I`m sure you could find sombody else to do a better job. HELL.. for three grand you could take some welding and body classes, buy a welder, and do the job yourself. By the looks of it you would probably get the car finished about the same time.

If you don`t have some sort of sentimental or emotional attachment to the car, I suggest finding a solid shell and using you current 240 as a mechanical donor. From my personal experience, what you see on the surface is less than 1/2 of what is actally there. Luckily my Z wasn`t near that bad, I had a spot that looked like a silver dollar sized hole. By the time I got all of the rust cut out, I could easily fit my fist in the hole.

They may be too large. I had to edit mine down to get them to load

If your "new" ride is in running condition, maybe you can talk a friend into letting you park it at their place for a week or so. That might buy you a little time.

I would be perfectly content if I had to drive half a day to see snow. We`ve just had flurries so far, but it will get real nasty in another month or so.

Aren`t there any J/Y`s around you that would pick up the 1/2 shell for free?

That 88 350 engine you have won`t be of much use in this situation. 86 and newer sbc`s have one piece rear main seals where your 283 crank uses a 2 piece seal. You will need to find an earlier 350 block. A good note is that you should be able to get some decent cash for the 350. Probably enough to buy an earlier block, and still have some cash for machining and misc left over.

I called my brother in Pittsburgh to warn him of what was coming. He was at work and it was 55, while at my place in west central Ohio was only 23. He had time to get someone to bring him a coat before he got off of work.

I guess I should count my blessings. It sounds like you`ve got it quite a bit worse than me. After spending two winters in Alabama I got a little spoiled. It would get cold at night, but always warmed up in the afternoons.

I HATE this cold weather. It is currently 25 degrees with a wind chill factor of 13. It just makes everything so much harder to do. I must have seasonal effective disorder or something, because I`m having one hell of a time staying motivated. I spent about six hours in the garage today and only got about 2-3 hrs of work accomplished.