Engine Installed in Car
Pictures as of 01/01/2015
As the saying goes "where there is smoke there is fire" nowhere could it be truer. The original dual quad carb set up leaked...in the 70s starting a fire. Fortunately the carbs were saved, rebuilt and left in a box. However the engine wiring, underside of the hood, etc were not so fortunate.
The motor is the correct casting, Suffix Stamp, and while believed to never been out of the car, recent findings indicate differently. It was found "working" but very tired. True to its race history of road racing and then drag racing the motor is "TIRED"., as the old cliché goes ridden hard and put away wet. It will be fully rebuilt and run before the body is lowered back on the chassis
With the body removed, it was quick and easy to get at the remaining bolts and hardware and remove the motor and transmission. The motor and transmission while showing 60 years of wear and tear, dirt and grime are original and have the correct dates/markings. They will be pushed aside until winter while work begins on the chassis and body.
Fortunately the original bolt on hardware such as intake, carbs and valve covers while not installed still remain with the car. they are rough but will also be restored back to factory finish.
Motor is a 283 270 HP. With the correct casting number and date. (3756519 cast on C199, March 19 1959). Suffix pad shows F324Cu, for a Flint Michigan assembly date of March 24 with a CU stamp for 270 HP manual transmission.
Heads that were installed at time of purchase were off of a 1962 corvette but again fortunately the originals were located and are correct 3755550 with dates of December 27 and 29 of 1958.
True to the cars early racing history the transmission was "upgraded with a Hurst shifter, linkage and a 1960 side cover to make room for the Hurst linkage.
The side cover was replaced with the original to the car dated Dec 1, 1958. The tail housing is dated Dec 17, 1958 with a main case is dated Feb 3. When the transmission was opened it was in good condition. the synchro’s will need replacing, second gear was worn but no major damage.
Pictures as of 12/01/2016
The motor was in sad shape... ridden hard raced and was showing its 6 decades of use.But after much work it is back together, with original and correct oil pan, balancer (which was not an easy find for this motor). The motor was run on the stand to test and run in the cam etc. and is ready to mount in the chassis before body drop. Currently bolt on items are on for mock up only, will need to research what was on engine when it was painted.
The motor was in sad shape... ridden hard raced and was showing its 6 decades of use.But after much work it is back together, with original and correct oil pan, balancer (which was not an easy find for this motor). The motor was run on the stand to test and run in the cam etc. and is ready to mount in the chassis before body drop. Currently bolt on items are on for mock up only, will need to research what was on engine when it was painted.
It took some doing to locate an original balancer... During my search found an interesting source for high HP units. I was very worried about the motor stamp and machine work etc, but the shop took great care to preserve the history.
Pictures as of 07/22/2019
After getting the motor back from the rebuilder we decided to strip and repaint it. Not that the rebuilder did a bad job but the paint would not hold up well having been a simple rattle can job. The engine was stripped to bare metal, shot with primer and K2 Chevy engine orange. .. If you look close you can see the "CU" grease pencil mark under the primer.
So i learned a new trick today.. an old school trick from TiN restoration Chris Sherman. We needed to pull the bearing before installing the new clutch but couldn't find a puller that worked... Solution???? yes you got it bread. yes simple piece of bread . Remove the crust wad it up in small pieces and press it in with a socket until the bearing comes out.
So i learned a new trick today.. an old school trick from TiN restoration Chris Sherman. We needed to pull the bearing before installing the new clutch but couldn't find a puller that worked... Solution???? yes you got it bread. yes simple piece of bread . Remove the crust wad it up in small pieces and press it in with a socket until the bearing comes out.
Never one to be mistaken for the brightest person or the most patient. We chose the hottest day of the year with heat index greater than 110 to install the freshly painted and prepped motor. Fortunately with some good planning and great team work we had the clutch and flywheel on the motor, the transmission mounted and the assembly installed in the chassis in less than 3 hours.
