Write-Up: L32 (Series III SC) Install/swap, the saga continues

Well here is the operating table:


And the patient:


Notice the date and time code when some robot put this 6!th together. Smells so new and clean, kinda like tide detergent. Odd..




Outlet of Gen5 M90


These will never be this clean again:

NICE very very NICE

quote: "kinda like tide detergent."

Lol, maybe it'll glow in the dark.

Sweet pics. When I blow my motor, I want to do what you're doing. Series III engine, rockers, headers, IC = one mean machine.

Keep us posted!

Modding beer, superbowl coors, damn you bears


Parts table gettin filled up


After cleaning the ole HG off


Gasket cleaned off. Very tempted to clean up the casting, but that would really slow things down.

Pretty. I need to give some people some money so I can get mine back. It's pretty much almost done. All they gotta do is put the engine in and get money from me.

im going to put a moded L32 in mine when my L67 dies and cant be repaired...but hopefuly that will be a long ways doen the road.
how much does a crate L32 cost?

kick-asswhats this going in exactly? for my original plans, i was going to look for a 98 park avenue L36 and do an L32 top end swap and cam, etc., but looks like my plans have changed. ed morad charges something like 1900 for L32's w/ appx. 30K.

Found this baby on ebay for cheap. :face: After selling the ignition parts, exhaust manifolds, and fueling parts this L32 was about what Ed charges for a low miles L32. Anyway long story short, great engine dealer on ebay: engines direct. I was originally going to just get a low miles L67 but this was too good a deal to pass up.

The engine is getting an XP cam with all the typical supporting mods: springs, spring retainters, timing chain. Other fun mods include tog headers, custom borla exhaust, FWI, pulley system, custom tune.

Oh yeah, light home porting on the heads. Couldnt resist.

Nice! What are you doing to the tranny? That's the only thing holding me back from headers and a cam...

Quote :

The engine is getting an XP cam with all the typical supporting mods: springs, spring retainters, timing chain. Other fun mods include tog headers, custom borla exhaust, FWI, pulley system, custom tune.

Sounds like we're pretty much going for the same thing. I went with a smaller cam however. After I get it back and check KR, if it's low enough I'm going to drop to a 3.2 pulley. I'm also getting 42.5# injectors. I also had forged Diamond pistons installed.

Good luck with everything.

deekster_caddy wrote:

Nice! What are you doing to the tranny? That's the only thing holding me back from headers and a cam...

It is stock. I just want the car running again, and hopefully the tranny lasts long enough to have some fun. I just want 2 good summers of cruising/racing.

I am less worried about tranny abuse and more worried about installing this engine. I really hope I dont fork this up. I have never done anything quite like this, so I am going slow.

I am polishing the combustion chambers and very lightly cleaning up the heads. I dont have the skill or patience to gasket match. I will post pictures tonight. I spent about 8 hours on one head and it just needs a final high polish on the combustion chamber. I will prolly only take it too a satin finish.

Don't worry too much about gasket matching anyway, unless you are building a top fuel engine. Sounds like a great project, I'm jealous!!! Congrats!

Now I just need a good excuse to 'blow' my engine so I can start the same project. Maybe something I can dump in my gas tank to make it smoke a lot so I can convince my wife I need a new motor

Its pretty hard to take pictures of shiny things. As homer would say, "This will take all my skill...."

Before and after shot


8)


Close up, satin finish, and the original rough sand casting




Here was the ported head that I had on previously. You can see that they are pretty smooth. These were originally on the machinists car before I bought them. They also have a ceramic coating so they are pretty smooth. These were ported to an extreme and eventually cracked.

Putting the heads back together:


Stock valves, 105lb valvesprings, Manly retainters and smaller valve seals for extra clearance, stock keepers. The stock valves are not as pretty as a polished after market set.



This is my crappy spring compressor. This was the only type the local stores had for a reasonable price. This type blows. :roll:

Here is the mark on the celing when this stupid compressor slipped off the spring:



Finished head. I was a little genrous with the assembly lube. Good shot of the mild polishing on the intake runners.

Good work. If I ever install a cam again, I'm pulling the engine.

You have a Turbo Regal? Awesome, has to be greatest sleeper of all time. I have spent a lot of time over on turbobuick.com. Even brought the Riv to the nats in bowling green a few years ago. My friend was in the stands for the bracket racing and overheard a old guy say, " I wonder if that guys dad knows what he is doing with the Buick?"

Nice work. I hope you take some videos of it once you get it up and running.

Wow... I'm almost aroused looking at those motor pics... Back in Texas... I'm talking waaayyy back in the '70s, me and my buds usta fool around with motors... V-8's... big-blocks were lotsa fun... Nowadays I live in Hawaii... one of those shoe boxes high in the sky (aka... condo...), so I no longer have the 'ol garage to play around with my toys... I'm jealous!!!

BigTexKahuna wrote:

Wow... I'm almost aroused looking at those motor pics... Back in Texas... I'm talking waaayyy back in the '70s, me and my buds usta fool around with motors... V-8's... big-blocks were lotsa fun... !!!

I have to tell you, working on a new-new-new engine is like nothing else. There is no gunk, no dirty oil, no random leaf that got into the engine bay 6 years ago. I have never done anything like this, so it is all new to me. My big worries are, getting the engine back in, and every damn plug hooked back up. Then, actually getting it to fire up and last more then 2k.

When I look through a summit/jegs catalog it makes me wish I had an old GM car. Off the shelf race built engines which have 20 years of testing behind them. Just spend the cash and slap it in.


Update: Waiting two weeks for a headgasket from ZZP so I can put the engine back together. WTF. Might try to cancel my order, this is getting silly.

2 weeks? Are you using stock thickness ?

oldsman105 wrote:

2 weeks? Are you using stock thickness ?

I ordered the .052s which are one size thinner then stock. It has to be the most common HG that is purchased, prolly more common then the stock thickness.

Everyone says how great ZZP is. The only reason I put the order in there is because of the Paypay offer where you get 15 bucks off your order. Guess what, no discount and no parts. Now you got me all reved up, I am killing this order!


UPDATE:

Rebuilt the other head. Got some nice macro shots of the polish and mild gasket matching. Every one loves car part pics, I know I do.



Not really a port job, just a gasket match, and a mild one at that:


Note the cool aluminum gaskets. These seem to be so much better then the plastic ones.

Ever notice how everything looks worse in an extreme close up. Also the flash really picks up surface roughness. Oh well.

Things seem to be shifting alittle, pricewise. ZZP used to match or undercut on price. Now other vendors are turning up with better deals. Wbodystore.com also has some pretty good pricing.

Installing the MLS headgaskets tonight. I wish I would have gotten some pics of the timing chain install.

quote: "I wish I would have gotten some pics of the timing chain install."

I was going to ask you about that. I plan to do a Rollmaster this year. How hard are they to do?

AA wrote:

quote: "I wish I would have gotten some pics of the timing chain install."

I was going to ask you about that. I plan to do a Rollmaster this year. How hard are they to do?

I went with the JP single timing set from intense. At 80 bucks it is not much at all for a little insurance. With Rollmaster and JP in the market, the prices have come down a ton. Many people are going double chains to eliminate the tensioner. Sounds like a great plan, but I really dont think it is needed. I just wanted something stronger then stock and the single chain is something like 10+ times stronger.


With the engine out of the car it was a piece of cake. The JP sprocket is a very high tolerance fit, tighter then the stock sprocket. I used the old sprocket and tapped the new one home with a hammer. You have to get the keyway lined up perfectly because there will be no spining it once it is on the crank. The hardest part with the engine in the car will be removing the cover and lining up the new sprocket. You will have to remove the side engine mount, but I dont think you will have to lower it much.

Batteries were dead in my camera, or else I would have some nice pics of the process.

Thanks. I'll be consulting with you when I tackle this project. I wonder why INTENSE stopped selling the Rollmaster single chain?