Bumper is cut and starting to work out the details on the opening into the valence.
I added a curved piece of 3/8 rod so the opening will keep the same radius as the bumper.
Looks decent so far - got to take the bumper and valence off now to finish them off. The middle bar you see in the opening is actually the top seam of the uncut valence. That will be gone when done.
Valence is coming along - probably not exactly as factory but pretty hard to see under here to critique once the car is on the ground.
Gotta love craigslist sbc performance part deal pricing!
Intake and distributor taken care of. 
I picked up a nice set of doors today - $100 for both! These are newer style doors with side impact bars and much more reliable window regulators. I was just really looking for a passenger door but the pair price was too good.
And picked up the 283 block/crank/pistons
.... and a nice clean set of Boge rear shocks so I can ditch the KYB’s.
I did not know your block was that 'Early'. You Will need to block off the Breather tube hole up front to use the later Manifold and can't remember what about the Valley one in Back, But now I want to, so will look it up Later
Good Score on the Doors, Saftey bar is in there for a reason.
It -looks- like you're going to have to modify the center four bolts on that intake to fit your older heads. Is that intake for 87+ center-bolt TBI-style heads?
Not impossible - I did it to fit a TBI intake on 70's 882 heads in my V8 Firefly.
In reply to SkinnyG :
According to the part number on the manifold it is for 86 and older heads - I haven’t tried it yet so hopefully it is.
In reply to GTXVette :
Yes it is reasonably early - 1963 casting date. Amazingly it is still standard bore size. I will take it to work later this week and start the disassembly.
The crank appears to be cast (thin casting seam line vs. Wider ground down seam) but the part number indicates steel 283? Also the flange is the same mushroom type shape as used on 327 sj cranks with the 2 notches cut out? Most documentation says all 283 cranks have a round flange.
3876768 crank casting number
The casting number and flange style seems to indicate it is a 1966-1967 cast 283 crank which is kind of disappointing... but I think a cast crank at sub 300hp is probably totally fine.
Some of what I read though indicates a late crank won’t fit inside an early block without clearancing?
I guess once once it is apart all will make more sense.
All apart now.
It it is a 3” cast crank.
7 of the 8 bores look like a light hone would work fine....but the other may not clean up with the rust at the top of the cylinder.
It does measure out as still being a standard bore which is good as it may need boring to actually clean up that one cylinder.
The bearings all appear to be new as do the rings. The pistons have been knurled around the skirt - I was told this is an old trick to slightly increase the diameter when pistons were reused in aggressively honed bores?
Piston is kind of weird (or this is common and I've not seen it before) in that the skirt almost seems to be floating and seperate from the piston crown.
I think you're correct about the cast crank's ability to deal with 300 HP.
Block is going out to be hot tanked and magnafluxed next week. The piston skirt clearance was already a bit too big so more honing is out. Looks like it will be .030 over now.
Going to be more than I planned for a motor... but it will be all new and be a pretty nice bottom end leaving room for better heads later.
Forged crank, Scat rods, metric ring pistons and fully machined.
914 said:Block is going out to be hot tanked and magnafluxed next week. The piston skirt clearance was already a bit too big so more honing is out. Looks like it will be .030 over now.
Going to be more than I planned for a motor... but it will be all new and be a pretty nice bottom end leaving room for better heads later.
Forged crank, Scat rods, metric ring pistons and fully machined.
Have you priced out a blueprint engine vs machine work?
Here is their cheap one.
https://blueprintengines.com/products/350-ci-crate-engine-small-block-gm-longblock-bp3503ct1
HP & Torque: 373HP / 400 FT LBS for $2599
I love the flares! I hate to dis on anyone's project, but an aluminum LS1 would save maybe 100-150lbs? I bought a running 2000 Camaro donor for $1500 and sold off $500 worth of stuff without trying. You can make a harness yourself for free and use the stock ecu even. Grab the fuel pump from the Camaro. Also, you might be able to convert the accessories to fwd LS4 style, saving maybe 2" of length on the front of the motor.
I built this wide body, transverse Ford 2.3t powered 914 around the turn of the century. I moved the whole rear trailing arms out 2" on each side and ran big spacers to fit those 18" C5 wheels and 285s.
It was a low dollar project. I think I had less than $3K in it by the time it was flared and driving.
bigfranks84 said:914 said:Block is going out to be hot tanked and magnafluxed next week. The piston skirt clearance was already a bit too big so more honing is out. Looks like it will be .030 over now.
Going to be more than I planned for a motor... but it will be all new and be a pretty nice bottom end leaving room for better heads later.
Forged crank, Scat rods, metric ring pistons and fully machined.
Have you priced out a blueprint engine vs machine work?
Here is their cheap one.
https://blueprintengines.com/products/350-ci-crate-engine-small-block-gm-longblock-bp3503ct1
HP & Torque: 373HP / 400 FT LBS for $2599
Yes I originally looked at 350 based motors - again the goal is not max power/torque for the $ spent but a decent motor capable of spinning fairly high rpm.
The shop that I am dealing with is very well regarded locally for their builds. Everything from mild to very substantial motors.
In more exciting news I finally found a decent dash pad for a good price.
In reply to carwhisperer :
Would love to do a LS motor but it is not just the cost of the motor - the swap parts are still pretty pricey. At least way more pricey than the SBC set I bought used.
I would think the price is the same. I think the engine adapter is the same? Old Chevy trannies will bolt up to LSx motors. Not sure about the clutch. Admittedly, you'd probably have to spend some money on LS4 accessories, but maybe just an LS4 crank pulley and water pump, then figure out how to mount an alternator and AC compressor (if AC is part of the plan). If you buy a donor vehicle, the harness and ECU are free. Then again, you'll probably need an ECU flash to get rid of the rear O2 sensor codes. (You can get that done for $75).
But again, you're already down the SBC road, so stay on it! It will still be badass, and later if you want to jump all the way to the turn of the last century, you've already got most of the work done!
In reply to carwhisperer :
The basic LS adapter kit for a 914 from Renegade Hybrids is $3100 - which is only about $2970 more than what I spent on the SBC kit.....
BASIC LS-SERIES CONVERSION KIT INCLUDES:
Renegade Custom Motor Mount Assembly
Custom Rear Transaxle Set Back Blocks
Billet Aluminum Adapter Plate
One Piece Billet Flywheel and Starter Ring Gear
Stage Two High Performance Nine Inch Pressure Plate
Kevlar High Performance Nine Inch Clutch Disc
Custom Pilot Bearing
Throw Out Bearing
Water Pump and Fittings
Billet Aluminum Coolant Inlet/Outlet Plates and Fittings
Custom Aluminum Filler Neck
In Line Filler "T"
Coolant Outlet "Log"
Custom Alternator Bracket
Gates Green Stripe Hose
Alternator Belt
All necessary hardware
All the radiator and water line infrastructure is pretty much the same though - not included in the above kit.
I will be into the SBC motor swap for about $1800 including the adapter parts and a fresh motor. No way I could get anywhere near close to that with an LS. Of course I would rather have the LS but this set-up will be pretty great too.
Makes sense! I missed the part where you got the SBC kit for $130. It is going to be a super cool car. You are doing a great job with it. Keep up with the posts!
carwhisperer said:Makes sense! I missed the part where you got the SBC kit for $130. It is going to be a super cool car. You are doing a great job with it. Keep up with the posts!
Thanks! Going to take a while to get everything done but hopefully by next summer it will be drivable.
Got a great deal on a new set of 180# rear springs. These are the recommended Weltmeister performance springs for v8 swaps.
Motor mount bar in process. I got the measurements from a couple v8 guys on the 914world site. Pretty simple piece actually.
All welded up - just need to drill the 2 sides for where the mounting bolt pipes go through the box tube.
You'll need to log in to post.
