Open Exhaust | El Camino Engine Work

October 2006
My project started with a 4 bolt main 350 ci engine out of a '77 Chevy truck. The engine had thrown a connecting rod on the #1 cylinder which caused all kinds of damage to the rest of the engine. The original owner told me he was driving along when the engine started rattling. By the time he got the truck pulled over the engine had seized tight. He pulled the motor out, and it had been stored in his garage ever since. Most of the damage was obvious; there was a large hole in the oil pan and the broken connecting rod was visible. But with the engine still assembled I wasn't sure if there was anything more serious hiding inside. I decided the $100 asking price was worth the risk, so I loaded the engine into my truck and drove it home.

I started by tearing down the block and soon found what caused the chain reaction that stranded the former owner alongside the road a year earlier. The crankshaft bearing surface on the #1 cylinder was worn down about 1/16" smaller than factory specifications. My guess is the bearing spun on the connecting rod due to a lack of oil, disintegrating the bearing. Then the engine continued to run and ate away at the crankshaft and connecting rod until there was enough free play that the rod jammed against the block cylinder wall and shattered. This sent shards of broken metal into other parts of the engine (and a large piece through the oil pan) where a piece jammed into the #3 cylinder, twisting it like a pretzel. The #6 connecting rod also bent when another piece of shrapnel lodged between the crankshaft and block. This was what caused the engine to finally seize.

December 2006
It turns out the engine block was chipped at the bottom of the #1 and #2 cylinders, but I knew this wouldn't effect the engine running again. There was, however, a pretty deep gouge inside the #3 cylinder. The location of the deepest portion of the defect was below where the piston rings would travel, so I was fairly confident I would be able to bore the cylinders out and remove any chance of a compression leak. After I finished stripping the engine of all it's parts I took it to NAPA Auto Parts for a thorough hot-dip cleaning to remove the oil, grease, grime, paint and rust from the block. Cleaning the block cost $30 and the heads were $8 each.

I had the cylinders magna-fluxed to verify there were no hidden cracks in the block, then they were able to start the machine work. Magna-Flux is a process where they coat the metal with a dye, then use a special light to see if the dye was able to find a crack to seep through. A crack can create a weak point in the engine that will eventually widen and cause a massive failure. The magna-flux process cost me an extra $5 per cylinder, well worth the added expense on a used block.

It was about this time that I came across the car I would eventually drop this motor into. I found the car on Craigs List one night while surfing around just looking at what was available. I'll explain more about that on the Body & Paint page.


Engine block after cleaning	Chip at the bottom of #1 and #2 cylinders	Stock heads after cleaning	Stock cylinder heads

January 2007
With the block cleaned, it was time to get some work done on the rotating assembly. I started accumulating the internal engine parts from Summit Racing while waiting for the machine work to get done. I chose Speed Pro Hypereutectic aluminum flat-top pistons, Eagle Specialties connecting rods & crankshaft, Clevite bearings, and Sealed Power moly rings. I took them down to Jeff's Machine Shop in Salem, Oregon (along with the flywheel and harmonic balancer) to have the entire rotating assembly balanced, and the connecting rods pressed onto the pistons. It was well worth the cost of $219 as balancing the internal parts of an engine will help the engine run smother and reduces the stress inside the motor at high RPM's. The block was then taken back to NAPA to be bored .030 (thirty-thousandths of an inch) oversized to the exact size of the pistons and rings I purchased for an accurate fit. This increased my 350 cubic inch engine to 355 cubic inches (ci). I had kicked around the idea of "stroking" the engine (installing a crank shaft and connecting rods of a larger engine), but decided for now to use the stock size parts. If I ever rebuild the engine again, I'll stroke it and bore the cylinders another .030 over. That will increase the motor to almost 396 cubic inches, not bad for a small block. Anyway, the final block cleaning, installing the Cam bearings and expansion plugs cost another $210.

My only complaint about the service I received at NAPA for the machine work was the amount of time it took to complete it. I wasn't in a big hurry, but they kept putting my engine off to the side to complete work that came in after mine. Once we started reaching the 4 week mark I was getting a little irritated. But the blame should be shared, I did tell them I wasn't in a hurry. I just figured an extra week or two would have been more acceptable.

Once I had all the machine work done, I started the assembly. I was very careful to measure every clearance to be sure I was within factory spec's. I couldn't have been happier with the results, everything measured out as close to perfect as I could have hoped. I used a Comp Cams Cam Shaft (part # 12-238-2) with .462 / .469 lift and 262 / 270 duration (intake / exhaust), as well as their hydraulic lifters, pushrods and double roller timing set, then I installed the timing cover, and a new hi-volume oil pump and oil pan. The engine was sealed using Fel-Pro performance gaskets and gasket sealer. Comp Cams has a free Cam Quest dynamometer simulation program (for the PC) available on their website that allows you to choose any of their Cams from a dropdown list and estimate the HP your engine will produce. I bought Desktop Dyno Basic from Pro Racing Sim, you have to manually enter all the Cam specs but you can fine tune other settings to match your engine for a more accurate estimate.

February 2007
While waiting for parts to arrive I decided on a paint color, not only for the engine, but for the car since I wanted them to match. Most guys would be happy with a "Chevy Orange" engine, but I was going for something different. I found it in a spray can at NAPA. The paint is a special purpose Farm and Implement from Krylon, the color is a dark red, I call it "Blood Red". I cleaned the surface rust and remaining debris that hot dip couldn't remove first, then used a heat resistant primer for a base coat. It has held up surprisingly well and was easy to apply.

I read that using GM Vortec cylinder heads could increase the engines performance by 20 ~ 40 HP, so that’s what I installed. The local Chevy Dealer had a set of factory Vortec heads for $563 assembled and ready to bolt on, considering the cost of machining my old heads, new parts and horse power differences, it was worth it. Summit Racing offers the same heads (assembled and ready to bolt on) but the price has gone up considerably. My heads have 64cc combustion chambers, 170cc intake runners and 1.94” / 1.50” valves (intake / exhaust). There is also a 2.02” / 1.55” valve option available with 66cc combustion chamber and 215cc intake runners, but these are considerably more expensive. I topped the engine off with an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, Performer series 600 CFM carburetor, HEI Distributor, and a set of Dynomax 1 5/8" Blackjack Headers. Now I just had to wait for the weather to cooperate since I was going to have to install this engine outside. Meanwhile, I installed a B&M shift kit in a TH 350 transmission I bought earlier.


The engine assembly is complete	Dynomax Blackjack Headers	Vortec heads, notice the "W" pattern	Turbo 350 Transmission

March 2007
Installing the engine went very smooth. My friend Matt helped put it in and we were able to get it done in a few hours. My car had a V8 (305 ci) option available, so I just had to bolt V8 motor mounts to the frame using the existing holes GM provided. A week later, after connecting the driveshaft, wiring, and exhaust, I was driving the car. The side pipes were only going to be used as a temporary exhaust, I decided to try them for 2 reasons; First, you don't see them very often anymore and I wanted to give the car an old 70's muscle car look. Second, at $200 for the set it was less expensive than the Flowmaster setup I was thinking about using, but that would also involve changing the transmission cross member. Ground clearance became an issue and I knew I would have to find a solution, if I could get the car raised a couple inches my problem would be solved. I mounted a B&M ratcheting Mega Shifter to the floor and installed a SunPro Super Tach II tachometer and gauges in the dash to monitor the engine.


Installing the engine	Starting to connect the lines	It's ALIVE!!!	Ready for the next phase

I took some time off from any major work while I broke in and tuned the engine and carb, and finally got to enjoy the power. I slowly added parts here and there to dress the motor and clean up under the hood. I even managed to take it to Woodburn Drag Strip one weekend in June to see how the motor ran. I can't brag, but I wasn't disappointed. You can see the time slips on my Specs page. The only thing you have to remember is that I still had 2.73:1 rear end (highway) gears, no posi and P205/75/R14 street tires. I haven't had the car on a dyno (yet), but I'm guessing I am making about 350 Engine HP. The only parts I re-used from the original engine were the block, timing cover, flywheel, and harmonic balancer.

January 2008
While planning to mount the hood scoop I decided I was going to make it functional by mounting the air cleaner through the hood far enough to get plenty of fresh air. To do that I mounted a 2" Trans Dapt spacer under the carburetor. I also removed the temporary rubber fuel line and added a chrome stainless hard line on the carburetor going to the fuel pump, and installed a fuel pressure gauge and 14" round air cleaner. I included one picture of me with the car (because I only have one). Like the shirt?


The new air cleaner	2" spacer and hard line installed	That's me adjusting the linkage

February 2008
I installed new front and rear springs on my car to help fix my suspension issues. The car seemed to lean to the right a bit in the rear, was lower to the ground than I wanted in the front and the ride was softer than I liked. After 25 years the springs and front shocks were pretty worn. The side pipes scraped the ground over speed bumps and when driving into parking lots because the suspension was too soft. I replaced the front springs and shocks with a set rated to carry a V8 with AC (the car had a V6 without AC from the factory), and stock rear springs. This raised the front over 2" and the rear leveled out. The rear air shocks were fairly new and didn't need to be replaced. This not only resolved my clearance issues, but stiffened the ride just enough and should help with launches at the track. I'll eventually install a rear sway bar (there is already one installed on the front) to help with cornering. I also had to cut a small section of the lower fender in front of the wheel well where the tires were hitting, I trimmed just enough for the tires to clear.

July 2008
Today I pulled one of the biggest "what the hell was I thinking" moves since starting this project. OK, I it's not really all that bad, but I can't believe I wasn't paying attention. My car originally came as a bone-stock '81, no frills, no options, no fun. The first thing I did was rip out the 3.8L V6 and (groan) 3 speed manual transmission, and drop in a rebuilt 355 ci engine and TH350 automatic transmission. I removed the unused clutch pedal, but kept the skinny brake pedal until I could find a replacement. On a one of my excursions to the local car cemetery I found a full size brake pedal a few months ago and decided to put it in today. I should have stayed in bed, I should have cleaned my bathroom... I should have done anything else.

Removing the bolt that holds the pedal under the dash was no picnic, but I managed to contort my body enough to get it off. Putting it back in was another story. I somehow managed to miss the hole in the pedal assembly and didn't notice it. I tightened down the bolt, but didn't notice it. I tested the damn pedal by hand, but didn't notice it. I did, however, notice it as soon as I started the car, stepped on the brake and put it in gear. I nearly hit the neighbors car when I realized the pedal was hard as a rock and crammed my foot into it to stop.

I remounted the pedal correctly and thought I was all done. Then realized the pedal was still hard as a rock, and still wouldn't stop the car. So I got out and stuck my head under the dash one more time, knowing I couldn't have mounted it wrong twice. I hadn't, but I could hear a hissing sound coming from around rubber boot that plunges into the booster. I removed the booster and found out I managed to push my foot into it so hard that I broke the plastic "tube" that sticks through the firewall, and bent the metal around the seal.

I picked up a new brake booster the next day, no big deal, but I can't believe how careless I was.

March 2009
I finally fixed the "peg leg" rear axle and installed an Eaton Limited Slip posi. There was too much information to include here so I added another page. Click the Rear Axle Upgrade link to see how it all came together.


Crank Shaft installed	Pistons ready to install	Pistons were marked for proper placement	Ready for paint


The block primed and ready for paint	The old heads were laid on during painting	Blood Red, I love this color	Performance goodies are next.


#1 Piston	#3 Piston	#6 Piston



I bet this made quite a racket	The old crankshaft