Nope Long tubes most likly will have to be put in first and bolted later or slid in after the engins installed.
Had to do some customizing today. The hold down clamp for the dist wouldn't sit down onto the block or dist because the mounting post on the TA cover is too tall. So, I cut some pieces of 1/8 steel and welded them onto the clamp. Works like a champ now. Also, I didn't like the stock 430 dipstick, so i modified the 455 dipstick and tube I had to work on the 430 block.
Engine is in! Got it in all by myself...actually the install was rather easy but those ****ing headers were hours of pain to install. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up all the wiring and hoses tomorrow and start her up.
SHE LIVES! This is the first start up after cam break in (open headers). Still need to set the timing and adjust the carb for idle but otherwise she ran great during the half hour at 2500rpms. Just need a driveshaft and exhaust and she'll be ready to go for a drive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=644UoGk83CU
Got my new driveshaft finally. Its a shortened 4" aluminum shaft from a chevy truck with solid 1350 U-joints and a flange yoke to adapt to the stock pinion flange plate. Talk about close clearance though, I will probably need to do some clearancing to the tunnel at some point as I had at the closest point about 3/8" of space between the tunnel and shaft. Of course...the happy news of me installing the shaft couldn't go unpunished...so I went to put the trans into neutral to rotate the shaft enough to align the bolt holes in the flange and shifting was extremely tight. Then i realized I may have made avery costly boo boo. When i broke in the cam, the only fluid in the trans was what i used to fill the torque convertor. So for half an hour at 2500rpms the trans had no fluid in it. Now granted it, it wasn't in gear anything but I probably screwed SOEMTHING up as i didn't have this tight shifting issue before. Sigh. That being said, the shaft did rotate freely in neutral but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I guess I'll find out early next week if all the money i just spent on the driveshaft was for naught. My only saving grace is I still have my old Th400 and driveshaft so if I need to I can always swaP that back in. It's always something.
Jason, Check the clearance of the shift mechanism around the headers.. all your moving is the manual valve in the valve body, it's unlikely that running it without fluid would affect that movement. What it may have done to the trans is another matter, but being familiar with them, I would say that it is possible that you hurt a thrust washer or two, or maybe the pump, but then again it may be just fine. Pour some fluid in it an try it. But I think the issue of moving the shift lever is likely to be a mechanical bind. To find out, disconnect the linkage at the trans and shift the trans by hand. You got your wild idle you wanted, that's for sure. The fact that you made it thru break-in without setting the timing worries me. Timing is the very first thing looked at, right after a new engine starts. Hopefully you got lucky. If the headers weren't glowing you should be ok. Have fun JW
The timing was roughly set at 4-6* btdc but you're right, I probably should have done that but I didn't kno whow long I could idle the engine without having the cam broken in so I just let it run as is. As far as glowing headers, about 7 minutes after cam break in, they were cool enough to not burn your fingers when you touched them...the ceramic coating does wonders to keep things cool on the outside. I also thought about it being a linkage issue but I roughly checked for any clearance issues and was fine, but I will remove the rod and turn the selector on the trans by hand to see. Hopefully, everything will work out once I get some fluid flowing through it. Thanks for all tips and advise. I'll keep everyone posted.
Jim is referring to the timing at break in RPM (~2000 RPM). That would depend on your distributor and what springs were in it. You want to set the timing at about 30* at break in speed so the motor runs as cool as possible. Afterwards, you can reset it for street performance. Retarded timing usually results in the headers glowing red, so it sounds like you are OK. Hope you didn't hurt the transmission.
Ahh ok. The engine temp never went above 180*. This was in a garage with only a shop vac exhaust blowing over the radiator. I think between the aluminum radiator, 6 blade fan with HD clutch, HV TA water pump and 180* stat, overheating will never again be a problem. ray:
Here's quick pic of the driveshaft and drivers side exhaust. So good news, to a point, it was indeed clearance between the header and shifter bar that was causing the hard shifting. It still has issues going down below Drive, but it turns perfectly without the lever attached so I'll probably need to fab up a new arm to get it right. got the drivers side echaust fabbed and installed. Eventually, ill finish it out the back but I think turndowns will suffice for now.
Well, I'm screwed. Got the engine tuned at idle finally and she starting and running great. However, no fluid is circulating through the trans. I know the convertor was full installed into the trans when i bolted it to the engine so I'm fairly certain the pump is bad but I have no way of knowing. Looks like the TH400 is going back in for a while.
I might have missed it in your earlyer post bt what trans is in it now? Is there a chance your forgot to bolt up the converter? Another thought.... On 2 diffterent transmisions ive installed in the last yr the linkage had come disconnected inside the trans. So even though the lever was moving back and forth and making all the right noises and feel it was not moving the selector inside the valve body.
