Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Ok, I just warmed the car up and did a compression check. (Throttle propped at WOT, all plugs out, cranked 7 revolutions for each cylinder- gauge stopped climbing at 6 revolutions)

WHOA! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/eek.gif[/img]

I would say the cylinder pressure is just a little bit high?

Cyl 1: 230 psi
Cyl 2: 220 psi
Cyl 3: 225 psi
Cyl 4: 230 psi
Cyl 5: 227 psi
Cyl 6: 230 psi
Cyl 7: 220 psi
Cyl 8: 235 psi

For you engine gurus out there, would that confirm that the camshaft in this thing is WAY WRONG for this application? It does have stock looking flat top pistons, as I can see the valve reliefs through the spark plug hole (no dome).

I guess this could also be the cause of the oil leaking past the main seal under full throttle. A whole lot of overpressure down there.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Since a low compression 455HO is supposed to have around 165 psi per cylinder in stock configuration, the consensus seems to be that the cam in there now is REALLY wrong in terms of centerline and lobe seperation and is also either advanced or retarded incorrectly, as well. So, no full throttling until after I put a new cam in...and rear main seal. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

I have gotten a couple requests for photos of the super rare, Formula 455HO Ram Air, air cleaner, so here you go:

One interesting thing I noticed is that these were dip painted originally. You can see the paint line inside the two snorkels, where the air pocket kept the paint out. (The Formula 455HO air cleaner had two heat risers and the Formula 400 had only one.)

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11962.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11963.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11961.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11964.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Got the windshield in for the second time...

The first date coded windshield that arrived from Pilkington Glass had some issues. The date code was supposed to be flipped but it was readable from the outside, and there were a couple scratches in the glass that looked to be from the rack they must have been stored on. Pilkington was very attentive and immediately shipped out a second one.

I can't say enough about Bob at Finishline Auto Glass in Hackettstown, NJ (908) 399-6461. He came out to the house three times - first to remove the original glass so I could clean up any possible rust issues (none found), then several days later to install the first windshield. (The scratches weren't visible until after it was installed), and then a thrd time to carefully remove the first new windshield so it could be shipped back, and then to install the second one. Extremely nerve-wracking to watch, but he is a professional and made it look easy.

FYI: if you order date coded glass make sure you give them a photo of your existing code if possible. The date codes were put on in a variety of ways and positions - the most important of which is where are you standing when you are reading the date code: is it read from the outside of the car, or read from the inside like mine.

Here's the original date code:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...windshield.jpg

And the date code on the second windshield:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11967.jpg

And the finsh installation photos:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11966.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11969.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Now that the windshield is so clear, I got tired of looking at the degraded mirror glass on the rear view mirror and decided to do something about. After reading a variety of threads, I found that he best way to remove the glass was to soak the mirror in very hot water for 15 minutes. By then, the plastic/rubber gasket is semi-pliable.

I used my thumb and was able to work my way around the gasket several times, each time prying a little further so as not to crack the glass since it is glued to the backing of the gasket. Eventually, I was able to get the edge of a plastic decal applicator squeegee under the lip and gradually moved it around the perimeter, each time pushing a little farther in. Every few minutes I would soak it back in the hot water. This worked great. The glass just popped out.

I was checking on prices for resilvering the existing glass but found that Paragon Corvettes sells the new mirror glass for 67-73 GM cars for $40 which is comparable to resilvering the old one. It is due to arrive tomorrow and we will see how it fits. https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-35...ror-glass.aspx

Here is the original 1972 black pebble grained mirror.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11979.jpg

After the glass was removed. The white is the residue where the glue pulled off the silvering from the rear of the mirror:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11981.jpg

The only logo I could find on the mirror was a &quot;GM&quot; at the top of the gasket:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11976.jpg

Nothing at the bottom:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC11977.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Well, the new mirror glass arrived and it turns out I ordered the wrong one. The 2300 is the correct part number for the 10&quot; mirror that wasn't used in the Corvettes until 1974, I just learned. The one I ordered was for the smaller mirror glass used from '67 to '73.

Here's the corrected link:

https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-34...ror-glass.aspx

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Steve-

Another option for those who do not want to risk removing and/or breaking the glass on their own is to send the whole thing to the &quot;Mirror Lady&quot; Joyce Borell. I know others on this site have used her as well.

Her e-mail is: mirrorlady25@ (remove me first) yahoo.com

She is in PA and charges $85 plus the ride. I had her do two mirrors for me last summer and they came back perfect. Turnaround was about a week and half.

Jake

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Steve, If you still have that smaller mirror (8&quot;?)I would be interested in it. Was on my list to get anyways for my vert. Kevin

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

I sent it back already, sorry.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

No biggie, Will just have to put an order in (need two anyways) Let us know how they install [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Got the the correct 10&quot; tapered, day/night, mirror glass insert today from Paragon Corvettes. It went in very easily. The key is very hot water. Soak the mirror housing in the hot water for 15 minutes or so and the grommet becomes nice and pliable. I then placed a couple of dabs of silicone sealer in the center of the gasket in place of any type of glue that might affect the mirror coating. The mirror pretty much slips in as you gently peel back the edge of the grommet around it. When I got to the corner I used the plastic squeegy and it was easy.

Here's the finished result being inspected by Mr. Noseprint himself...

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12000.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Hi Steve
It is amazing how much you have accomplished in so little time with the Formula,I stand in awe of you,as by now if I still owned the car,I probably would have figured out how to put the key in the ignition the right side up.
Can you possibly send me some pictures to my e-mail when you get back from MCACN show?
I was having coffee with a couple of guys today that I used to work with,and the conversation got around to older cars,and The one guy tells me he has a friend that has a 73 Formula 400 that he bought new,so I am hoping to get to see it,just to see a honest to God car that someone has kept for 40 years and never got tired of it.
I have driven the new black 66 Mustang convert 1300 miles since I got it,and it included going 400 miles round trip to a Goodguys meet in Puyallup Washington,and when I got home I was reading through all the bills that came with the car again,and found one that I had missed.The Michelins on the convert where purchased in 1988,and I had just spent three hours doing 70 miles an hour on 24 year old tires.So new tires for next spring is on the agenda.
Take care,
Grant

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Hey Grant!
Great to hear from you.
You definitely have to dump those old tires. Anything over 7 years is beyond its life expectency and subject to failure. Thankfully I am no math whiz and can't figure out what 2012-1988 is. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

Hey, we should meet up for lunch. How abut we meet in the middle somewhere between your house and mine?...say Chicago in a three weeks from today? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Hi Steve
I wish I could meet you in Chicago this year,but just not enough time this year to make it happen.Thanks for the invite for lunch though,I will take a rain check for another time.
Grant

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Still without power- 5 days and counting after Hurricane Sandy.

One of the guys on the Performance Years website posted these photos of the Formula from back in 2000 when it was all apart awating the engine rebuild that finally went back together in 2004 shortly before the second owner passed away. He was the one that ran the GM of Canada docs back in 1993 when he saw the car in a parking lot and took down the ViN info.

Without any internet of my own, I am not able to post the photos at the moment.

Here is the link:

http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...01#post4770501

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Still no power...11 days and no end in sight. Doesnt look like I will be attending MCACN next week.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

That sucks Steve. I heard that NY fired their director of emergency services...seems he had the folks cleaning up his house first? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

&quot;Interesting&quot; report, sounds eerily familiar (?) Link

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Xplantdad</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That sucks Steve. I heard that NY fired their director of emergency services...seems he had the folks cleaning up his house first? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif[/img] </div></div>

We still do not have any power, cable or internet in our town. And no realistic restoration date from the idiots at JCPL. It was so nice to see a crew of three trucks working on the lines going to some vacant million dollar vacation farm/home on our road earlier this week. The estate is unoccupied and up for sale, so it must have REALLY been critical that the millionaire politician/developer had his lines fixed before any crews worked on the actual power lines that were down 300 yards up the road. The trucks had to actually drive over those downed lines to get to his property. When we asked why the werent working on the actual downed lines, the crew from Ohio said that until they get a workorder from JCPL, they cant move on to the next repair job. So they have to sit idle waiting on the paperwork logjam to move.

My son's school just got power this morning after being closed for two weeks. My daughter happily returned to school a couple days ago just to get some heat and social interaction.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

We finally got power back last night. It then it went out again. It came back on an hour later. We'll see how long it lasts now.

I wont be able to atend the MCACN next week. Just too crazy around here still. I figured out that we spent $600 on fuel to run the generator for 12 days. That was just about my diesel fuel budget for last years trip to MCACN.

Last night while everyone's power was still out, the league decided to have the semi final bowl game for my son's Jr Peewee football league. Despite the fact that everyone was exhausted (parents) from no power for a week and a half, and the kids had all been sitting idle with no school during that time, and the location was 30 miles away (but a 90 minute drive due to closed roads), it was a great game. It was tied 12-12 til the last five minutes when my son's team scored another 6. The game ended at 18-12.

We were all elated...until they told us that the kids now have another semi final in 4 days...on a Monday night. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Here are those photos I referred to earlier. These were taken in 1993 by a Pontiac fan up in British Columbia who saw the car in a parking lot, ran the VIN through PHS and met the owner.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...20LS20mall.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...20LR20mall.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...20RS20mall.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...20RR20mall.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

And here are the photos he took of the car as it sat in storage from 1995 to 2004, when the motor finally got put back together, shortly before the owner passed away.

He knows the owner of the shop who did the work and will be contacting him in the near future to get some more details on the engine rebuild.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...20RF20kurt.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...rtshop20LF.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...rtshop20RF.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Bigger version of middle photo:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...tshop20LFa.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Got the engine out today.

Here it is at 9:30 AM

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12050.jpg

And around 2:00 PM

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12055.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12071.jpg

Got the M22 off and you can see it is engine oil leaking as the front seal is nice and clean.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12077.jpg

You can see the oil sling pattern from the rear main seal leakage:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12090.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Gee, one of these things is not like the other: [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12093.jpg

I was very careful not to disturb the oily mess back here so I could get a good forensic view of where it's leaking from. Doesn't look like the oil galley plugs were the problem as they were tight and the ripples in the oily mess above and below the plug area are the same.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12103.jpg

And here we are at 4:30 PM

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12105.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12101.jpg



That's all for today. Tomorrow I will open her up to see what's inside.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Tore down the engine this morning. Found some very interesting stuff.

We'll start from the top: Original 7F6 heads with the factory oil deflectors and the cast scallops between the intake runners.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12107.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12112.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

And the real surprise: domed TRW L2394N pistons. That explains the 230 psi compression test results and the detonation on anything less than racing fuel. So what do we have 10.5 to 1 ratio with the 111cc 7F6 heads?

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12125.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12135.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12127.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12133.jpg


In googling the part number I found this:

&quot;L2394NF .030 TRW pistons for Pontiac 455, )
.476 dome aluminum forged for high compression.

Unmachined Compression Ratios:
89cc = 12.54:1
96cc = 11.83:1
111cc = 10.25:1
114cc = 9.98:1

These pistons are generally used for racing applications, and may require
machining for proper fit and clearance of smaller chamber heads.&quot;

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

And the camshaft looks to be a Crane #283941

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12171.jpg

And here is the info on that camshaft:

Crane Cams 283941 H-272-2 Hydraulic Flat Tappet Camshaft Pontiac 265-455 V8 55-81 Good low and mid range torque, Good idle, daily usage, towing, performance and fuel efficiency, 2600 - 3000 cruise RPM, 8.75 to 10.5 compression ratio advised.
Part Number: 283941
Grind Number: H-272-2
RPM Power Range: 1800-5400
Duration Intake @.050&quot;: 216
Duration Exhaust @.050&quot;: 228
Advertised Duration Intake : 272
Advertised Duration Exhaust: 284
Lobe Separation: 112
Valve Lash Intake: 0
Valve Lash Exhaust: 0
Gross Valve Lift Intake: 0.454
Gross Valve Lift Exhaust: 0.48

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Looks like some aftermarket forged, pressed pin, connecting rods. Do these look familiar to anyone?

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12145.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12141.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12152.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12164.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12165.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

The crank is std on both the rods and the mains.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12150.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12181.jpg

The wear on the rod bearings looks like detonation was taking its toll.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12170.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Some interesting clearancing on the piston skirts:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12157.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12160.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

And the cause of the oil leak. The rear main had spun and compacted itself so there was a one inch gap in the rope seal, in the cap area.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12177.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12183.jpg

I used Plastigage and checked the oil clearances on the rods and mains and they were .002. I also checked end play and side clearances and they were in spec as well.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

After comparing with some stock rods I had in the garage, it turns out those are stock cast rods with the side beams polished.

Here's the underside of the heads:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12190.jpg

The crank:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12184.jpg

The soon to be replaced rods and pistons:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12192.jpg

and the empty block:

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12188.jpg

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Damn, you don't waste any time.

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

I needed to do something after being stuck in the dark for 12 days!

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Steve,

I thought when you captioned the photo &quot;The Crank&quot;, we would see you.

Seriously, I hope your power stays on for good.

Dave

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Got the engine out today.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/SDC12090.jpg </div></div>

BTW, Here is today's challenge:

Does anyone know what else is wrong in this photo??? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[quote=njsteve]
BTW, Here is today's challenge:

Does anyone know what else is wrong in this photo??? [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img] </div></div>

Clutch fork rubber boot installed inside rather than outside ??

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

Very good!

Re: The New Project: Part Deux!
 

<span style="font-size: 20pt"><span style="font-style: italic">Yikes!!!!! </span></span>[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif[/img]