if it says gasket then never reuse it, by a new one, because in my experience they never sit right after theyve been on an engine for awhile

 

Very "purty" arter doing that, you might as well of done that, I would have too!!!

 

Orileys or NAPA should have an oil pan gasket in stock

I got a Felpro, very pleased with the quality

 

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Im generally ok with Felpro for things like oil pan, valve covers, water pump, valley cover. But will always go GM MLS on head gaskets and exhaust gaskets. They seem to work the best.

Lookin good so far Blake!

J.

 

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You sir did one helluva job! Thats pretty sad what those places won't do it, a cylinder head is a cylinder head if they won't do it I wouldn't take anything to them.

Are you planning on lapping the valves as well?

 

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I was just thinking about this... How can I tell if I need to??? Thought the only time it needs to be done is if the valve surface has a scratch.

I was gonna install the valve+spring then pour some mineral sprites down in there to see if it leaks out the other side. but I guess I could just lap them all. Is there any harm in doing this???

 

People swap around and reuse rocker arms all the time, nothing wrong with it. I usually clean valvetrain parts in a cleaner filled with kerosene and never had a problem.

Odds are you'll never notice the difference if you lap the valves but wouldn't you hate to put it together and not be getting optimal compression?

 

I also lap'ed my valves on my 243 heads when I got them just for good measure.

 

You're welcome to clean any of my LSx heads. I pressure wash the crap out of them and dont come NEAR as clean as you just did

Also, dont use razorblades to scrape gasket surfaces on alum heads or blocks. Alum is so soft the steel blade can scar it. Stick to scotchbrites and the little plastic fingered rotary tool (forget the name)

You shouldnt submerge the rockers in anything but oil because there are needle bearings inside of them. With the T56, getting hardened pushrods is a good idea. Stockers are just fine if you never miss a shift, then you risk bending like all of them. Drive it a little more conservative and the stockers will be fine. Best thing to test them on is rolling across a piece of glass

All of your valvetrain is reusable including the rocker arm bolts. Springs are never a bad idea to replace if they're high mileage or you plan on getting a bigger cam in the future. In the car, they're a pain to swap out. Keepers LOVE to fall down the oil drainback ports

Never a bad idea to lap the valves while they're out. Ideally you'd want to do a whole valve job with a fresh surface on the seats too but if the machine shops wont play ball...

New valve seals should be considered a must since the heads are disassembled

 

^^What he said, I had stamped steel rockers on the brain.

 

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Damn, I wanted to go to sleep about 2 and a half hours ago but I followed your link to this build thread and have been reading through it ever since! For an "amatuer" you are doing a hell of a job! Everything looks like it's coming together great, and you have one clean camaro shell there to work with. Even cooler that it's a convert.

Just wanted to point out a few "tips" for ya....just my personal opinions. First, I would never fill seams or holes in an engine bay with anything but a welder. Every freind I have that has smoothed thier engine bay with bondo or fiberglass has had it crack after fresh paint and it looks really bad. Think of how often the engine bay heats up to 200 degrees, then cools off, and all the vibration as well. A very small amount of filler can be used to "smooth" the area after it's been welded, but you want to keep it as thin as possible.

Also, I think you mentioned you were considering a turbo for the motor? If so, you will DEF want to invest in some GM MLS head gaskets and a set of ARP head studs. Not sure what you plan on running for boost, but around 10 PSI or up this stuff is mandatory. The LS7 clutch will not be good for an LS1 with a turbo either. At a minimum get yourself a monster stage 3 or 4 or equivalent clutch. Turbo motors require very specific setups if you want them to last and be strong. If you ever have any questions about engine related things, feel free to shoot me a PM whenever. I have researched this stuff for YEARS now lol.

Anyways, I will keep my eyes on this build. I'm sure the finished product will look awesome, and it makes me happy to be able to watch another in-depth build similiar to mine come together. Good luck man!

 

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great thread man

not sure on your wire question, but make sure you dont use those twist connectors when you are installing the harness/connector

 

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The intake looks AWESOME!

 

Nice! Darn you man... I had full intentions of blacking out my motor while it was out! Especially if I go iron block. Ive been thinking about it for a while now. Anxious to see how yours turns out!!

Great work on those heads man... That is some serious cleaning! If the valve seats are all good, you're in good shape!

J.

 

What an amazing thread. Just spend the last hour and half looking through it. I will be starting my LS1/T56 build very soon and will be using this as a walk through. Your doing an amazing job!!! Keep it up!!

 

wow i have read this thread for about 2hrs now and your doing an amzing job! going to look amazing!! im going to try to put an 5.3 vortec with the T56 in my 86 SC.

 

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did you leave the ERS badge on and paint over it?

 

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just swap over to a 4th gen dash?!

 

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the paint to me, needs more texture, why did you decide to paint it if i may ask? why not coat it in clear if your looking for that kind of shine, or just armor all the crapola out of it while its out so it reconditions the plastic

 

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the chassis black looks much better than the gloss, has a more dull finish, closer to factory at least

 

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damn that was quick

 

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well you painted a whole car. i can imagine why youd be tired and lazy haha. ive always thought about going that route but to me something just feels like im cutting corners too much. looks great though

 

Fantastic work and progress. Subscribed!

 

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