January 24, 1998: I send my 1970 Monte Carlo to the junk yard, but not before removing the 350 small block and the TH-350 trans.
March 7, 1998: Took the heads from the 350 to the machine shop to check them out, turns out they were worthless. I look for alternatives.
March 12, 1998: Picked up World Products Sportsman II heads from Speed Unlimited (Maryland).
July 15, 1998: Took 350 block to local machine shop to be bored, cleaned, etc (and get the pistons installed).
August 5, 1998: Had an emissions inspection due, didn't go, got it postponed.
August 6, 1998: Picked up block from machine shop, all nice and fresh.
August 11, 1998: Got the first batch of motor parts from Summit.
August 17, 1998: Painted block and heads.
September 11, 1998: Got second batch of motor parts from Summit.
September 19, 1998: Completely built the 355, sitting on a stand looking pretty.
September 26, 1998: The original L69 came out of the SS. Final mileage: 111,644.2
September 27, 1998: The new 355 got dropped in and bolted up.
September 28, 1998: Lots of hooking up of various sensors, accessories, brackets, carb, etc.
September 29, 1998: The oil pan I got won't work with the headers. Searching for a different one.
September 30, 1998: Lustine GM (in Hyattsville) has the pan in stock.
October 1, 1998: Got the oil pan. Began to disassemble what I need to raise the motor enough to R&R the pan.
October 3, 1998: Old oil pan is off and the new one is installed. Now to put everything back together, again.
October 4, 1998: More re-assembly work, getting really close now. Found out I need a spacer for the EGR valve though.
October 5, 1998: It's almost done. Got a lot more back together tonight, needed some help though and had to quit. I got around the EGR problem by denting the valve cover. The big thing left to do is the headers.
October 6, 1998: Ok, 98% back together now. Might've had it running tonight but decided to call it a night and take a break. Tomorrow should be it. The headers were a major pain to get bolted on, BTW.
October 7, 1998: This thing is done! I'll have to wait until tomorrow to fire it up.
October 8, 1998: It's ALIVE! She runs, and runs well. Ran into quite a few problems along the way, even tonight, mostly with various leaks to solve. But after setting the timing and breaking in the cam, I was able to sit back and realize that this thing is done, and it's pretty healthy. I have a good bit of fine tuning left to do, idle, timing, carb, but that can be done with time. And that Q-Jet REALLY needs to be rebuilt. Man, having plenty of oil pressure is something I'll have to get used to. The temp runs a bit higher than I expected, might consider dropping to a 180 thermostat (stock is 195).
October 9, 1998: Put exactly 100.5 miles on the new motor today. Ok so far. This thing has tons of torque, especially around 2200rpm.
October 10, 1998: 195.6 miles on the motor now. Found two small problems today. First, there is a small oil leak, apparently from the back of the drivers side valve cover. Will have to re-check that, I thought I had fixed it. The second was an antifreeze leak, from the lower radiator hose, I reset the clamp and it seems to have worked.
October 12, 1998: For some reason, all of a sudden the rockers are ticking like mad. Will have to re-adjust them, which kinda sucks since I had just managed to get the valve covers to stop leaking.
October 13, 1998: Now for some reason I have almost no oil pressure at idle, according the gauge anyway. And it's leaking oil still from somewhere undetermined, not very much though. And the kickdown (TV) cable is all screwed up, the trans has no idea what's going on. The car is not driveable and I'm running out of energy. 249.4 miles on the motor.
October 14, 1998: Started gathering parts to solve these problems. More money. Reset the valve lash, too loose before.
October 16, 1998: TV cable needs replacing, will have to wait until I can get it to a shop. New valve covers and gaskets are on. New 180 thermostat is in. Oil and filter changed again. New oil pressure sender is installed. Dented new valve covers to install EGR valve, the Edelbrock spacer is simply a ripoff and I refuse to pay $50 for it. Too late at night now to fire it up and see what's up, will know if we have success in the morning.
October 17, 1998: Ahh, much better. Oil pressure is good. Temperature is good. No leaks! But I still have a REALLY annoying exhaust leak ("tick") from the driver's side header, can't seem to find it. Current miles: 348.3 Car pulls strong.
October 24, 1998: Finished the break in period tonight, have 552 miles on the motor now. Made my first full throttle 1-2 shift, all I can say is WOW! Traction is going to be a problem :)
October 28, 1998: Went to my appointment at the local dealership to get a new TV cable, but they had to order it, so I go back tomorrow morning, argh. So while I was awake I finally went and got some new rear rubber put on.
October 29, 1998: New kickdown cable is installed. I still need to adjust it though, it's shifting WAY too early and thus also WAY too soft. Also got my loose tailpipe hanger welded tight again. No more coathanger. Isolated header leak, definitely coming from where they bolt to the heads, no leaks from the collectors or anywhere else, except a little from the rear cat flange that has always been there. Guess I get to try new gaskets... argh. 677.6 miles on the motor now.
October 30, 1998: Great. Big puddle of trans fluid under the car now. Leaking from the TV cable fitting that was changed yesterday... coincidence? I don't think so.
November 2, 1998: Much better today. Got 100% of the trans fluid flushed, filter changed too. Also got the rear end fluid changed. The big difference is that the TV cable is now set properly, so I can actually apply power. From a rolling start, I'm spinning well into second gear... poor BFG's :) TV cable fitting is still leaking a little. Apparently the GM dealer screwed up the fitting into the trans, making it impossible to tighten. 716 miles on the motor now.
January 19, 1999: 2,086 miles as of today, and still no problems. Averages to date: 623 miles per month. 21 miles per day. 7576 miles per year. Don't ask about miles per gallon, it's still horrible since I have yet to rebuild the Q-Jet.
November 28, 2000: Well, it's been a LONG time since I've updated this. A lot has happened, and the Monte hasn't been on the road much. I've mostly be working on and driving my '68 Charger while the Monte sits, but all that just changed this weekend, here's an update. The SHORT version: 1) the Monte got hit by a deer, caving in the driver's front quarter and door. Great. 2) Week's later I get the Monte back from the body shop and she's looking good (still in primer) and all the body work is done, including some things that had been needing attention for years. On the way home from the body shop, the camshaft failed. It was likely a lifter that failed, but it took the cam and a pushrod with it. Eventually I fix all of that. 3) Only a week after fixing the cam and getting her running again, I break two valve springs. For no reason at all, but now that my ears are open I'm hearing bad things about the springs that come on assembled World Products heads. Once again the car sat for months, but now the new valve springs are in and and she's being driven again. So I'm waiting to see what will fail next. I'm also waiting for emissions testing to come up again, which always makes me uneasy. And no, I STILL haven't rebuilt that old Q-Jet. After some delicate testing I feel the 355 still needs some tuning, and I may have some vacuum issues with that nest of emissions controls that I still run, but she still pulls strong and stays sideways thru second gear, so I'll live :) Oh, and there are 10,045 miles on the motor now.
All machine shop work done by Burtonsville Performance Machine Services in Maryland. Everything else was done by me, with help from a couple friends (Kevin N. and John W.) during the drop in.
And thanks to John T. for use of engine crane and stand :)