> Good evening Tom,
> Would be interested in some of your thought processes prior to
> rebuilding. My own experience is that good competition engine builders
> are the best around but rarely have time for off-the-wall projects like
> ours. Anyhow, did you re-build the existing block, or start with a new
> one? Did you re-build it back to stock or tweek it??
> Thanks for the help
> Later, Bob
Back at you Bob....
Thought processs, huh?
Well, this was a 10yr old coach when I bought it, and it had 112k miles
on it. A quick inspection showed that previous maintence work everwhere
was rather low grade in quality, a tad above the bubble gum and baling
wire variety. The former owner was of little help on the service history
as he had little knowledge of things automotive and said he took the
coach to a local RV sales shop for service. Other than paid invoices, he
had no details on the work actually done.
Although the engine ran well enough, I had reservations about it's
reliability because of the high milage and unknown service record. My
plans were to use this coach to vacation with the family and the last
thing I wanted was to run into engine trouble on the road with kids
along!! That was the primary driving force behind the decision to
rebuild.
With this GM product I knew there were many options/parts available for
the rebuilding process, whether stock parts or modified. I've worked on
cars since my teens, but I wouldn't consider myself an expert and wanted
a second opinion on how big a project this would become. I am lucky
enough to number as friends some mechanics who work on racing engines,
so I took the engine and drive train out of the coach to their shop for
evaluation.
This is a thorough group and the whole engine was disassembled there
with all critical tolerances checked against original factory specs.
What was within spec was left stock, and that which was out of spec was
modified. ie, The block had to be bored to oversize, with appropriate
rings and pistons installed. Valves, guides, lifters, and cam shaft were
modified for more low-end torque at the suggestion of the mechanics.
So I guess you could say I left to stock what I could and "tweeked" the
rest.
There are probably some savvy engineers out there who would say I didn't
need have done all that was, but I relied on mechanics with years of
parts application experience (one is a metallurgist). I think I really
lucked out that these guys saw this engine as a challange and were
willing to work with me. I did get a lot of grief though, about not
wanting racing stripes painted on the side of the coach!!
The gift of two huge, over-sized, fuzzy dice that came back from the
shop with the engine, hang from my rearview mirror. They are to remind
me that I still shouldn't drive at raceway speeds!
Hope this helps you somewhat, Bob.
I'm personally happy with the outcome of the rebuild of this engine and
feel comfortable that I could put another 100k on it without a problem.
The peace of mind is worth the money spent...
Tom - Houston
