Darren, sorry to hear about the missus, won't be long you'll be right back into it.
sometimes priorities are priorities!........

 

Parts stores don't carry Assembly Lube because No One ASSEMBLES things anymore!
Automotive DIYers are a Dying Breed!!
Come to that, Any DIYers are very rare.
(';')

 

Wow!!!

1. Sorry as to the missus. I wish her a speedy recovery.

2. Tthere was a day before "assembly lube". il or a light grease. Not that suggest that.

3. Why the plastiguage if your crank has been examined and measured by the machine shop? micrometers far more precise !

4. Perhps you might "mooch" some assembly lube from your machine shop.


Keep on rolling along!!!

Carl

 

Plastiguage as a final check just for peace of mind, as machine shop didnt have the bearings, plus there are some instances of a .001 oversized bearing being used on rear main... luckily I and within spec on all fronts..

Elinor, you are dead right about diyers they are certainly a dying breed.....

Many thanks to everyone for well wishes toward wife..

 

I recently (2 months ago) rebuilt a Mitsubishi V6 engine for my son and I purchased Assembly Lube from Oriellys (Melbourne FL). Just for the hell of it, I went to Oriellys yesterday and they had it.
On the Plastigauge, I agree with Darren. if you ever bought a milled crankshaft, it comes with plastigauge for checking your final clearances.
When I rebuilt my 350 engine, I took my crankshaft and engine block which were in excellent condition to my machine shop (Rank Engineering) for them to polish the crank and hone the block and they still gave me some plastigauge for when I was doing the final assembly.

 

This graphite/ Moly paste stuff should never be used in modern engines. It's left over technology from WW2 aircraft which ran hot, had large clearances and basically had screens for oil filters. It does stay in place so it was ideal for engines that were built back home and then took months to reach their destination by ship and then may have sat for months or years in the theater of operation perhaps to be moved again at some point. The GI's brought home this and many other learned practices like supercharging, using parts you had access to no matter the brand, 100 octane (AV GAS) and methanol injection.... and right there hot-rod'ing was born.

Although I am young and have no direct experience this is my understanding from talking to many older engine builders and vets at air show back in the 80's and 90's. In recent years there have been fewer and fewer 1st hand sources at these events. I did meet the of one the pilots at the controls of the Air Plane that dropped the 2nd Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki at an Air show at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn NY some time in the late 90's. He few in a replica of the Enola Gay which was the 1st plane to drop an atomic bomb. No-one knows the name of the 2nd plane becasue after the first... the horrors of war were more clear and may not have been celebrated in the same way. As for the pilot...We spoke briefly, shook hands and I observed. It was illuminating to see this person as an old man long past his prime and having been on the forefront of one of the most defining moments in American history.

Back to lesser things...
In modern engine with tight clearances and media mesh filters the graphite clogs filter and prevent the oil wicking action that properly coats bearings. Years ago mechanics used this stuff and just flushed out the system shortly after a quick break-in period when oil was cheap and you just dumped it somewhere. Now-a-days with roller lifter and modern oils it's not ideal.



Today's modern engine builder uses modern assembly lubes with no graphite and far less dry moly. The tools for pre-oil pressurization just prior to start up are commonly available now. The thick oil type of lube is what to use, a product like Lucas assembly lube. In a pinch a simple thick oil like additive STP oil treatment or motor honey is sticky and will say in place under regular conditions and will suffice in a jam.. All these modern products can stay in the engine util the first oil change.

 

LNB and guys,, I must be a DIY,, i have always done everything with cars myself, EGO says (i can do it better than anyone else), Yes it has got me in trouble more than once.

but i did ALL the work and mods on my XJS,, all rust removal,welding, cutting metal,fitting, bracing ETC.
all body work and fabrications, all paint work, base /clear.
all engine redesign and modifications, to much to list!
all transmission changes along with rebuild.
driveline mods , Aluminum driveshaft joint setup, much changes in final gear and power lok mods! mods to wheel fitments.
suspension mods + bushing changes.

redo interior ( bought the seats new from BMW dealer).

but my Archilles heel was and still is the redo of most Electrical wiring, refitting using as much GM electrix that will do the job of OLD crap Lucas!
spent time this weekend fitting a new brake light switch( cant believe a new Jaguar switch could cost $124. dollars), me being the way i am, found a new switch that is from a 1942 Chevy Army truck(something said for a photographic memory),, ho\w does $14. sound,new!

any way lot of fun and very good meditation for an old guy, no sittin around and wasting the time of life!

for my wife," how can i kiss those lips at night ,when they been chewin my *** all day long".
ron

 

@ icsamerica: you are quite correct re assembly lube with moly. I was told to flush the oil after the break in period, which I did after about 100 miles so I initially used 5 quarts of bulk oil I purchased from a friend of mine who owns a repair shop. On my engine, I primed it using an old distributor shaft attached to a drill, before I started the car.
As you stated, it is not really necessary to look for assembly lube. STP oil additive or any other, will work just as well.

 

for you young guys back in late 40s,1950s they didnt have any assembly lubes , .
i always used 50W motor oil, used in motorcycles and aircraft engines , they had a nice prelube setup, hook a hose to the oil gage place and pump in oil till you hear it squizin out some of the bearings,and rotate crank a little more!
later on we put a shaft down the distributor drive and pumped up pressure, mostly for American V8s , and from then on all types of prelube compounds showed up!

 

It does seem that this old DIY guy is slowing down. Late 40's and early 50's on up .
Just squirted oil on the bearings and rings during assembly. whatever on hand, usually 30 or 40!

My last BIG DIY, before the lumping of my Jaguar. A "Hot Rod of the forties". Mostly from cast off stuff!!! Began with a cast off Model A Ford chassis and drive train. Engine included!! Rusty, Bodged and abused. A very rough conversion to "juice" brakes!!! Stripped down to the last bolt and nut!! "Z'd"the frame at the rear. Reverse spring eyes, front and rear. Front beam axle dropped 4 1/"'s. Plastic between each leaf. Chunked welded front spindles as hugely unsafe!!! Got new repops. Cut and welded engine and transmission mounts for the 59AB V8 and the 39 three on the floor. Fiberglass 27 T roadster body. Made up a bracket for the brake and cutch pedals. Changed the steering post angle to a lower position. And on and on. Great sounds from it on headers and twin straight pipes!!!

Then came the Jaguar from old tech to upfront modern tech. EFIU, computer!!!!!

Carlr

 

I have used white lithium grease in the past with no ill effects, however I knew engine would be fired within 24 hours of assembly, this engine may very well sits for a month or two before its installed and fired..
My lube is supposedly sitting outside my front door now (per amazon) so I'm good!
Maybe if wife is doing ok this evening I will get to play a little.. I turned A/C on in garage before I left this morning in anticipation..

 

White lithium grease is a fine assembly lube. We use it on all bearings and it is fine. We use a cam-specific product for the cams.

 

Made some progress over the weekend, got crank in cam and timing set (after drilling cam gear for 2 degree advance bushing), also got 6 of the pistons in... and then came to a screeching halt!!!
Being as bore was not changed I am reusing the original pistons, after having machine shop check the one I thought was cracked (its not), I cannot get the rings off of the two remaining.
One has entire top ring still on it and compressed into groove with no means of grabbing it, and other one has 1/4 of the second ring, same scenario... I am now soaking them with hopes they will just pop free!!! Heres some pics just to keep it interesting

Crank in!
Timing gears done and cam advanced 2 degrees ( per what i found on impalass forum for running lt4 hotcam with heavy car)

Close up of 2 degree bushing... drilling that gear is no joke!!

All pistons back in on this side...and lifters installed too.

Timing cover bolted back on, yes its early version with spline drive for opti, but car doesnt really see rain so not a big deal and another trick i read about is to thread a nipple into water pump weep hole to divert it if it develops a leak, so i should have no issues .

 

Seems I am.still a ways off from actually doing the swap...

 

I'm building a 1995 LT1 for my 1985 S3 and I had a little trouble finding rings to match the new pistons I chose. Seems there was three different piston/ring combinations available for me to choose from. One had 5/64" top ring; one had 2mm top ring; and one had 1.5mm top ring. The piston I chose needed the 2mm ring and I finally emailed Clevite to get the correct ring set #. This may not have anything to do with your issue, I just had the idea that if your motor has been re-ringed, maybe someone forced the wrong ring in to grooves. If you can see corrosion and crud in the lands, well your on the right track. Don't be tempted to use a wire brush or especially a bench grinder wire brush to "clean up" the pistons, you'll ruin them. You can buy a good groove cleaner at the parts house for not much $$$.
Dave

 

Darren:

Looking really great.

1. Is there enough room for the sharp edge of a busted ring to insert in to the ring gap on the stuck ring and pry it out, in pieces if necessary ? A busted ring clears grooves nicely, if carefully used. As in my day when tools were limited.

2. The top shaft in your picture is the WP drive. Unique to the LT1 !!! I busted mine removing the water pump to replace the OPtilite!!! Saved at extra $'s. A Mezzierre electric pump. No more weep hole to threaten the Optilite!!!!
I like it. A lot.

3. Do you not have the late Optilite ? Sealed better and vented to the intake!! Suck out any moisture intrusion. But, aye, why not add a nipple to the weep and a hose to drain any liquid away from harm.

4. I sure am curious as to how the small change in cam timing will effect drivability.
The Caprice and related are far from light weights. Mine came from a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Same family. That is why, in my opinion, it is such a great match for the heavy XJ!!

Carl

 

Carl, I have been using a piece of another ring to pry it out, and yes in pieces!! They are currently soaking in a mix of acetone and atf.. hoping that loosens what's left up..

From my readings, the lt4 hotcam Is designed for the vette, which revs higher and is lighter, therefore it's designed to have higher power but at a higher rpm, advancing the cam drops the power band down a little, so i should start making power about 2k, I may have to put a higher stall converter in, but what info i can find says I should be ok.. 2 degrees doesnt seem like much to me, but cam only has 3 degrees ground in, so shouldnt take much more..I will also be installing 1.6 rockers in place of the 1.5 to help...
My original thinking was as that being as engine had already been swapped into an early 70s monte carlo that weight would be around same, and I wouldn't have any issues, but looking back, monte was stripped!!!

Anyhoo.. more to follow as I progress..

 

Darren new pistons for that engine are cheap low cost, why take chance on old pistons with new rings, groove could be i bad shape or loose when cleaned up!

try summit racing for parts?
there no engine made that is more simple than those old SBC chevys.
ron

 

Welcome to my world. Pretty much "overhauling" the rest of the car prior to the LS1 going in.

 

honestly it dont look like a Hiperformance Chevy small block engine!

just ordinary , Cast iron crankshaft(not Steel).

small cast iron 2 bolt main caps,(
(not steel 4 bolt type).

of course in the scheme of things , it dont really matter you are not looking for serious HP?
ron