Steel IH Gaskets & Primary Port is 38mm

[KJL]

Paul-

You mention the secondaries, they do match quite well with the IH so I will be leaving them alone. The primaries are the ports that are mismatched. I guess I will match them the best I can. Jerry said to also be careful near the coolant passage. Need enough "meat" in between to get a good seal, but of course the IH is already done so.... it is what it is. The blue line in the pic below represents the size of the IH port. I am ready to go!!

[KJL]

Yes, seems to know about as much about these cars as any person could know. Very impressive. How do I figure out what number my car is? Is it part of the VIN? Attached are pictures of the car.

[carter200]

Originally Posted by KJL

Yes, seems to know about as much about these cars as any person could know. Very impressive. How do I figure out what number my car is? Is it part of the VIN? Attached are pictures of the car.

The last four of your vin. Good luck on the porting............

[KJL]

#159

[carter200]

Now add it to your signature and you'll have it for all to see. Have fun porting and err on the side of caution.......

[KJL]

Follow up- Just about done opening up the primary ports. It was easy and quick. The burrs I received from Eastwoods really worked well. I will post a couple of pics today. After thinking about something Jerry had mentioned regarding the width of the "land" between the primary port and the coolant passage as being the area that may be prone to problems of it is too narrow...perhaps that is why they selected an aluminum gasket instead of paper.... maybe because the primaries were "over" ported. I am planing on using permatex high tack gasket sealer on the gaskets just to make sure.

I couldn't use the 90 degree die grinder shown in pic, too much vibration. I had to swap to my in-line grinder, worked 100% better.

[We Gone]

Nice.. Hope we get an opportunity to meet up one day. Are you going to SGC in Nov?

http://www.zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21276

[KJL]

I would love to but I may be out of state for work. Looks like a Friday and Saturday Nov 22/23. I may get lucky and be home in time.

[KJL]

Here is a new pic, the primary port now transitions very nicely into the head. When compare to the original there is a big difference. Now my primary ports are about 37.5 or so mm in diameter.

I am going back to do a little clean up on the driver side. Still a bit more needs to come off. I am leaving a little extra meat between the port and coolant passage just to be safe and ensure a good gasket seal....I hope. After I apply the flapper wheel, I am putting a tiny chamfer around the perimeter of each port with a de-burring tool.

I would love to stab in a Pete's cam while I have it all apart. I read an article on Marc's web site, most of it seems doable, I have most of the tools, would need to track down some temp cam retainer caps, most other tools look like they can be built. The two issues that would be show stoppers for me are the need to remove the brake booster and the chain tensioners. I hate working under dash and the procedure for compressing a tensioner looks quite complex. I wonder what is involved with pulling the engine. I have all the equipment to do it, and have done it several times on my 72.

[Paul Workman]

Mark told me he phased a set of cams with the motor in place, using a CD camera, etc. But, felt the effort was greater than pulling the motor, FWIW.

Pulling an LT5 isn't difficult, but compared to pulling my wife's motor from her '69 C3, it takes me about twice as long to do the LT5. And, as always, the first time is the most time consuming - learning as you go.

The LT5 has "a few" more connectors than you 72 C3: 55 electrical connectors associated with pulling the motor, which includes the O2s and the VSS on the trans; ± 8 connectors, depending on if you remove none, one, or both ends of plug wires (optional, depending on the purpose of pulling the motor), and sundry vacuum lines too.

The trans, and in particular the C-beam (to me) is almost as much hassle as the motor - primarily due to it's size and re-alignment quirks - especially if you don't have a lift and do it off jack stands as I am relegated to doing. (Suggestion: I learned long ago that Bill Boudreau's C-beam plates are worth every cent (to me) in easing the whole C-beam fiasco...if nothing else!) And, on a C4 you don't have to remove the hood. So, there's that in our favor too.

But, all-in-all, having done it only a few times now, my impression of pulling the LT5 is pretty straight forward and not difficult. There's more "stuff" to disconnect and reconnect and some minor tail shaft housing alignment considerations, compared to your 72, but if you're comfortable and have the tools, pulling the LT5 is not a bad job. Access to a lift...would almost make it fun! NO lift...not so much.

Lotsa experts here that can guide you with every step; including e.g., some cam phasing options that are important, especially if changing cams is in the mix.

Have fun!