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April 2, 2016

OE pitman arm installed on steering. Then steering gear installed (Redhead, quick turn ratio. RedHead Steering Gears - Manual & Power Steering Gear Box).

 

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April 23, 2016

Installed front suspension: new springs (Moog P/N: 8000), upper control arms (Moog P/N: CK620158 & CK620159), lower control arms (Moog P/N: CK620169 & CK620169), shocks (Bilstein P/N: 24-011044) and sway bar & end links (Hotchkis P/N 2205). Also installed most of the steering components: new idler arm (Moog P/N: K6187T), center link. Tie Rod assemblies go in later (Moog P/N’s: ES2004S, ES2019RLT, ES2020RLT).

 

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May 15, 2016

Removed main engine harness to prep for some modifications:

• Changes needed to support EBL Flash
• Addition of a dual electric cooling fan
• Addition of a 200A CS144 alternator (Powermaster P/N: 48203)
• Addition of a wideband O2 sensor
• Conversion to a heated NB O2 sensor
• Deletion of AIR pump
• Antenna replacement
• New relay / fuse center

Also had to remove the passenger fender well to get easier access to replace antenna assembly.

 

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August 28, 2016

Installed rear suspension. New springs (Moog P/N: CC623), isolators (Energy Suspension P/N: 3-6110R), control arms (UMI Performance P/N: UPI-361516-B), shocks (Bilstein P/N: 24-009294).

Added a rear swaybar (Hotchkis P/N 2206R) and a Moser diff cover (P/N 7107). Hotchkis sells a kit of front/rear swaybars but I got to learn the hard way that it only works on sedans. Wagons have a 2-inch wider differential than sedans so you need to use the 2206R bar which you can only get if you buy them separately. After calling Hotchkis and explaining my failure to read, they were nice enough to let me exchange the sedan rear sway bar for the wagon at no cost… really nice folks.

The upper rear control arm bushings (Moog P/N K6111) would suck to get out had I not sprung for the Detroit Speed remover tool (DSR-042501). Pricey, but great tool that’s worth it.

 

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October 29, 2016

Got the modified engine harness back in. Tie Rods are also in now. Installed the fuel tank sending unit with new fuel pump. Since I knew I was going to be driving up the fuel pressure, I opted for the ACDelco EP381 pump.

 

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November 26, 2016

Here’s some cataloging pics of my old L03 305. Used them as reference for future. Note the small hole below the water pump bolts on the passenger side, that’s a coolant bypass which the L31-R doesn’t have. Will address this later.

Pretty dirty motor but served very well for a long time. Never been opened up in its life. The SBC is just a solid great engine!

 

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December 24, 2017

It had been a while since doing anything big to the car. Spent most of 2017 doing research, saving money, gathering up parts, finding a machine shop for my intake manifold, project on the rest of my fleet, etc.

Ordered and recieved the L31-R, LT4 Hotcam (P/N: 24502586), Comp Cams roller tip rockers (P/N: 1417-16), Alex’s Parts Valve Spring Kit to enable more lift without machining (P/N: VSK4H53). Website: Valve Spring Kit, SB Chevy VORTEC, HI-Perf Hyd Roller, 130 Lbs Seat Pressure, VSK4H53

Removed harmonic balancer, timing cover, crank sensor reluctor, timing chain, stock cam, rocker arms, push rods and lifters. Will also replace the valve stem seals just for good measure since they are getting disturbed anyways.

 

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December 26, 2017

Installed the new LT4 Hotcam. The stock L31 cam will go on the shelf, not sure for what though.

 

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December 27, 2017

Installed the Alex’s Parts valve spring kit (P/N: VSK4H53). Took some side by side pictures of the springs and retainers. This kit enables 0.550” of lift with a Vortec head (vs the 0.460” stock lift) without the need to machine the valve seat. Really nice kit!

 

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December 29, 2017

Reinstalled the lifter, push rods, new rockers. I had also sent my steering wheel of to be recovered with gray leather since the old rubberized material was breaking down and was sticky.

Craft Customs (Home) did the steering wheel and did a brilliant, albeit pricey, job. I was even able to get an extra swatch of leather for other interior components.

 

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May 20, 2018

It took a while but finally got my intake manifold back from a local machine shop. He did a great job boring the TBI input holes out to 48mm. He also bored the distributor hole out larger. 91-96 B bodies have a deep cowl overhang and the larger hole is required in order to tilt the distributor enough to get it out with the engine in the car. Found a good picture online that illustrates the distributor difference. After all the machine work plus the high initial cost for this intake, it was a very expensive piece. That being said, it’s one of the only parts available for TBI’s on Vortec heads that retains EGR (which I wanted to do).

The timing cover that comes with the L31-R has a hole drilled for a crank trigger sensor. Since I’m sticking with the stock TBI HEI ignition, I needed to purchase a new cover without the hole drilled. GM makes a plastic one that fits and with the hole undrilled (GM P/N: 12562818). Oil pan also needed to come off to ensure a good seal for the timing cover.

Reinstalled the harmonic balancer and added timing tape after find TDC. The L31 doesn’t have timing marks on the timing cover, just a little nub so if you want to see actual degrees, you have it add it yourself.

 

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June 10, 2018

Had to perform a little rework on the engine harness. I found a really nice relay / fuse center from Eaton (Series 15300 RTMR) that provided enough space for fuses & relays for the dual electric cooling fans, O2 sensor heaters, fuel pump plus space for a spare. Went with micro relays and mini fuses their size and neatness. A few connectors needed replacement as well. Had to add an inline connector to route my wiring for the Dynamic EFI TT-1 WB O2 Sensor box which is located adjacent to the ECM (in the cabin).

 

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July 2, 2018

Installed the modified engine harness and relay center. Had to build a new bracket for the relay center and work out how the ESC (WVE P/N 5F1010) would mount (being mindful to not allow moisture ingress). Also started sizing and installing new hardware for the intake manifold. Installed coolant temp sensor (Delphi P/N TS10075), heater hose connection and master cylinder vacuum port.

 

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July 7, 2018

Installed the crank pulley, water pump (Stewart Components P/N 23123) and 180° thermostat (Stewart Components P/N 301) . The L31-R block didn’t have a built in bypass port like the L03 so an external bypass port is needed to keep some coolant flowing until the engine warms and the thermostat opens. The stock gooseneck on the L03 routes differently so while I installed this L03 gooseneck thinking I could use the same routing, I later replaced this for one that comes straight forward. Installed the distributor.

Also started prepping the rear brakes for replacement.

 

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July 14, 2018

Installed the coolant bypass hose. Used reinforced silicone heater hose.

 

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July 21, 2018

Cleaned up the driveshaft to prep for paint. Will also install new U-joints (Moog P/N: 235) and replace U-joint clamps (Moog P/N: 530-10)

 

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July 22, 2018

Finally got around to replacing the rear brakes and found a leaking master cylinder on the passenger side. Driver side looked good but if you replace one, might as well do them both.