Sherlock9C1 builds a wagon

12970 Views 144 Replies 16 Participants Last post by MWP, 2 d ago

sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · Jul 22, 2021

3

[editor's note, I'm migrating this over from GMLongRoof forum, so some of this may be repetitive from my Impala build thread]

Hey guys, it's about time I posted up my wagon project. I've owned B-bodies since 2003, but in late 2013 my fourth Roadmaster wagon sadly caught fire a week after I bought it and was a total loss. I had just moved 1000 miles south and with a new job, three young kids and a whole new city, I needed to simplify. So I sold all three of my B-bodies and just drove minivans for 5 years.

My dad suddenly passed away in fall 2017 and the next summer I ended up inheriting his '96 Impala SS (Dark Cherry, the car I always wanted). It was drivable but needed a lot of work. I was going to sell it, but shortly after I got it to my house the buyer flaked out, so I just drove it and remembered why these cars are so fun (especially compared to minivans!). My wife and I decided to sell one minivan and make the SS my daily driver (which you can do in the Southern US), so I started disassembling it to restore. (That build is over here).

Four months later, while looking for parts, I located a 96 Roadmaster wagon project about 2 hours north of me. The owner had started to build it but hit some snags and health problems and it had been sitting partially disassembled for two years. I figured SURELY he'd be willing to sell some parts from his stash, but no, he said he wanted to sell the whole thing together, and he made me an extremely compelling offer. So I did what any self-respecting guy would do, I told him I'd talk to my wife and call him back.

We talked it over and decided to go ahead and take a good hard look at the wagon. It was dirty and neglected, but other than a hellacious battery acid leak and an unfortunate rainwater accumulation in the left rear quarter, it was rust free and in very good condition.

So we loaded it up with parts, loaded my minivan full of parts, strapped down the powdercoated rear axle and the 383 he had acquired for it (on a specially designed radial transport fixture) and he trailered it to my house.

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Caddylack

· #21 · Jul 26, 2021

sherlock9c1 said:
Why people still use carbureters baffles me.

What is so baffling?

There are guys who have been building race cars a certain way for their entire lives and are now 70 years old and have never used a computer for anything. (Yes, 95wagon, there are also guys who this does not apply to).

If you are an expert at one thing and a noob at another, it's understandable that some would prefer to stick with what they are good at. My good friend is still running a carb'd SBC in his Caprice, and the car sure as hell doesn't need to be any faster. He has no reason to learn how to tune. "Efficiency"? That's cute.

sherlock9c1 said:
Why does everyone swap LS motors? The intake port.

I can't tell if you are being completely serious here, but the head flow numbers are just the beginning.

sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #22 · Jul 26, 2021

Caddylack said:
I can't tell if you are being completely serious here, but the head flow numbers are just the beginning.

I don't take myself too seriously. Maybe you take me more seriously than I do.

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Caddylack

· #23 · Jul 26, 2021

sherlock9c1 said:
I don't take myself too seriously. Maybe you take me more seriously than I do.

Lmao...

The question wasn't how serious you take yourself. The question was how literally that particular comment should be taken.

sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #24 · Jul 26, 2021

Caddylack said:
The question wasn't how serious you take yourself. The question was how literally that particular comment should be taken.

I think you and I both know that on its face, that comment is a gross oversimplification of the many design advances of the LS engine family.

OhGee

· #25 · Jul 26, 2021

Great thread with excellent photos. Good Luck on the rest of your build

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ZratedDog

· #26 · Jul 27, 2021

That wagon sure went into good hands!

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #27 · Aug 1, 2021

2

Well, now that the engine is out, it's time to dig into the replacement engine I bought.
Has a nice 7.5" deep sump oil pan. Photographing both pan rails so I can remember the bolt / stud arrangement. No oil cooler; oh well, not a concern for now. Notice how the oil pan fits OVER the timing cover? This is why unfortunately you have to lift or remove the engine to take off the timing cover. That's the oil level sensor in the side of the pan. I'm really glad GM put this on. I wish every car had a low oil level sensor. If the inside of the sensor plug is wet, the seal has failed and it needs to be replaced. This one was still good. Be sure to remove it before removing the oil pan.

Big kickout on passenger's side. Someone has taken the time to deburr this block before it was painted. No casting ridge on the upper front edge of the block (above the depression right at my buddy's right shoe)

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #28 · Aug 1, 2021

3

Built-in windage tray. The screen on the right catches oil slung off the crankshaft and drops it into the bottom.

Three trap doors in the rear. These allow oil into the sump where the oil pump pickup is, but not out.

There was a lot of this metal "fines" in the pan. Being a transmission guy, it looked like normal clutch/steel dust to me, except that this isn't a transmission. Hmm.

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #29 · Aug 1, 2021

Melling M55HV. The HV is high volume. These were a common mod back in the day, but the consensus nowadays is that it's useless to overpump oil. You'll either pump the pan dry, aerate the oil, or both. Not to mention extra wear on the cam gear, hotter oil and lost horsepower. This will get sold locally and a different pump put in.

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #30 · Aug 1, 2021

2

After I take the oil pump off, I always take the rear main cap off first. Supposedly this motor only had 10k miles on it. That bearing looks like a lot more than 10k.

Crank looks good though.

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #31 · Aug 1, 2021

4

Well, between the oil pump, that rear bearing, and all the dust in the pan, I'm not just going to slap this motor back together and run it. Let's take it apart and have a look-see at everything. Definitely good hardware in here just like the seller said.

Life is more fun when you have friends to walk the journey with you. Neither of these guys had ever been inside an engine before, so they were even more curious than I was. In case you're wondering on the blockouts, I'm just protecting their privacy.

Here is the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKP) reluctor that GM added in '96.

Stout aftermarket LT1 timing chain and gears. These are LT1-specific due to the mechanical water pump driven by the cam gear. ARP studs in the background. In case you're wondering about the looseness in the chain; if it was any tighter, we would not have been able to get the cam gear off the front of the cam.

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #32 · Aug 1, 2021 (Edited)

6

Here are all the main bearings, in order.

The rod bearings (wiped dry): Worn all the way down to the copper!

Block upper shells. Also notice absolutely no porting of the oil filter adapter area. This surprised me. The rear main cap was also not ported at all.

Front cam bearing. I don't recall if I fully wiped this bearing off before taking the picture, or not.

Clevite H series bearings (higher quality). 0.001" undersize (tighter than stock. X bearings are 0.001" oversize). Every single main and rod bearing shell in this motor was 0.001" undersize. I will be interested to see what the crank measures out at.

Recall that there was a high volume oil pump? So this motor had a high volume oil pump with undersize bearings. Not an optimal combination.

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Caddylack

· #33 · Aug 1, 2021

sherlock9c1 said:

You forgot to block out buddy's hair. Much more distinguishing than any potential face.

sherlock9c1 said:
Here is the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CKP) reluctor that GM added in '96.

I just realized that I should have asked you about this a long time ago:

What can you say about the crank sensor?

I sold a 95 LT1 to my friend to replace the engine in his 96 SS. I told him that I believed it was okay to leave this sensor unplugged, and then just tune out the code. Accurate?

Ken Hennessy

· #34 · Aug 2, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

Are those bearings 1 under or 1 over?
Ken

sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #35 · Aug 2, 2021

One under, so tighter. X bearings are 0.001 oversize.

sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #36 · Aug 2, 2021

Caddylack said:
I sold a 95 LT1 to my friend to replace the engine in his 96 SS. I told him that I believed it was okay to leave this sensor unplugged, and then just tune out the code. Accurate?

I've never tuned a 96 so I don't know, but I'm guessing yes.

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95wagon

· #37 · Aug 2, 2021

The ED setup wasn't made loose for assembly and disassembly ease.
Cam gear removal , with the LT1 long pin it can be a bit of a dance with moving the cam back a bit then rotating the gear around the pin.
That or moving the crank gear forward with the cam gear.
This can be problematic if the crank gear is a tight press .
You can't put the puller against the chain unless you are throwing it out.
The GM ED setup was notoriously loose.
A Cloyes engineer ( the manufacturer ) told me in a phone call the center to center call out from GM was wrong.
They supplied me an "over size " crank gear .

95wagon

· #38 · Aug 2, 2021

Not every one can tune a 96, should have moved the crank reluctor over to the 95 engine .
need the 96 specific crank key , cover , and damper hub ( or shorten 95 hub .095ish )
That said, one would surmise you would be turning off everything related to the crank sensor and misfire detection

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96 Black

· #39 · Aug 2, 2021

Sherlock-, just great writeup narrative for the as-great explanatory pics. Magazine pics or TV show of a shiny new build with super fancy pieces by pros are fine and dandy, but your teardown shots with notes are better for showing how 'accomplish-able' the steps actually are for those who don't have a dozen builds already under belt.

And all I got'ta say on carbs is, the Doug Roe book and Thexton gauge kits rule!

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sherlock9c1

Discussion Starter · #40 · Aug 2, 2021

To be clear, I'm not saying I hate all carbs. I've rebuilt carburetors myself. But when you spend a few hours in TunerPro looking all the minute adjustability you have within these ancient LT1 PCMs, there's no excuse for the car not to run perfect all the time.

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