Amazingly the plasigage is still pliable.
Time flys , I bought the inside- outside mics in 1973!!
Time flys , I bought the inside- outside mics in 1973!!
Sherlock9C1 builds a wagon
[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.
![200050]()
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.
![200051]()
![200052]()
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.
61 - 80 of 145 Posts
Side note, I purchased the Melling Shark Tooth oil pump for this engine. The gears are twisted, like a Whipple supercharger, for much-reduced oil and torque pulsations. It was $60 more than a regular style oil pump.
![Wood Automotive tire Asphalt Bumper Road surface]()
![Hand Finger Gesture Thumb Household hardware]()
I'll deburr the sharp edges inside and it'll be good to go. Speaking of de-'burring', even as we were taking it apart and inspecting it, a burr came off. Byebye sharp edges.
![Tool Bicycle part Rim Bicycle drivetrain part Nickel]()
I'll deburr the sharp edges inside and it'll be good to go. Speaking of de-'burring', even as we were taking it apart and inspecting it, a burr came off. Byebye sharp edges.
A dear friend who knows his way around engines and vehicles came over and helped me check the top ring end gaps. I wrote them all down; they were all around 0.022-0.025 with one at 0.029 on cylinder 5.
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Crankset Bicycle tire]()
Here's a trick to square the rings before measuring - take a piston and just push the rings down into the bore util it rests on the oil ring.
![Crankset Automotive tire Vehicle brake Bicycle part Bicycle chain]()
Here's a trick to square the rings before measuring - take a piston and just push the rings down into the bore util it rests on the oil ring.
We assembled several rod bearings with the stock shells to check clearance. These shells were -0.001" undersize (tighter than stock), with severe wear on the upper shells. This one was definitely under 0.002" clearance.
![Bicycle part Motor vehicle Rim Electrical wiring Auto part]()
Here's one on the #4 journal:
![Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exterior Automotive wheel system Gas]()
Same one; less than 0.0015." This was with the crazy wear shown earlier. Bearings were dry while tested.
![Bumper Motor vehicle Gas Automotive wheel system Auto part]()
Interesting marks on the rod cap insides. I also found it interesting that there was oil behind them when I pulled the shells out. They are supposed to be assembled bone dry and tight for heat transfer and proper crush/anchoring to prevent spinning.
![Hand Wheel Automotive tire Tire Bicycle part]()
Bottom line, the 0.001" undersize bearings were suitable for the mains but NOT for the rods. I'll most likely end up going X bearings (0.001" oversize) on the rod bearings. Following 95wagon's suggestion, I'm going to purchase a dial bore gauge to get more accurate readings.
Here's one on the #4 journal:
Same one; less than 0.0015." This was with the crazy wear shown earlier. Bearings were dry while tested.
Interesting marks on the rod cap insides. I also found it interesting that there was oil behind them when I pulled the shells out. They are supposed to be assembled bone dry and tight for heat transfer and proper crush/anchoring to prevent spinning.
Bottom line, the 0.001" undersize bearings were suitable for the mains but NOT for the rods. I'll most likely end up going X bearings (0.001" oversize) on the rod bearings. Following 95wagon's suggestion, I'm going to purchase a dial bore gauge to get more accurate readings.
Mine do not have graduations between the .001's but seeing 1/2 - 1/4 of the thou pretty easy , 1/10th do able.
![Office supplies Writing implement Wood Font Publication]()
![Cosmetics Fluid Material property Cylinder Audio equipment]()
Another update on the wagon engine build. Nothing like telling your car buddies you're having an engine build party to force you to get the workshop cleaned and get everything in order.
Time for final installation of the crankshaft. Since I plan on running a standard volume oil pump with 5w30 oil, I kept the main bearing clearances at .002". This will be a non-nitrous street motor and the shift points will be at 6000rpm or below. This is believed to be an old COLA crank; the mains were a bit on the small side so I used 0.001" undersized on 1-4 and a STD size on #5.
Note that we started at #3 and tightened them one at a time so we could check for binding. I list them in order here though.
#1 journal; just over 0.002".
![Tire Finger Thumb Nail Terrestrial plant]()
#2. Right at 0.002 if not a hair under. These Clevite P-series bearings will discolor if you look at them funny.
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Automotive lighting Hood]()
#3. just a hair under 0.002." The photo makes it look tighter than it was.
![Finger Tire Automotive tire Rim Household hardware]()
#4. Right at 0.002." I know these pictures haven't been great at lining the edges up; parallax ends up being significant in these plastigage photos for some reason.
![Automotive tire Bicycle tire Wood Motor vehicle Denim]()
#5. Just slightly above 0.002". From lots of reading, you want the #5 journal to have a half-thou extra clearance to allow sufficient oil to reach the thrust surfaces on this bearing. So it's good.
![Hand Finger Household hardware Gas Automotive tire]()
Time for final installation of the crankshaft. Since I plan on running a standard volume oil pump with 5w30 oil, I kept the main bearing clearances at .002". This will be a non-nitrous street motor and the shift points will be at 6000rpm or below. This is believed to be an old COLA crank; the mains were a bit on the small side so I used 0.001" undersized on 1-4 and a STD size on #5.
Note that we started at #3 and tightened them one at a time so we could check for binding. I list them in order here though.
#1 journal; just over 0.002".
#2. Right at 0.002 if not a hair under. These Clevite P-series bearings will discolor if you look at them funny.
#3. just a hair under 0.002." The photo makes it look tighter than it was.
#4. Right at 0.002." I know these pictures haven't been great at lining the edges up; parallax ends up being significant in these plastigage photos for some reason.
#5. Just slightly above 0.002". From lots of reading, you want the #5 journal to have a half-thou extra clearance to allow sufficient oil to reach the thrust surfaces on this bearing. So it's good.
After we installed #5, the crankshaft was binding about halfway around. This is a dead giveaway that the thrust bearing halves are misaligned.
We set up a dial indicator and got absolutely no end play. That's no good.
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bicycle part Gas Measuring instrument]()
So we removed the rear cap and got 0.0045." The crankshaft spun freely too. Yep, definitely a #5 cap misalignment (front to back). Factory LT1 spec is 0.002-0.008." Then we put the cap on and spent an hour shifting it around and could only get 0.003". After a lot of head scratching, we measured the thickness of the other rear bearings and they were all 1.716" thick, so we didn't have a bum bearing. Then we looked at the rear cap and found a burr (it's under the guru's thumb, but you get the idea).
![Hand Automotive tire Wood Sleeve Thumb]()
So we deburred it and then got our extra thou and a half back. 0.0045" end play, right in the middle of spec. It's worth noting that the old bearing had zero wear on the thrust surfaces so it hasn't been an issue in this motor to date. The crankshaft spun freely and uniformly so we were good.
![Shoe Automotive tire Glove Wood Sleeve]()
We set up a dial indicator and got absolutely no end play. That's no good.
So we removed the rear cap and got 0.0045." The crankshaft spun freely too. Yep, definitely a #5 cap misalignment (front to back). Factory LT1 spec is 0.002-0.008." Then we put the cap on and spent an hour shifting it around and could only get 0.003". After a lot of head scratching, we measured the thickness of the other rear bearings and they were all 1.716" thick, so we didn't have a bum bearing. Then we looked at the rear cap and found a burr (it's under the guru's thumb, but you get the idea).
So we deburred it and then got our extra thou and a half back. 0.0045" end play, right in the middle of spec. It's worth noting that the old bearing had zero wear on the thrust surfaces so it hasn't been an issue in this motor to date. The crankshaft spun freely and uniformly so we were good.
We were going to install all the pistons but it turns out I hadn't actually ordered the X (oversize) bearings yet. Woops. STD bearings were at 0.0015" on this crankshaft, so that's a no-go. We installed one for deck height and piston rock measurement.
The guru lost much of his engine building tools in a divorce, but still had this nifty tool.
![Automotive tire Engineering Gas Metalworking Machine]()
After some playing around, we concluded that the pistons are at zero deck. Piston rock side to side total is .0185", and piston rock along the wrist pin (with basically no oil in it after cleaning) was 0.005". So basically the piston could come up out of the bore as much as .00925." I was tempted to run a thinner head gasket than the FelPro 1074 (0.039") but I'll wait to see what the piston to valve clearances and cylinder head CCs measure at before a final decision. Just running the numbers right now, with 55cc combustion chambers, a -14.9cc dish and zero deck, I'm at 11.6:1 compression. Pretty steep for a street motor. I'm planning to radius the sharp edges on the heads and run colder plugs to see if I can avoid 93 octane along with conservative ignition timing.
The guru lost much of his engine building tools in a divorce, but still had this nifty tool.
After some playing around, we concluded that the pistons are at zero deck. Piston rock side to side total is .0185", and piston rock along the wrist pin (with basically no oil in it after cleaning) was 0.005". So basically the piston could come up out of the bore as much as .00925." I was tempted to run a thinner head gasket than the FelPro 1074 (0.039") but I'll wait to see what the piston to valve clearances and cylinder head CCs measure at before a final decision. Just running the numbers right now, with 55cc combustion chambers, a -14.9cc dish and zero deck, I'm at 11.6:1 compression. Pretty steep for a street motor. I'm planning to radius the sharp edges on the heads and run colder plugs to see if I can avoid 93 octane along with conservative ignition timing.
So, after we put the crankshaft in, I became concerned that the workshop had been cold prior to assembly, and a small space heater warmed up the shop only 5 hours before assembly, and the crank had been left 6" off the ground while the block was on an engine stand the whole time, and I'm intentionally not swirling the air around to avoid stirring up dust. Plus, knowing that all the mains had been assembled using 0.001 tighter bearings, I decided to go back and change the upper shells on journals 2, 3, and 4 to STD bearings, and run a complete STD bearing set on #5. FYI the thrust bearing is spec'd by GM for looser clearances to allow more oil to leak out to lubricate the thrust surfaces.
So, the bearing shells are, by upper/lower:
![Product Automotive tire Gas Automotive exterior Auto part]()
One rule if you're building an engine: one can never have too much plastigage. It's cheap, buy plenty of it.
I carefully laid in the crankshaft and plastigaged all five journals one more time.
#1: Right on 0.002"
![Automotive tire Bumper Wood Automotive exterior Gas]()
#2 - right on 0.002". The picture makes the plastigage look wider; this iPhone camera does NOT like taking pictures of plastigage.
![Automotive tire Automotive exterior Gas Bumper Machine tool]()
#3: Also right on 0.002". Parallax is a bear with photographing these for some reason.
![Automotive tire Bumper Automotive wheel system Knee Gas]()
#4: very slightly larger than 0.002". Good enough.
![Bumper Automotive tire Automotive exterior Gas Hood]()
#5: Bigger than 0.002" just as I wanted for thrust bearing oiling; definitely not 0.003", so let's call it 0.0025."
![Automotive tire Fluid Automotive wheel system Gas Auto part]()
OK, done with main bearing clearances on this motor.
So, the bearing shells are, by upper/lower:
- -1/-1
- 0/-1
- 0/-1
- 0/-1
- 0/0
One rule if you're building an engine: one can never have too much plastigage. It's cheap, buy plenty of it.
I carefully laid in the crankshaft and plastigaged all five journals one more time.
#1: Right on 0.002"
#2 - right on 0.002". The picture makes the plastigage look wider; this iPhone camera does NOT like taking pictures of plastigage.
#3: Also right on 0.002". Parallax is a bear with photographing these for some reason.
#4: very slightly larger than 0.002". Good enough.
#5: Bigger than 0.002" just as I wanted for thrust bearing oiling; definitely not 0.003", so let's call it 0.0025."
OK, done with main bearing clearances on this motor.
I removed the crankshaft, and cleaned and dried the rear of all the bearings (since you want a tight physical connection for heat transfer and spin resistance). I reinstalled all the bearings, oiled them, then laid the crankshaft in and torqued down the first four journals. At this point I rotated the crankshaft by hand and it turned smoothly with no tight spots. Great! Notice the rear upper thrust bearing has plenty of visible clearance.
![Photograph Automotive tire White Light Motor vehicle]()
Notice the bearing fits tight on the block, and there's clearance on both ends. My dial indicator confirmed at least 0.003" in each direction, and also with a feeler gauge. LT1 factory spec is 0.002-0.008".
![Light Automotive exterior Bumper Audio equipment Automotive tire]()
A tad tight here, but let's call it 0.0025"; it's basically got 5.5 thousandths total clearance which is right in the middle of spec. And it was easy to move back and forth by hand.
![Automotive lighting Hood Automotive design Automotive tire Tartan]()
However, when I installed the #5 cap and tightened it down, I lost all clearance. And nothing I could do could restore that. No smacking, no moving the cap around, nothing. Huh. I'd loosen the ARP stud nuts and smack the crank rearwards and forwards and get 0.002" but as soon as I'd tighten the nuts, I'd lose it again, and the crankshaft definitely had a tight spot as it turned. This is a head scratcher.
Notice the bearing fits tight on the block, and there's clearance on both ends. My dial indicator confirmed at least 0.003" in each direction, and also with a feeler gauge. LT1 factory spec is 0.002-0.008".
A tad tight here, but let's call it 0.0025"; it's basically got 5.5 thousandths total clearance which is right in the middle of spec. And it was easy to move back and forth by hand.
However, when I installed the #5 cap and tightened it down, I lost all clearance. And nothing I could do could restore that. No smacking, no moving the cap around, nothing. Huh. I'd loosen the ARP stud nuts and smack the crank rearwards and forwards and get 0.002" but as soon as I'd tighten the nuts, I'd lose it again, and the crankshaft definitely had a tight spot as it turned. This is a head scratcher.
One thing you always want to do is check oil pump bolt clearance against the #5 main bearing BEFORE you install it. So I bolted the oil pump on and finger-tightened it to see.
![Bicycle part Gas Engineering Auto part Machine]()
At least three threads of clearance there so we're good.
![Automotive tire Hood Bicycle part Bumper Fender]()
At least three threads of clearance there so we're good.
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