1996 Legacy Z28: 383 rebuild


July 13, 2000: All the parts are at the machine shop. Looks like the pistons will be reused, the bores will clean up with a light hone. Everything else just gets a once over. Recondition the GTP heads, valve job and surfacing. Go -.010 on the crank, balance it all up and it will be time to select the cam!

Head gasket. right side. It let go between #2 & #4	Bottom view of above
Once we started the tear down process, I am reminded of all the problems this motor had going together. NEVER have your bowtie built by the blue oval guys. ALWAYS work with a Chevy specialist! Let's see........ the oil pickup, although tack welded to the pump (at one time), was sitting in the bottom of the oil pan. There wasn't a drop of sealer on any of the ARP head bolts (the blue oval's don't need it) The cam had been dinged up, so the cam bearings were toasted. The lifters came out all "heat stained" ... oil starved?. The plugs for the lifter galleys do not have the .030" holes for oiling the timing gears / venting air On the tear down they did (due to there lack of knowledge of LT1's cam pin length) they must not have drained any coolant before pulling the heads, as the cylinder walls are all pitted to the extend I thought Tim Leary had come back to life and dropped some "magic dust" in them (real good for ring seal). At least they didn't put together the bottom end, so the crank, rods & pistons are all VERY pretty. The pistons are of a forged type that require .006" clearance, which I don't ever want to listen to again, so a different forged material type will be reused.....I hope the cylinders will clean up at a +.040" range. BTW, the bottom end is all Lunati and the pistons were sourced from them. They are marked (on the inside) Lunati - Taylor, but say TRW as well
click on the images for larger pictures (use back to return)

The darker areas are the heat stains (not just the crappy photography). These lifters have the oil feed holes 90 degrees from where the stocks lifters do. Oil starvation?


All this had me real concerned, until I noticed the oil retainer ring pattern "engraved" in the cylinder wall. This is what happens when the block is exposed to the elements, coolant, or water sit in the cylinders, then just "throw it all back together"

The front and rear journals of the cam were "dinged" up badly, so needless to say, the front and rear cam bearing were toast. The first cam (short pin, they didn't know) came out clean, "throwing it back together" for the second time really meant "they could just not give a damn."

At least the bottom end they didn't touch. They had the machine shop asemble that. But, then again....the main bearings could have been cleaner when it got assembled





								383 REBUILD



								It went 9000 miles, but only 2 track outtings. I had little faith in the condition of the motor, the quality of the work that went into it....here's why!