Well, 2022 is gonna start a little differently than planned. As mentioned in my 79 Malibu thread, I pulled the Dart 400 out of the Chevelle. The ZZ383 is going back in for now. I'm keeping the same intake, for now. But I'm definitely hoping to experiment with that a little this year.
At the end of '21, the heater core started leaking. I un-plumbed it from the system and quickly realized how much it's needed. So tonight, for what I'm pretty sure is the third time in my ownership, I tore the heater box out. I've gotten increasingly efficient every time I do it.. Pulling the inner fender makes it pretty painless. We'll see how it all goes back together. Tomorrow.
Got the heater box re-installed yesterday, along with the inner fender. I put in all new gaskets, including one which acts as damper on one of the vent doors that I'm sure I used to hear ting-ing around ever now and then. I repainted the box in the engine bay, but skipped repainting the heater box inside under the dash. That was too much of a make-work project for the moment. I also replaced the blower motor, just because the other one is 50 years old. With this side project complete, I can get back to putting the engine back in.
Tonight I got the ZZ383 set back into the engine bay. It took a little more goofing around than usual to get everything lined up, but it's in! Now I can pick at it all week
We are almost ready to fire!! But as part of my pre-check, I jumpered the fuel pump and a leak was revealed. There's a fitting on the fuel rail with an o-ring that is junk. There's also a screw + spacer missing on the fuel pressure regulator. Replacements are on order.
Well, after a short getaway trip to Vegas last Sat-Wed, I've been back in the garage the past few nights and got the Chevelle fired up tonight! The ZZ383 just runs really nice. No re-engineering of anything this time around, just a little mucking around with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator that I couldn't really adjust on the car. I found a damaged rubber tip on one of my 36lb injectors, so I swapped in my 42s instead. Overkill for this motor.
No observed leaks from the new heater core, yet.
The other cool thing is that I finally have the matched torque converter in here that I bought almost a couple years ago. It's the Edge Racing converter I bought, and spec'd for running behind the ZZ383, but its only been run behind the short-lived 408 and the Dart 400.
I do have to address the rearend. While sitting this winter, it has leaked a LOT of gear lube. I think the gasket is just bad and I have a new one in stock, but something I need to take care of before the first test drive.
And ignition switch is acting up, *again*. I have the correct terminal to install a new wire in the fuse block that goes to the starter, so that's my next step. Something, somewhere is causing a voltage drop and not getting +12v to the stater's terminal.
Well, the engine is all back in, and the hood is back on! Yay!
But I gotta dig into the key switch again, it has failed more times than it has worked the past couple weeks.
The diff cover has been leaking steadily this winter. I pulled the cover last night and saw nothing out of sorts at all. Previous gasket was neoprene and it looks totally fine. New gasket is paper-ish (FelPro). Once I put the cover on and re-fill, I'll be ready for a test drive. More importantly, I'll have my lift available for the Maliboost.
So I guess I never posted about the noise the transmission was making when I put it into gear when this was all completed. It resulted in me not driving the car *at all* in 2022.
It sounded like a metallic chirping -- only in gear. Seeing that this trans is 20+ years old with countless dragstrip passes between Andy and me, I decided it was just time to replace it. I called Bill @ The Transmission Shop on SR 307. He built the 700R4 for the Blazer and I was pretty happy with how it turned out, so I had him put together another one for me.
Core acquired from FB marketplace:
I bought a core trans (which he said looked real good when he tore it down), so that I can hopefully do and remove/replace in one day. We shall see..
I took my core out to Bill at The Transmission Shop on Rt 307. He did the 700R4 in my Blazer a few years ago and I was happy with how it performed. He turned it around in a just a few days. I'm swapping my Edge Racing converter over, my governor, and debating on whether to change over to an aluminum pan.
Chris came over and we pulled out the old B&M 700r4 that I bought from Andy years ago. It has served me very well and isnt catastrophically broken. Next door neighbor Jerry's transmission jack really makes this a pretty easy job. Tony was over a week or so after that and we put the new unit up into the car. I still need to finish tightening and connecting everything, but its bolted to the engine and the crossmember is in. So far so good...
Well, I got the trans swap finished ... and its making the exact same noise. I guess it must be the torque converter, which has barely any use on it. (installed Aug '21-Feb 22)
It almost sounds like something is rubbing in there. Is there any sign of wear
marks on the torque converter? Maybe the flex plate is loose or cracked? Does
the converter bolt tightly to the flex plate without any gap?
I agree thats what it sounds like, but it's not. When it happened the first time last year, I unbolted the converter from the flexplate, everything moved freely as it should, bolted it back together and made the noise. Now, having replaced the trans (using same Edge Racing converter) its making the exact same noise. Only does it in gear.
When I had the trans out, I looked over the flex plate, there's no crack or anything. Bolts looked good. I've never had the flexplate off this engine.
I saw a couple videos on youtube that talked about a bad bearing surface inside the converter. And it makes sense. One more test with the drive wheels in the air should confirm it. I don't have the links handy, but I mean what else could it be at this point? It's definitely a rotational type noise. Trans is different.
I'm not 100% on this....but I think Andre over at Edge will make one modification/repair to the Converter over it's life for basically free. You might only have to pay shipping.
Doesn't save you any time....but at least it's still February.
Can I recommend a new flexplate while you're in there anyway? They're not expensive, you're looking right at it, and yours is old and has spun around millions of times. Maybe an SFI one.
Pulling the inner fender makes it pretty painless. We'll see how it all goes back together. Tomorrow.
