Roland brought the engine on Wednesday, and I had a day off to swap motors. The new motor turned out to be a 1993 from a Z28 Camaro, with air con, alternator and power steering installed. I pulled the factory exhaust manifolds off while it was on the floor and while I was at it took the staggered engine mounts off. The new motor has angle plug ally heads, so I wanted to see if my headers would fit. They fitted with no problem, they’ll just need O2 sensor bungs welded in.

I was pretty sure the factory brackets would hit the frame if I kept the air con pump where it was, as the Camaro has the same problem. I got the motor on the crane and tried test fitting it. It did hit the frame, so I’ll need new, much nicer brackets. Shame eh? I didn’t want to risk building it all up and finding the engine needed a rebuild, so I got it on the stand and started stripping it down. I got the heads off and found the bores were glazed and stepped, so it’ll get at least a rebore to 355, and if I can stretch to it, it’ll become a 383. I stamped up the rods, and pulled them out to check the bearings. They were worn but nothing too scary. I’ll pull the crank once I get a hub puller as I might as well do the bearings while I’m in there.