402 BB rebuild

[cny first gen 71]

45 minutes ago, 714024SPEED said:

I drive the "Covid" Monte all year long,rain ,snow cold and have not had any issues with the performer RPM.

That poor monte looks cold, it should be inside when the weather looks like that.

[MC1of80]

Yes, I can attest to Kevin's claim of no issues with the air gap RPM, or the 650DP with no choke or the msd distributor with no vacuum advance. And yes, it gets driven in the cold and snow also. More cold than snow. Lol

[72 Monte Carlo]

I picked up a MSD 8394 E Curve distributor from a good friend of mine for $100.

 

On the topic of intake and exhaust valves, which brands of stainless valves are good to run?

I know Manley and Ferrea SS valves are good, but there has to be some more brands that folks have used without any issues that don't cost as much.

I see Summit Racing has their version of SS valves, but don't know if they are made by someone else and then Summit puts their name on them?

I'm having my 290 heads done, but need to order the 2.19 and 1.88 SS valves to go in them.

 

[72 Monte Carlo]

High performance shift kit and 2,800 rpm stall converter installed in the trans, and the 416 BB sitting in its spot now. Got the new starter, new fuel pump, and headers installed.

Now I have to get either an 8" or 9" dual diaphragm power brake booster so I can get my left valve cover bolted on.

[MC1of80]

Looking good! Here is a pic of "Big Red" my 70 SS. It has a 9" dual diaphragm booster. Don't let the stock valve covers fool ya, there is a 3/4" spacer under them to clear the roller rockers. 

[72 Monte Carlo]

Tom,

How far in the tunnel does your radiator fan sit? I pulled my tunnel off my small block AC fan shroud, but the one I bought off ebay that says it's for a 71 and 72 big block is bigger than my tunnel and therefore I can't attach my tunnel to the new shroud. Attached are two pictures of my tunnel sitting inside of the supposedly big block fan shroud I bought from musclefactory0 on ebay.

Do you happen to have any side shots of how far back the tunnel comes towards the engine? 

Also, I've added bucket seats and a center console to my 72 Monte, and want to know how to omit the transmission gear indicator in the instrument cluster?

 

Thanks,

Doug 

[1970mcss]

The parts book shows only one shroud extension for all Monte Carlos.

[72 Monte Carlo]

2 minutes ago, 1970mcss said:

The parts book shows only one shroud extension for all Monte Carlos.

That's what I thought.

So, they sold me the wrong fan shroud and it's too late to return it as I bought it last year.

[1970mcss]

Does it have any casting or part numbers on the 2 halves??

 

[MC1of80]

1 hour ago, 72 Monte Carlo said:

Tom,

How far in the tunnel does your radiator fan sit? I pulled my tunnel off my small block AC fan shroud, but the one I bought off ebay that says it's for a 71 and 72 big block is bigger than my tunnel and therefore I can't attach my tunnel to the new shroud. Attached are two pictures of my tunnel sitting inside of the supposedly big block fan shroud I bought from musclefactory0 on ebay.

Do you happen to have any side shots of how far back the tunnel comes towards the engine? 

Also, I've added bucket seats and a center console to my 72 Monte, and want to know how to omit the transmission gear indicator in the instrument cluster?

 

Thanks,

Doug 

If you are referring to the shroud that bolts to the radiator top plate only a 70 Chevelle fan shroud will work. The 71 and 72s are different and won't work. 

[72 Monte Carlo]

1 hour ago, 1970mcss said:

Does it have any casting or part numbers on the 2 halves??

 

It does, but I can't get them until I get home from work.

[72 Monte Carlo]

30 minutes ago, MC1of80 said:

If you are referring to the shroud that bolts to the radiator top plate only a 70 Chevelle fan shroud will work. The 71 and 72s are different and won't work. 

What's different about the 70 Chevelle shroud vs the 71-72 shroud?

I'm assuming that the opening on the 70 shroud is smaller in diameter to allow the fit of our tunnel to it. 

I'm about ready to say screw it, and just forget my factory small block shroud, tunnel, and the wrong big block shroud, and just install dual electric fan shroud kit and call it good.

[1970mcss]

I'll be gone this weekend but can check the numbers Monday

 

[FrankOC]

hmm,, Parts place shows one part number for a 70 big block shroud and two different part numbers for 71 and 72.   70 appears to be a one piece shroud and 71/72 are two piece shrouds.

70 big block

71/72   and  71/72

[72 Monte Carlo]

I'm on the phone with Ron from Musclefactory and he said that I need a 70 Chevelle fan shroud like Tom said, and he's willing to exchange me the 70 shroud for the 71/72 shroud that I bought from him 🙂

 

[Dtret]

12 minutes ago, 72 Monte Carlo said:

I'm on the phone with Ron from Musclefactory and he said that I need a 70 Chevelle fan shroud like Tom said, and he's willing to exchange me the 70 shroud for the 71/72 shroud that I bought from him 🙂

 

Nice guy. 

[FrankOC]

Great.  According to Parts Place, the 70 shroud fits a 70 Chevelle or bb 70 Monte.

[72 Monte Carlo]

I'm wondering if the Big Block shroud I was sent is for a non AC car? 

My 72 is a factory AC car. I'll have to look at my factory shroud and extension for their factory part numbers to see if they are both the ones that came with the car in 72. I just assumed it was the factory parts.

I bought my 72 in 2017 for $500 minus the 350 engine and radiator. Everything else was on the car as it had been sitting on blocks in a yard for 17 years.

[MC1of80]

For the 70-72 Monte Carlo a 70 Chevelle fan shroud must be used. A/C or no a/c. The "tunnel"  for the Monte Carlo is the same length for a big block or small block. The length is made up between the small or big block Chevelle shroud. 

[72 Monte Carlo]

Which heater hose goes to the intake - the 5/8" or 3/4" hose?

For those that are running an Edelbrock RPM Performer intake, are you running a straight up hose nipple for the heater hose, or did you install a different hose nipple?

 

[jft69z]

5/8" goes to intake manifold.

[72 Monte Carlo]

Getting really close to fire up this big block to break-in the Lunati Voodoo cam. Just waiting for the new radiator, shroud, and fans to show up.

[72 Monte Carlo]

The lady that ordered my Monte new only lived 35 miles away from where I live.

Her nephew is a friend of mine, and he stated that it's a low mileage car. She drove it 15 miles from Pilot Rock to Pendleton occasionally for shopping. The last 6 months that she drove it, was to Walla Walla, WA to take her daughter to cancer treatments.

She sold it to the guy I bought it from, and he only drove it locally for a couple years until his son wrecked it in a ditch and damaged the passenger side core support and pass front fender. He thought the frame was tweaked so he set it up on concrete blocks in his yard around 2000. I bought it in July 2017 complete minus engine and radiator. My good friend is a great auto body tech, and we checked, and the frame wasn't tweaked at all.

I cranked over the motor to build pressure on my oil pressure gauge this evening. I don't have spark plug wires on it yet, because with the MSD E curve distributor, I need to get a set of plug wires that have straight boots at the spark plugs and not 90* boots. Now I just need to figure out which plug wire set to get for it. How long should I have to keep cranking the motor over before I see oil trickling down the roller tip rockers?

 

 

[72 Monte Carlo]

I remembered to look at the odometer this evening and I'm really happy to see the "low mileage" that my friend Chuck said the Monte had on it, since his aunt didn't drive it every day and it was only driven local in the area. It has 26,342.0 actual miles on it. 

[72 Monte Carlo]

I've noticed that my new Demon carb sitting directly on the Edelbrock RPM Performer intake manifold (no carb spacer) sits slightly downhill in the front of the carb and not level.

I'm wondering if I need to buy the taller engine mounts (2 3/16" height vs the small block mounts that are 1 3/4" height) that I reused when switching over to the big block?