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I received word from Ctmandu that the main caps are not available. I will have to use the main bearing caps from Tazman's engine, so that will mean a linebore is necessary to give the crankshaft a straight seat. Putting caps from another engine will work as long as the bore is perfect. I already checked the #3 cap and it isn't perfect. We want this done right.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Thats bummer about the caps.... But oh well. So old tally was $218 (w/o rings and pistons) just bearings and the additional machine work is gonna be roughly $265...so $483'ish. So anyone have a scratch off?

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I will be taking the block, main caps, crankshaft, piston rods, and cylinder head to the machine shop tomorrow. They should be giving me the measurements and I'll be ready to order the new pistons, as well as the rings, rod bearings, main bearings, and thrust washers. This time when I put the engine together I'm going to have my good neighbor across the street come lend a hand, or I might have Bill (Nascar44) here. I haven't met Bill yet, but he's e-mailed me, and might be coming to see me this coming weekend. I'm not going to try to be a know-it-all and just let all the help that will come be welcome. The weather here has brightened up and we have sunny warm days almost for the whole week. (55°)

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

What a day! I got it all ready to head out to the machine shop tomorrow. I cleaned the main caps from Tazman's engine. I wire-brushed the tops of the caps and used a nylon scouring pad to clean the sides and the insides of the caps. I put the caps on Catman's block. I removed the crank from Tazman's engine, and cleaned the rods and removed the old rings. I found another broken top ring on piston #3. I am going to replace the pistons and rings. I cleaned the rods with the nylon pad. I removed the cylinder head from my engine. That's how you get ready to go to the machine shop!

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

You should never lay a crank down flat, always stand it up on end. Just FYI

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

post check, I didnt read the earlier threads, sorry!

Ctmandu, you do really have a NICE lookin' truck!

thanks rpoz11... and i never new that luvrv8 ( I need to go stand up my crank i have in the shop)

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My old but now gone Luv...

I had a little thought about that. I was going to call the machine shop and ask them, but now you've told me...thanks LuvrV8. I'm going to go do that now...

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Just for your info i all ways was told to stand the crank up but then i thought about that and concluded that the person who come up with that idea said so because when you stand the crank up it takes up less room in the shop. Reasoning; When a crank is built/rebuilt an put in to a box they are layed flat,they are shipped laying flat,but laying a crank flat in a shop/garage is a good way to drop something on it,and i drove truck at UPS one winter and seen how they are handled. Standing a crank on end is a good thing but don't for get to tie it up cause when they fall over sometimes you end up with two cranks instead of one.I don't mean to rant but some times we do things people say to do but never check the reasoning behind it.Luvrv8 is right in the sense that standing your crank up in you shop is the best way to stop any possible damage to it. I think i have said enough and i will probably get a bunch of flack for it but sometimes we need to know the reasoning behind what we do. TA-TA

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

Ah. So then there's no harm done, right? I stood it up already but when I did I had a thought about laying down the law when the family wakes up and saying, "If anybody goes in the shop, don't knock the crank over, or..." I think tying it up would be a better thing, but then maybe I'll put it back in the box. It's going to be on the way to the machine shop in three hours.

The first photo may look a little funny because it's three photos put together.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

You might want to remove the keys and gear from the crank before carrying it to the machine shop. You might not get them back.

I had that thought too. The key was my thought. I didn't think about the gears, and they look like they need to be pressed off. I'm not worried about the shop losing the parts. They are a 3-person shop, and they know what to do after being in business since 1960. Thanks for the heads up, 74-MIKADO, and that will be on the list of questions to ask about when I go in today.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

When cranks are shipped they should be packaged so that the weight is carried on the main journals. I have worked for a few high line dealers and Mitsu and they are always shipped that way. Also when I order a LA Billet or SCAT crank for the sprint car they are shipped that way and a tag noting to not lat it down. It is your call, I only play with 900 HP Donovan all alum chevy small blocks, what do I know?

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

You are absolutely right and now that you've said that, I can more clearly remember when I was in SSCC heavy equipment mechanic school having been instructed to do the same. I remember seeing the cranks sitting on wooden forms that supported the main shaft line. You don't need more respect from me; you have it all already. It's still standing up. I hope there's no harm done to the crank for it being in the box overnight.

I called Kathy at Pacific Auto Machine and she said they might not be able to use the block with the caps off another block, so I have to see about that when I get in. They're going to mic it and then I should know the results and also what size pistons and rings I'll need. I also need to order the rod bearings and the main bearings and the thrust washers.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

agin I am no expert on motors but the block I used for my rebuild had no caps and took them off another block and have had no problems, not saying you should do it ...so Luvrv8 what you think the consequences would be? or am I in trouble

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My old but now gone Luv...

The top end crank are shipped like they should be but a flat 4 crank won't go south lay flat is what i meant and didn't i say i would get flack for this ,oh well thats what opinions are for,And no it is not good to use the main caps off another engine without line boring and if the machine shop that fullaluv is going to doesn't have a line boring setup he needs to find another shop.But here is a kicker maybe the machining on the Izuzu block is allot better then the american blocks(not) but if is reasonably close you could get by and probably have.

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1978 pro street step/side 455Buick, 4sp,4.11s, 31/18.5s

I don't see where you should encounter any problems with caps off another engine as long as it is line bored. You are going to line bore it i hope. Aren't you? As tj said you might get by without line boring but i sure would not chance it. Just my .02 worth.


And don't forget to use a couple of pieces of duck tape across the main caps for added strength.

The main bearing caps from the original engine should always be used when you can. Many times a engine mfgr. will build thousands of blocks on 1 runs and they all will be machined the same, so if you happen to get the caps from the same run you will be O.K. I have seen many engines built with different caps and vary rarely do I see them fail, it is not advisable but is done daily. I would say if you are not building a high performance engine chances are it will hold. If there is a problem it would show up in the first 500 miles in the form of low oil pressure and alot of bearing debris in the oil. I am not the final expert on this but I have built many engines and worked my way through trade school (Arizona Automotive Institute) by working in a engine machine shop and now play with sprint car motors.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

good i should be ok have about 2000 miles on it and some at high speeds and trips of non stop for 7 hrs, sense the rebuild thanks luvrv8... let me know what they say john and if they cant ill look at my stuff again, when i got all this not everything was together and they may be in a box some where but i dought it

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My old but now gone Luv...

Troy you're not in trouble. I got some flack from the machine shop over the phone today about the main caps. I didn't get the ride today, so time is going by. I told Kathy that the caps were swapped and she said, "Oh, you can't do that". Well I told her they were a very close fit and she said they would take a look at them. I think they will work, and yes this shop has a line bore machine. They are going to determine if a line bore will be successful before they actually do it, so if they do the line bore I should be okay.

I put the electric choke on the carburetor today. It was interesting that the plate with diaphram B was not on my carb at all, even though the electric choke housing was. Was that what you were looking at when we pulled off the air cleaner, Troy?

I took a few photos of the carb after I finished the installation of the diaphram and the good housing. I also made some adjustments to the linkage.

Here's one more photo of me cleaning the main caps:

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.