Build options - discuss

Well after many twists and turns and getting sidetracked in Chevy land, a D1VE-AA complete engine has landed in my lap.

The good news is that it was free, the bad news is that it was seized up solid. Me and a friend knocked it apart and I guess the gods were

smiling on me, motor obviously had a lot of miles on it, and was pulled but not stored properly. One plug hole was left empty and a lot of water got

in. I was lucky that the piston on that hole was almost all the way up so damage is minimum, crank is intact, all the rods are ok, heads are filthy but appear solid, I do not believe anyone was ever in this motor before.

I do have a car for it, a 1981 Fairmont with a tubular k member, beefed up 8.8 rear, good suspension all around, it is being finished off paintwise in the next few weeks.

I have the drivetrain for it that I am not going to use, a latemodel LS3 and 6L80 trans that are worth a decent amount and will finance the new build.

Now for the questions now that you know where I am:

What to build? stroker? Can I use a roller cam in this block? How much of a cowl do I need in a Fairmont, who makes them?

Is this block a decent platform to do so? block says D1VE-AA clearly and intake said D0VE, was a cast iron 4 barrel manifold.
Heads are to dirty to read squat on, will need a trip through the tank to see anything.

So far I am thinking sell crank and rods, sell heads and manifold, get a stroker kit and a set of those SCJ heads I see mentioned here all the time
and build it for pump gas and hope I make it into the 10s. Would use either a tko or a C6, jury is out on transmission so far.

Another option would be to use the stock crank, source some rods and pistons, port the stock heads if they prove useful.

Goal for the car is I need to enjoy driving it, if I build it all out race I won't like driving it on the street and will likely sell it.

I'm open to all positive suggestions! I'm in Florida so I can work on this over the winter outside.

thanks

a roller cam will work without any mods.is it a 460 or 429? the scj heads would be a very good investment whatever you do on cid.the d1ve block is ok and some were thick web like a d0ve.if it's machined flat from the pan rail to the main caps it's as good as any.a mild stroker with scj's will live well for street use and make more power than you'll ever need.here's a good d1ve block

I was told it was a 460 but have no way of knowing for sure, any downside if it is a 429 block?

irish wrote:I was told it was a 460 but have no way of knowing for sure, any downside if it is a 429 block?

no,the block's are all the same.

A good solid rebuild using all of the stock components will give you plenty of power for street cruising and having fun. 425-475 horsepower is very easily attainable.

Depending on the amount you can do yourself the problem with using all those 40 year old stock parts is cost effectiveness.

For just a few dollars more you can buy a nice complete rotating assembly and a set of assembled scj,tfs, or edel heads. You will lose some weight with the aluminum heads, you will make more power. Then all you have to do is clean and machine the block for the new pistons.

Several people on here can set you up with package deals that make it pretty hard to resist cost wise.

dkp

Sounds interesting, A general idea of what rotating assemblies are decent, and especially those that are not, would be helpful for sure.

Anyone run a fairmont? how much cowl did you need on the hood? to me, less is better but a 460 is a large beasty.

i would'nt go over 4.300 stroke on a street deal.i'd look at a Scat 4.3 crank and 6.8 rods from some of the guys on this board.figure out what head you want and get pistons while your at it.

It would certainly be cheaper to re-use the crank and rods, not sure about cost as compared to selling off what I can and starting fresh.

Also not so sure on what power levels stock crank and rods(with better bolts) can support.

Matt

if you goal is a street car you'll enjoy driving just put some good bolts in the rods and go with it. the rods are the weak part of a BBF,and not weak at all compared to most.the stock shortblock will do anything you plan on doen with pump gas,no turbo or spray.

the stock stuff really isn't worth a whloe bunch of money and by the time you recon everything, the cost difference in going to a budget stroker assembly realy isn't much more.

bore it to what it needs to clean-up, get a 4.300 or 4.500 rotating assembly and some dished pistons, to get you in the 10:1-10.5:1 range, get the Ford Racing CJ's and go have fun. 600hp is in the cards no problem.

Part of the charm of this build is the owner of a good local machine shop is a good friend of mine, the machine work won't cost much, I can go in when they are slow and do the clean-up on the old parts myself.

I've been trying to do a bit of research on this potential swap, here several questions I have not found clear answers to:

1 I have heard the hooker headers can be a real pita to make fit properly, anyone make good ones or are fabbed headers needed?

2 I would really like to go stick shift, no T-5s I tore up one of those in a stock 302 not powershifting it, I think a toploader is a neat transmission
but if possible I'd like a 5 spd with a decent overdrive trying to keep with the plan of actually driving it frequently. That leaves me with tko 600 I guess,
can they be mated to a 460 practically and will it hold up?

3 lastly if I build a 514-557 inch motor, decent carb/intake, with a somewhat modest cam it seems like 600 hp would not be to hard, this fairmont is light,
aje k member, fuel cell, no spare tire well, all the crap under the carpet chipped out and a few other tricks. Has a built 8.8 with a spool and 4.10s, would such a car be fun to drive or a pita even with 10 inch tires(can't go bigger without mintubs)?

thanks

The hooker stuff dosen't fit that bad, but they aren't real high quality either.

Their are some other options, D&D makes swap kits, Kooks has a few header options and their are a few others.

A TKO600 should hold up, but the 4.10's may be a little steep.... Maybe 3.55's?

Had a little time today so stopped by the shop and we went hunting for numbers, here is what we found:

1 block clearly is DIVE-AA, does not appear to be finished past the pan rail so I guess it is one of the less strong blocks?

2 both heads say D2VE-AA, are these decent 460 or 429 heads?

3 Intake is a heavy 4 barrel which has D0VE 9425B,

So it is a 1971 block with 1972 heads and a 1970 intake?

What (if anything) new does that tell me?

thanks for putting up with all my questions!

Matt

Scrap the heads and intakes..... The Block is Fine.

There are SEVERAL ways to go about what you are intending. It all depends upon how much money you wish to spend for the engine and the entire project.

Personally, for what you want to do, I'd build an "offset" ground crank 501" engine using SCJ heads with a Torquer II intake manifold; (all that clears a stock production hoodline). At over 600 horsepower you can easily go in the 10's if the car is right.
For the car, I'd get an entire FOX/385 swap kit with the appropriate headers which also has a front motor plate and is already set-up for Fox chassis frame rails; (with no mounts on the side of the engine, there is plenty of room for header tubes). Such a kit is available from "Total Performance" in Clinton Township, Michigan. I sell those kits and others sell 'em, too.

I have to admit I have not driven a car with a motor plate before, I would assume it would be somewhat like a solid motor mount which I have driven, more vibration, car shakes a bit when you rev it. Would such a system be compatible with my existing AJE crossmember?

thanks for the response.

i driven so many with paltes i cant tell a diff anymore, even my first engine plate car i never noticed a diff they drive fine...............

rmcomprandy wrote:There are SEVERAL ways to go about what you are intending. It all depends upon how much money you wish to spend for the engine and the entire project.

Personally, for what you want to do, I'd build an "offset" ground crank 501" engine using SCJ heads with a Torquer II intake manifold; (all that clears a stock production hoodline). At over 600 horsepower you can easily go in the 10's if the car is right.
For the car, I'd get an entire FOX/385 swap kit with the appropriate headers which also has a front motor plate and is already set-up for Fox chassis frame rails; (with no mounts on the side of the engine, there is plenty of room for header tubes). Such a kit is available from "Total Performance" in Clinton Township, Michigan. I sell those kits and others sell 'em, too.

Randy,
if its possible pm me some info and a price on that kit.

Thanks

irish wrote:I have to admit I have not driven a car with a motor plate before, I would assume it would be somewhat like a solid motor mount which I have driven, more vibration, car shakes a bit when you rev it. Would such a system be compatible with my existing AJE crossmember?

thanks for the response.

I don't know about any AJE but, the kit is recomended to be used with a stock factory crossmember with a rubber trans mount.
The headers in the kit will not fit with a stick shift flywheel as it is an inch bigger diameter that an automatic flexplate however, with no side mounts, it would certainly be easier to fit other headers.
That dedicated motor plate is sold seperately.