Much awaited big block 69 Camaro is F****D

[J R]

From the motor, to the fuel system, to the interior, to the whole electrical system....I have spent MONTHS on this car and over 10 thousand dollars. The last thing to do for it to be a bumper to bumper build was paint. I put the new motor in last weekend and got it cranked up Friday night.

I had a custom ground cam made and had to run it for 20 min with special zinc additives and such before it could be used. I did all the break in with 5w30 Penzoil Ultra(awesome oil). Noticed the oil pressure being low compared to my old motors but wrote it off thinking it was the oil.

I finished my break in and put in Valvoline straight 50. (Some people think I'm stupid to run straight 50 but to each their own..).

Took it maybe 3 miles down the road twice. Got on it for a gear or two a few times and noticed multiple issues.

First, I took out my old ignition system which was a full MSD hyfire box, coil, and distributor. It would turn 8500 in the big block with zero issues. It was getting outdated so I said out with the old. I bought a new HEI, KNOWING I would run in to this issue....My cam is good for 7600rpm or pushing it to 8000. That distributor quits at about 6000:(. So I will be putting my box back in or buying a high output module and such.

Second, My temperature. I installed an electric fan to help with a few extra HP. I did all my break in with a 160 thermostat, and straight water. It's hot here in Florida, maybe 95 during the day...But even with the raised compression I noticed going normal down the road at 50mph, that it was nearing 220. This was way wrong. I put the old fan on and put in a cut out thermostat. I made sure I had no air bubbles in the block etc. During the day It was still doing 205. This sends the signal to me that the clearances inside the motor are waaaaaay wrong. The motor was set up to be a nitrous motor anyways so the clearances should of been set somewhat lose due to nitrous swelling internals.

Third, My oil pressure. Sure the motor is hot, but even at 200 degrees, in gear at 1100rpm, my pressure read 12 today. That is beyond stupid low. My old motor would idle at 60psi in traffic. Sure that's a bit high and makes a mess around the valve covers...but it's safe. Not only is 12psi not safe, that's down right wrong. It quickly goes to 40psi when revved, but wouldn't go above 54psi at WOT.

So....long story short....here is before.....

And here is after 1 hour by myself (new personal best)

But before I was going to let my engine builder rip me off of $500 in gaskets, oil, fuel, and so much time. I was gonna take it down the road once. I only filmed one holeshot but heres a quick video. Shifting 1500rpm early at 6100rpm I did 15-168mph on GPS but I believe my GPS was lagging. No idea what I actually got to.

Any gear head watching the 3rd gauge to the left (oil pressure)(sorry for horrible quality) can see it fluctuating at WOT which shows a bearing going out and possibly a dropped pickup if I'm LUCKY.

I've taken about 50 pictures through out this engine build to make a build log for the board and now it's junk. But...WHATEVER. I'll just do it again bigger and badder

[Azagtoth502]

Sucks to hear, this time do it yourself so their is no doubt.

And bad ass car btw

[J R]

Sucks to hear, this time do it yourself so their is no doubt.

And bad ass car btw

Oh I am. This is the first time in a long time I didn't do it myself and I see what happens.

After taking the pan off at a close inspection...The idiot put a low volume oil pump in it first of all. Knowing the motor will be 1000+hp...why a professional builder would put a low volume oil pump in is beyond me.

After digging deeper into the motor, my guesses were correct and the clearances were insanely tight for a nitrous motor.

And finally, the cam degree was off by just shy of 10 degrees. That was a loss of 800rpm in the power-band.

I should have her up and running soon. After learning a bit about this custom ground cam experiment I think i'll take this chance to do some more work internally while it all out.

[Miguels]

is it a high pressure or high volume pump? did you make sure there was enough clearance from sump to pump?. seems like a stock pump going bad. i would replace it ASAP if i was you

[J R]

It was high volume low pressure that he installed. It was brand new. I took the pan off and threw it on the shelf. I wouldn't run a low pressure pump in any motor much less this one.

Yes the clearance was fine. Got a brand new high pressure one on the way. Same exact one I've always used off of summit racing. I doubt it will ever see below 50psi even at idle on a hot day

edit: Even though it was a brand new pump...thanks to many brands out there now outsourcing their parts from china, taiwan, etc. I got a faulty one. If you look close at the video it bounces from 60psi down to 40 and back to 55. That's a pretty good sign of the pump going out or the pick up falling which was impossible considering it was a bolt on pick up. The pick up was in fact fine after pulling the pan. I haven't gotten the chance to take apart the oil pump for a close look yet.

[Miguels]

my pump idles at 60 never goes over 75 at WOT. i do add extra oil to compensate for the extra volume it sucks up. dont want the pump sucking up air =/ last time my pump was at under 30 psi it made me spun my bearings lol should have seen me burning out and driving crazy to get rid of the 350 and make way for a big block lol

[J R]

last time my pump was at under 30 psi it made me spun my bearings lol

Exactly what happened to me. The old motor that was in this car sent all the oil to the top of the motor and fried all 4 main bearings when I was racing a ZO6 top speed. It may of costed me a motor....but i tore that vettes ass up and that's all that matters to me

[79Bronco]

Such a great motor, sad to hear what sounds like an auto behind it. Good luck with the rest of the build, hope to see it when it's finished!

[J R]

Such a great motor, sad to hear what sounds like an auto behind it. Good luck with the rest of the build, hope to see it when it's finished!

Thanks man! No big deal she's already getting worked on. I'll take pictures once again to make a build log of not only the stereo when I get there, but the motor and such as well.

[Captain Stupid]

Just a few things for you to think about from a true race car driver JR......just by looking at your pics of this motor, there is no way this motor would hold up under 1000 hp. If that is TRULY what you intent to throw at this motor, then I would suggest changing quite a few parts. First off, I'm not a big block guy, so if my assessment of certain things seems a bit off, then so be it.

#1. toss that Fram filter in the trash and never, ever use one on any engine you actually care about. I know a lot of guys run System 1 because they are able to use them over and over. I prefer disposable filters myself, so I use Wix Racing filters. Just a few bucks more than a Fram, but 100 times better. Do a search for Fram filter failure if you wanna hear some horror stories.

#2. you need a quality ignition system like an MSD 6AL or Digital 6 if you plan to see anything over 5000 rpm. Seeing north of 6k with an HEI or even a simple distributor swap is like trying to power a 4000 watt amp with 4 gauge wire.

#3. I know BB stock water pumps are better than SBC water pumps, but pushing north of 500 hp with a stock water pump is asking for trouble. You mentioned running hot. First thing I would do is throw that water pump in the trash and buy a quality electric unit. I prefer Aerospace Components, but Miziere, CSR, Moroso, or just about anything electric would be an improvement for you. I drive my car on the street with 15:1 compression ratio and 676 dyno proven horsepower and my water pump keeps the car at 180 on a hot summer day all by itself without the fan ever having to kick on except when stuck at a stoplight for a long time.

#4. never, ever use straight water only in your cooling system. Always add at least a bottle of Water Wetter to the system. You'd be surprised how much that little bottle will make a difference.

#5. you absolutely, positively need to get a motor plate for that engine if you really think you'll be making 1000 horsepower one day. You will rip those stock (or even poly) motor mounts in two in no time flat. No joke. Heck, I've even seen solid motor mounts broken with motors making less power.

#6. visit www.Yellowbullet.com and read, read, read. There is so much information there, your head will spin. It's like how this site is for audio...for drag racing.....tomes about ten.