Pictures of my 84 project (Page 2/8)
fierosound OCT 27, 07:40 AM
Here's the reason they they had to get the engine sitting lower in the engine bay.
These Webers should get a few people excited.

The placment of the Weber carbs is very tight without even room for proper air cleaners.



Lowering the engine was the only way to get Carb #1 to clear the dogbone mount on the firewall,
otherwise the horn on the first barrel would need to be removed.



In addition, there was no way to fit the stock dogbone, so this beautifully engineered substitute was used.





Pulling the top of the valve cover revealed a some minor gunk, surface rust on the valve springs and a set
of 1.7 ratio Crane Gold Roller Rockers. Some of the rockers had seen better days.



The engine had Crane solid roller lifters and a Crane solid roller lifter camshaft PN 298011. I guess this supposedly worked,
but camshaft PN 298011 is designed for 1.55 ratio rockers, NOT 1.7 ratio rockers. Guess he wanted even more lift.

The lifters were connected by bars to keep them from rotating in the bores.



This is very different from the factory setup and its "basket" retainers pictured here.

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 07-24-2009).]

KurtAKX OCT 27, 09:01 AM
Where did you find this car? I hate you- SD block too!

I bet you bought it for $500 out of someone's garage under a 1/4" of dust, didn't you?
fierosound OCT 27, 12:42 PM
Some overall pictures of engine described by Seller as "spotless" once the cradle was out. I'd never seen rusted rubber belts before.









The engine on the stand with long tube header attached. Note route of primary from #4 in relation to area where starter mounts.
While it clears the factory starter and solenoid, it interferes with an aftermarket high torque starter's solenoid.



This is the sludge we saw when we pulled the oil pan, but under the valve cover was described as clean as a whistle - not.

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 09-02-2023).]

KurtAKX OCT 27, 06:03 PM
1) Looks like you've got some solid hardware to work with- If you change your mind, i'll take it!

2) I got to thinking about your low 130psi compression readings- The overlap of a big cam will lower cranking numbers and if there are stock type pistons in there with the head milled to leave over 60cc chamber volume, you're not doing too bad, though the oiled vs non-oiled numbers are pretty concerning even for an engine that's sat a while.

3) Those cradle spacer pucks wouldn't really increase the rear ride height of the car, as that's set by through the knuckle by the spring height to the strut upper/body.
fierosound OCT 31, 07:48 AM
Some pics of engine disassembly before sending everything out to the rebuilders.

The harmonic balancer has integral pulley grooves. Some metal had transferred (welded itself) from the balancer to the crank.



While the extra metal can be machined off the crank, the harmonic balancer is ruined and a new one would be needed.
(Lucky it wasn't the crank!) There is a suitable replacement if an SD4 balancer cannot be found.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/...HTML/146575.html#p35



This SD4 crank has a 3.9375" stroke and 4.000" bore. That makes it approximately 3.3L



Here's the block with head removed. The bores and pistons looked OK, but had produced only 92 psi on the compression test.
New pistons would be purchased to reduce the compression ratio from 12.8 to about 10.5 or less to run on premium gas.



And the aluminum head as it came off the block.




We kept the block, crank, connectioning rods, and bare head for the rebuild.
Except for the Crane rockers, everything else would be brand new.

Part numbers
SD4 Engine block GM PN 10027634
SD4 aluminium cylinder head (Brodix?) GM PN 10038433
Forged connecting rods (6") GM PN 14011091
Forged crankshaft (3.9375" stroke) GM PN 10041860

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 09-02-2023).]

fierosound OCT 31, 10:50 AM
Just some final pictures I had missed posting earlier.

Here's the trailered car on it's way through Montana.



A peek at the dash cluster.



After unloading and pushing it into the garage, the first order of business was to get it in the air and get the wheels off.
This is how the exhaust was hanging when it arrived on the trailer. It's obvious now why the Seller didn't post a picture of the back.







Here I had started disassembling the front trunk/radiator area.







Just some of the missing and other parts I started gathering from the wreckers for the rebuild.

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 10-29-2010).]

KurtAKX OCT 31, 12:13 PM
Wow, I never noticed from any of the earlier picture sets that your car was Indy-style!

3.9375" stroke, damn, the hydroplane guy was telling me that all the motors he built with that stroke shook at idle, being that big with no balance shafts.

I like your cluster. Is that the old FOCOA one?

I see you grabbed the alt mount/dogbone bracket- how are you going to fit those big carbs with that in place?

Are you putting on an exhaust-side heatshield to try and preserve the starter with that monster header on there?

Do you have specs from the cam they used?

You're tossing the auto for which trans?
KurtAKX OCT 31, 02:11 PM
Do you have any idea where the balancer came from?

If you are not going to re-use the balancer, don't throw out your balancer.

I'd be willing to try to repair it since I don't know of anyone else currently making an equivalent to that piece.
The_Stickman2 OCT 31, 02:59 PM
Tow things. One you can drop that compression ratio by using a thicker gasket. That is what my builder was going to do. He knows a company that make copper gaskets in varying thickness. Second I think the only way to get to a 3.3L Super Duty engine was with maximum bore and the crank used to get 3.0L. It is my understanding that they only made three different stroke cranks.

------------------
My sites
http://the-stickman.tripod.com

http://www.youtube.com/TheStickman

fierosound NOV 01, 12:30 PM
 
quote
Originally posted by KurtAKX:

I like your cluster. Is that the old FOCOA one?
Yup. FOCOA conversion kit with stick on faces. Came already on car.

I see you grabbed the alt mount/dogbone bracket- how are you going to fit those big carbs with that in place?
Not using those carbs.

Are you putting on an exhaust-side heatshield to try and preserve the starter with that monster header on there?
It protects the water pump and A/C compressor more.

Do you have specs from the cam they used?
http://cranecams.com/index....r=298011&lvl=2&prt=5

You're tossing the auto for which trans?
4T60 4-speed

[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 11-01-2008).]