Thanks, guys. I'm pretty stoked it's out of there. Gonna start tearing her down now - at least get all the junk off - before I take it to a shop.
My current plan is to get that block rebuilt, even though it is just a two bolt. Want to keep the block and other stuff like rods, crank, valves, etc. to save a few $$. .030 over, flat tops, hopefully some porting and shaving for the heads. Comp Cams 268 or 280. Shooting for 9.5:1 compression.
Very interesting about the crossmember thing on the '79. I'll take a look at my buddy's car next time I'm over there to see if there are bolts. In any case, I know he slid the engine/tranny in together with the member installed. He did have a really long cherry picker, though. It was long enough to come in directly from the front with the bumper installed. The one I used yesterday was not long enough to do that. What year did they switch from welded to bolted cross members?
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1976 Silver/Firethorn. L48, 4spd. Original 2 bolt, vortec heads, 9.4:1 CR, Speed Pro Cam: 224/224@0.050, 112 LSA, Eagle Steel Crank.