John,

When you go to bed tonight, thank God that you're only having to do the counter top. I have been working in our kitchen for the past 6 days. My wife insisted on new counter tops, new floor, new sink, new light fixturtes and a new stove and refridgerator. I'm just thankful I bought my new deluxe interior kit before I started the kitchen. 

john,was pulling the oil pan a big job,or was it fairly easy. i have a slight leak from my pan on my 76, and would like to replace the gasket. I'll probably have a service station do it when its due for its next oil change. do you have any idea what a garage would charge.

Oh the things we do for our wives (I mean Vettes)!!!!  Last year I did the master bathroom.  I tiled the floor, shower, and tub suround.  Then I replaced all the faucets and shower valve/head.  That was really a pain, but this time due to the granite, I insisted on a wet tile saw.  Boy does that make the job easier.  I should have got one before the MBR.  But back to Vette's, how did you get that 500hp 383 under your hood?  Since my numbers don't match anyway, I have beed dreaming of crate motors.  I went to the american speed web site, but I didn't think the Brutus engines would fit under the hood.  Does yours have the Edelbrock RPM intake manifold?  $7,000 is a bit more than I was thinking of spending, but as Carol Shelby says, "theres no such thing as too much horsepower"!  In any case I finished bolting up my rod bearings last night, and I can say the engine looks like new inside.  There are still hone marks on the cylinders, the cam still has a matte finish of a new cam, even on the lobe tips, and the piston skirts look new (no scuffing at all).  I am puzzled by the high oil consuption though.  Maybe it wasn't broken in right.  I will try and get to a compression check tonight.  I just have to have the oil pickup swapped from the melling M-55HV pump to my new OEM style M-55 pump.

John

John, I have the L88 hood so there was no clearance problem. I agree, $7000 is a lot of money for a long block. I got the turn key option because I wanted everything dyno tuned with the engine.

Now if you had  gone with formica counter tops instead of granite, you could have saved enough $$$ for that engine.

Tony,  Pulling the oil pan is trivial on a Vette.  You have to drop the steering relay rod first.  I just undid the 2 bolts at the idler arm and the relay rod can be pulled down about 4 inches, which is enough to remove the pan.  The pan bolts are very low torque and can be undone with a 3/8 ratchet with extension.  It takes longer to jack up the car and get it on jack stands than to drop the pan, unless you have ramps of course.  I'm not sure what a garage would charge (I don't trust anyone to work on my cars, even for an oil change), but the gasket is about $10, and I would expect at least 1/2hr labor at $30-$40/hour, so figure at least $30 plus another $30 for the oil change.

John