Hey Spindrift!

[tanker]

Hey Spindrift, how's the new Avant engine in your Suburban. Howie mentioned that its back on the road. Give us an update. ;)

[Billman]

I've heard it's been on the road for about month now.

Rumor has it that he started it, filled it up, and hasn't been home since.

With Grins from Ear to Ear...

[Spindrift]

An update? It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride. When the engine siezed, the starter motor right down to the tranny must have taken a good shot to the loins because I needed to replace the starter and the converter and I'm watchin' the tranny real closely.

I went down early to help Benny dress the engine. Ran into a few snags and rushed to get the job finished so that I could be headed home by a reasonable hour. And therein, my friends, lies the moral of the story. Take your time, don't rush a job, be alert (i.e., get sleep when you need it), and when your gut tells you to slow down, SLOW THE HELL DOWN!

Long and short of it...I finally left for Joisey at 11:00 on a Saturday night. Finally stopped to take a catnap at 6 AM. This was my second stop, the first one being a quickie for fuel. Got up, did my usual walk-around, and saw a small puddle of oil under the front of the engine. Turns out that one of my new after market oil cooler lines got pushed into the crank pulley when we installed the front mud shield. This caused a small cut in the line. Can you say, "Plastic tie wraps"? Only lost about a quart of oil. I didn't want to risk losing a brand new engine so, on a Sunday morning I put my AAA to good use. Got towed to a shop. Paid the tow truck driver to taxi me around town to find parts to patch things together. Oh yeah...and the oil cooler was leaking too. Took off cooler and connected supply and return lines together. Cut the bad cooler line in half and used an A/C hose connector to splice them back together. Got back on the road at 4PM that Sunday afternoon. Dragged my sorry rear end into bed at 4 AM Monday morning. Got up at 5 AM to go to work. OUCH!

And now for the rest of the story...

I LOVE MY TRUCK!!!

Been out with the trailer twice now and I'm pullin' hills in 4th that would have required me to shift into 3rd in the past.

If I had the coin and the time, I would have spoken with Mother Cummins. But alas, I don't and besides, what I've got now is pretty dang shweet. I'm happy. And Benny will always be a character.

[tanker]

Glad to hear that things worked out in the end. I can't do the sleepless marathons I once did in my prime, but know what one hour of sleep can do prior to going to work. :D
I'll be seeing Howie this Friday evening in Lancaster for dinner, so he can fill me in on the details.
Yes Benny is quite the man ;) and so is Jamie. They can go above and beyond the call of duty. smile.gif

[Marty Lau]

Spindrift;
Would you mind telling us how you had the engine built up. (ie 18:1 pistons, gear drive, ect)
And about the amount of coins you did have to lay out. I know Tanker layed out about $4k for his in the Tankers Toy Suburban. But that been a few years ago.

I am glad your happy with your repowered outfit! I bet we would see this on a good pull -> :D

[Spindrift]

Originally posted by 16ga SxS:
And about the amount of coins you did have to lay out. I'd rather not get into cost as there were a few things in my drive train that took a dump and needed replacement. Rest assured, it was north of $4K.

My final compression numbers work out to be in the 19.2:1 range; in a 6.2 block. I went with a stud girdle kit; balanced the rotating assembly; ceramic coated Mahle pistons, exhaust manifold, turbo housing and cross-over pipe; Phazer gear drive; steel braided oil cooler lines and balanced the cooling system. In preparation for a trip this Summer to the Smoky Mtns., I will be adding JK's fan blade and clutch assembly in the not too distant future.

I believe my engine has been designed first and foremost for durability, always keeping in mind that my "foundation" is a light duty block.