'66 Malibu N/SA

[Dave Muller]

Today I performed the 283 shuffle. Pulled the black engine out and put Red in. Still a lot of little things to take care of, it'll likely be Thursday when I start it. But we'll see. Doesn't help that I have company coming tomorrow and I'll have to spend some time Tuesday and Friday at my job (via telephone and internet) even though this is a vacation week for me.

Anyway here's Johnny Black on the dolly in the background with Red going in.



I finally got tired of this lift trying to turn the engine cross-wise on me. I pulled the chain out and cut off one link. Now it holds the engine almost perfectly straight.



Back in my stock car days I was told that black engines radiate heat better, and therefore run a bit cooler. That may be true, but I really like the way Chevy Orange looks in here!

[Dave Muller]

Progress continues this week. With a moderate amount of bending the powerglide cooler lines fit okay.



My son came over to help out the old man with starting the engine. When we did, it lit up instantly. I barely even heard the starter. Went right up to 3000 RPM. I got it to slow down some as we checked for leaks and checked the trans fluid. The only leak was where the cooler lines enter the transmission. I presume I didn't tighten something there enough, or maybe I didn't get the cooler lines lined up perfectly enough, but I don't expect to have a lot of trouble correcting that. And I put it in gear and the car moved under its own power.



After doing some research via google on the effects of different engine colors on cooling, I found out there's virtually no difference. So I couldn't resist painting the primary engine red (Chevy Orange). The number pad at the front of the block is still black, and it'll still be Johnny Black.



I should be starting up the primary engine late Sunday afternoon or an evening early next week. I have to spend some time working tomorrow and this weekend due to a big change-over in a key system, so that'll limit how much I get done on those days.