Good job Graeme! Looking forward to the pictures and your build.

If you spray the headers with a 1200 heat cast paint first before you paint I did it on smog tubes that kept burning off the paint and no problems after that the cast acts as a insulator

Got the headers yesterday Sam. :beers:

Going to strip them down and address the small dints before basing them in 1800 degree high heat primer. Once that's done I'll be painting them up again. In the meantime...been busy restoring the original YH wheels for the car and just landed some other goodies as well. Tomorrow I'll be busy at the machine shop for a bit but hope to get these tires mounted onto the factory rims. The rally wheels will be finished up and set off to the side while the Cragar's go onto the car with Pro Trac rubber.

https://preview.ibb.co/gC1b36/IMG_7376.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/kT97Am/IMG_7340.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/hyM9O6/IMG_7341.jpg

Day II is cool. 👍

Day Two is super cool.
Very Nice!

Engine is being built right now with the CE block freshly machined and the crank out being balanced up with rods and pistons this week. I'm running the 12-673-4 Nostalgia 30/30 cam which calls for 1.465 OD double springs. That created a bit of a dilemma since I don't want to cut the spring pockets on original heads, so a quick call to Ed at Trick Flow saved the day. I now have the very first set of the new 186 aluminum heads sitting here in the shop and these are pretty damned sweet to say the least. The original will now be set off to the side and the aluminum heads will go onto the 302 build.

Castings look just like the stock GM heads including the rough cast area and the factory style double humps. Prepped with accessory holes and once painted up in GM orange, these will deliver an extra 40+ hp over stock with nobody really being the wiser. Should have the 302 engine finished up next week and will try and get it fired up and the cam ran in before the weather turns cold up here. More on that real soon. Oh yeah...scooped another nice set of early 15"x4" Cragar's as well. Back out to the shop now to get tires ready for mounting tomorrow.

https://preview.ibb.co/efiYRR/IMG_7388.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/i2DYRR/IMG_7390.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/n8sP0m/IMG_7452.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/cDunLm/IMG_7454.jpg

Couple more pics of the new aluminum heads. They should flow 258/198 at .500" lift. A far cry better than the early cast iron versions. :cool2:

https://preview.ibb.co/fOPtt6/IMG_7453.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/cXGpY6/IMG_7455.jpg

After I hit the machine shop it's off to get 2 complete sets of Cragar's mounted up and balanced with a full compliment of Pro Tracs. One set will be fit with L60's while the other set will get the N'50's I'll test fit them on the 68 and 69 cars to see which set fit the best on each. Both with skinnies up front no doubt.

Those heads are really cool! I'm really surprised that they are being made. Scott Cook does the same for a Boss 302. I did a set for Scott Tedros 69 Mr Nasty Mustang and made 670HP. It was a cool build. Your new heads have the potential for huge power.

Wow...that's a boat load on ponies for a Mustang Ken.

I was told there's lot of meat left in these heads and someone like Chad Speier could likely do some additional porting if someone wanted to chase numbers. I almost went with a big solid roller and a set of 1.6/1.7 shaft rockers but said to myself...be sensible and build it so you can drive it. I plan to run this one mostly in the higher RPM ranges and trust we'll get an honest 400hp from it without too much work.

I'm having fun with it now. :grin:

Those 4" Cragars look real nice. Tuff to find in usable condition. The N50's may be a touchy fit.

That will be a piece of cake. I made 400 HP with a 9 to1 Comp 270H cam and 461 heads with a 3310.

I'm really Loving your car!!!

Those alum heads look nice - only visible clue they're not original castings seems to be the two dipstick reliefs, to suit both driver and passenger side dipstick locations.

Just picked up on that after you pointed it out Tim. Maybe the headers will cover the front reliefs once I have them on there. :naughty:

I'm thinking those Pro-Trac 275/60-15's will look better on the back of the '69,and the N50's better on the '68.

Another vote for the '68 to get the N50s.

The N50's are going on the 68 but probably on bigger wheels. In fact, the 8's and the 275/60's were dropped today to be mounted but won't be ready until tomorrow. :)

What size tires are you putting on the skinnies?

Where did you order the Pro Trac tires from?

Helmut...both sets of fronts are 5.60-15's with one being Pro Trac and the other being Firestone. Bought both from Summit and shipping was free.

Now this is what makes it all worth while. Original Cragar 8's with 275/60/15 Pro Tracs and Original 4's with 5/60/15 Pro Trac fronts. Totally suits the car and these officially kick off this Day II project.

It's time to ramp up on the assembly now. :burnout:

https://preview.ibb.co/dgBCOG/IMG_7511.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/jvecqw/IMG_7512.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/ciYLAw/IMG_7516.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/b4CDVw/IMG_7518.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/eKZSqw/IMG_7519.jpg

Awesome!

Looks fantastic!

Wowza!!!

Love the wheels and tires. I don't think there is any better look for a '69 Camaro than big and little Cragar S/S wheels combined with the right stance.

I agree. Can't wait to get the engine back into the car to get some weight on that front end and see where it settles in at? First up though will be getting the rear brakes finished up, plumbing all the hard lines, mount the tank and install some yellow track bars along with the Hurst air shocks.

Snowing and cold here for the next 8-10 day cycle so no excuses as there isn't anything else to do. Crack goes the whip!!!

You have good taste!

Money!!

Looks great Graeme!

:biggthumpup:

The Cragars look awesome!

Real nice Graeme!

Thank you for the feedback and encouragement guys. Your comments are both appreciated and welcomed.

Things are kinda plugging away here and with 2 engine builds going on at the same time. With that...I have have also become the certified parts runner as of late. Back and forth between 2 machine shops and weekly trips to Montana to pick up parts is the norm the past couple weeks. The good news is the 302 build is nearly done and so is the LT1 hydraulic roller build that's going together. Pistons in the 302 were milled to net 11:1 compression and the assembly was fully balanced and blueprinted. The new heads were going back on today to measure PTV clearance. Tomorrow its time to setup the valve train and measure push rod lengths. Here's some shots of the machine work, balancing and assembly of the short block before the top end goes on. More on the finished engine very soon.

Should be breathing real soon. :biggthumpup:

https://image.ibb.co/iekOq6/IMG_3503.jpg
(Todd at Muscle Motors using torque plates to bore and hone the CE block.

https://image.ibb.co/nu9SHm/IMG_3504.jpg
(Honing out the lifter bores)

https://image.ibb.co/d0RJOR/IMG_3524.jpg
(Setting the crank and measuring clearances)

https://image.ibb.co/hHcgcm/IMG_3526.jpg
(Milling the Spreed Pro pistons for 11.0:1 compression)

https://image.ibb.co/mqQOq6/IMG_3547.jpg
(Forged 1178 crank being balanced up)

https://image.ibb.co/fae53R/IMG_3550.jpg
(Assembling the short and degreeing in the solid cam)

https://image.ibb.co/gPJnHm/IMG_3552.jpg
(Pickup screen being clearance'd to the Z/28 oil pan)

https://image.ibb.co/bvpGA6/IMG_3557.jpg
(Checking piston to valve clearance)

https://image.ibb.co/m7TXiR/IMG_3559.jpg
(Measuring push rod lengths with the new Trick Flow 186 heads)

Got a break in the weather after 10 days of (10 degree) freezing temps and finally got the cars moved around while pushing the green one out to the shop and onto the lift. Today we are wet sanding & polishing a couple small spots that need correcting and then I'll get the rest of the exterior trim on and start with the glass install. While up on the lift I'll also start plumbing the hard lines and finish up the rear suspension, shocks, trac bars and brakes. First things first...is a total shop clean up this morning and to clear the bench. Wait...coffee first.

https://preview.ibb.co/kNsjVw/Green.jpg
Pushing it through the sticky snow (warmed up a bit yesterday)

https://preview.ibb.co/kzU9xb/Pusher.jpg
That is my wife and my best friend helping push

https://preview.ibb.co/dfWBAw/Rack.jpg
On the rack and contemplating where to start

Love the snow photos!!!

Cold in Ontario too!!

Great progress DAY-2 is 2 X the fun!!!

Ryan

That looks awesome!!!

Priceless!!!

Car's back in the shop and finally up on the lift where assembly can plug away. Started fitting the Lakewood roll bar yesterday and have a little fab work to get the base mounts to fit correctly. Should have that addressed over the weekend and will also start on the interior work early next week.

https://preview.ibb.co/mvEKxm/IMG_7638.jpg
Cars back on the lift and ready for some work.

https://preview.ibb.co/ebCiOR/IMG_7640.jpg
Lakewood traction bars about to go under the car.

Today I picked up the new engine from the engine builder. A CE coded 302 with 1178 crank, forged I-beam rods, SP forged pistons cut to 11:1 compression height, new 186 aluminum heads from Trick Flow, Comp Nostalgia 30/30 solid cam, Pro Magnum 7/16" roller rockers, Edelbrock TM1 intake, classic script valve covers and a freshly built 750 mechanical carb built specifically for this engine. Hoping to fire it on the run stand this Sunday. Video to follow.

Additional engine build pictures added to post #112 (Top of this page - look up ^^^^^ way up!).

https://image.ibb.co/dNCNHm/IMG_3574.jpg
(Dialing in the bell housing and measuring run out)

https://image.ibb.co/d4XBA6/IMG_7721.jpg
(New Trick Flow 175 CNC ported aluminum heads)

https://image.ibb.co/cSjf3R/IMG_7722.jpg
(Edelbrock Classic series finned aluminum valve cover)

https://image.ibb.co/dxurA6/IMG_7723.jpg
(Edelbrock TM1 Single Plain Intake)

https://image.ibb.co/djnpxm/IMG_7725.jpg
(Freshly built 4779 Holley 750 Mechanical Carburetor)

Still looking to find a Crossram for this motor but will run this Day II intake setup for the time being.

Looks great, awesome build.

Nice looking engine! Moving along nicely. Thanks for the updates!!!