"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
04/21/2020 at 15:51 • Filed to: firebird esprit, 301 v8, 301, boat anchor, rust bucket, wrenching
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"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
04/21/2020 at 15:51 • Filed to: firebird esprit, 301 v8, 301, boat anchor, rust bucket, wrenching | 1
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It rained last night, so after work I sat in the garage and started tearing down the old junk 301. Just... because.
I guess that’s not ENTIRELY accurate. I might make it into a table. Or some other art project. But in the end if I end up scrapping any or all of it, its easier to transport in small lighter chunks. Like the subframe it came out of.
Plus I’ve always liked taking things apart to see what makes them tick. And so long as nothing requires any special tools or major effort...
So off came the alternator, power steering pump, brackets for both, the carb, the EGR plate, the fuel pump, the cruise control and vacuum mess, the distribu.... SHIT.
Its seized. In my ape-like hammering I broke the case in half, and now the shaft and little nubbin of distributor is stuck in the block. Everything was going so well too. Not wanting to break out the air hammer so late at night after already trying to chisel it off manually, I gave up for the night.
I cleaned off the crud, including the VERY carbon’d up EGR passage, and called it a night.
Tonight I might dig a little deeper. Maybe start by draining the fluids, maybe removing the trans, I dunno. We’ll see if I get that distributor out first.
Snuze: Needs another Swede
> Takuro Spirit
04/21/2020 at 15:58 |
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The Pontiac 301 was a neat motor. Does anyone make any aftermarket parts for it? It seems, at least spiritually, related to the legendary DZ302 and has some features that might make it even better - light weight block, 2 CW crank (vs 5), etc. If you could get decent heads on it you might be able to build a fun little screamer. The only issue I think is they are a short deck block, so even with the short 3" stroke it may be hard to get a long enough rod to have a good rod:stroke ratio that’s beneficial at high RPMs.
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Takuro Spirit
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
04/21/2020 at 16:15 |
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No one does. Pretty much anything for these has to be custom made or is just stock replacement.
I would love to have a screamer Trans Am (not the car) spec size engine in my Trans Am (the car) but it’d be REALLY expensive to do so. There are some people out there slapping turbos on these, and the 301T motors and making decent power, but everything is custom machined. Plus the 301T’s block is reinforced from what I’ve read, and this standard 301 doesn’t take as well to big HP numbers for very long.
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> Takuro Spirit
04/21/2020 at 16:17 |
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Yeah, the standard 301 is a thin wall casting and probably wouldn’t like the high cylinder pressures associated with a lot of boost.
You could build a DZ302 out of an SBC, you’d get the same feel, even if not quite authentic.
jimz
> Takuro Spirit
04/21/2020 at 16:32 |
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I doubt that part of the distributor body is coming out. with how rusty the whole engine is, dissimilar reactive metals have done their job. you’ll probably have to drill/chisel it out in pieces and hone the bore in the block to clean up residual aluminum and oxides.
My bird IS the word
> Snuze: Needs another Swede
04/21/2020 at 16:33 |
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The 301 pontiac is known as the "boat anchor" as it is only rated for 120hp, and cannot be modified as any increase in power will cause the block to warp. The later 301 turbo blocks were reinforced.
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Takuro Spirit
> jimz
04/21/2020 at 16:37 |
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That’s the plan. Note the small hunks of aluminum already chipped off.
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Snuze: Needs another Swede
> My bird IS the word
04/21/2020 at 17:04 |
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I'm really not that familiar with them, so thank you for that info.
facw
> Takuro Spirit
04/21/2020 at 18:21 |
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I am increasingly surprised that that thing ran.