Hello,

Time to fix the engine.

- Quite browned coolant (level ok, no leak), dirty and a little bit oily
- Engine oil at recommended level 10W40 synthetic (leak 1quart every 2
months at the main seal but will get fixed new oil pan gasket and main seal)
- Radiator blades are clean,
- Fan rotating ok, and factory fitted to the radiator.
- Overheating was not an issue until this summer (got it to vapor lock
because of coolant boiling in the following conditions: 1979 Camaro
Berlinetta 1.6 metric tons + 4 passengers 250 Kg [total 1.85 t] 2 US
ton, 15km (9.32miles) ramp up at average 4%, 32°C outside temp 90°F,
larger tires than factory (255/60R15 rear, 235,60R14 front) with factory
3/23 rear transmission.
These where hard conditions for an old engine but it should not have
gone to the point of boiling the coolant. (Hopefully I didn't engage the
air conditioning compressor because it need upgrade and refill)

From web searching, these may reveal a possible exhaust gas leak into
the coolant because of cracked head gaskets (coolant color change and
overheat). Do you agree with that diagnosis?

I'll have to wait until September, for a mechanic to look at it but,
would like to order replacement parts now, because of significant lag in
delivery to Europe.

If head gaskets need to be replaced, what kind is suitable for a 30yo
stock unmodified GM factory LM1 who went over the 5 digit km counter at
least once)?

There are many kinds of head gaskets listed with different thicknesses,
materials rated applicable for this 1979 chevy 350cid V8 (AKA LM1).

Are these gaskets ok?
<http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-10105117/>

--
Léa Gris

In article <4a86d555$0$22641$426a34cc (AT) news (DOT) free.fr>,
Lea Gris <lea.gris (AT) nomail (DOT) invalid> wrote:
Possible
I'd flush the system out with clean water and check the thermostat first.
See what happens.
Is the Rad cap ok?
Belts not slipping?
Maybe change the stat anyway. I've had one that appeared to work in my LT1
but changing it cured some weird symptoms.

Not sure what thickness gasket your motor should have but those are
probably fine. Ask summit what they'd reccomend.
You'd also need the inlet manifold gaskets as well.

HTH

--
Terminal_Crazy

Mitch - 1995 Z28 LT1 M6 terminal_crazy (AT) sand-hill (DOT) freeserve.co.uk
Lancashire England http://www.sand-hill.freeserve.co.uk/terminal_crazy/

On Aug 15, 11:33 am, Lea Gris <lea.g... (AT) nomail (DOT) invalid> wrote:
Perhaps. But the first thing is to completely clean and fix the
cooling system.

Four passengers and 32 degrees uphill can be quite a load. Perhaps
more than an unmaintained cooling system can handle.

I don't know standard factory tire fitment for Camaros; I imagine
something like FR70-14. Tires may be a bit oversize but not terribly
so. Should not make any difference.

Not really. It is much more of a problem with heads/blocks with
different materials, specifically aluminum (heads) and cast iron
(blocks). Aluminum expands more than cast iron, so gasket is sheared
(a small amount) every time engine warms up and cools down.

First thing is to clean cooling system and change coolant. When was
the last time it was changed? Must be ten years or more! I have never
seen rusty, oily coolant and I have been lazy about cooling system
maintenance myself.

I suspect that the radiator may be a bit plugged, which will cause
overheating under heavy load. A bad head gasket will cause overheating
and bubbles in the radiator and coolant tank even in normal operation.

Are you losing any coolant, or is the level in the tank staying at the
same place?

If you are losing coolant, and can not find a leak anywhere, then
maybe you have a gasket problem after all.

If you are not losing coolant, then I would NOT start with an engine
overhaul, but with a cooling system overhaul.

--remove all the old "coolant"; it's bad already
--flush out the engine block and heater core
--have a good radiator shop look at your radiator; a bad radiator will
cause overheating as you describe; you may need a new radiator, and I
would recommend that if the existing radiator is original and looking
corroded
--replace all hoses (this will likely require a special order but
shipping will not be TOO bad I hope)
--if your fan is a clutch design (spins freely, has a big aluminum
disk in centre) make sure it is working properly; although bad fan
usually causes overheating in slow driving or stopping, a bad fan does
not make much difference in faster driving
--do you have a temperature gauge, or just a "HOT" light? you should
have a gauge to really understand what is happening at your engine
--maybe the thermostat needs replacement; I would go with the factory
recommendation which is probably 195F or 91C

My old 1979 Firebird went 425,000 km. We had to remove one head to fix
a broken exhaust manifold stud; otherwise the engine was never apart.
Okay, that was a Pontiac 301 engine, but I would figure a Chev 350
will last a long time too. Honestly, if you are going to start pulling
the heads off to replace the gaskets, why not take the engine out and
do a full rebuild? Chev 350 parts are cheap (in North America) and
should not be impossible to find in Europe. Maybe a US or NATO base is
close by you?

.....Ed

On mine, it was oil coming from the transmission that get in the
radiator. This cause exactly the same symptoms as you.

How is the oil in the engine? If it look clean, maybe you got the same
problem as me.

Ed Treijs wrote:

My Camaro is at the mechanic shop. The oil pan has a crack to be
soldered fixed. Radiator and coolant circulation will be checked purged
fixed.
The work's going on it. I'll keep you tuned.

--
Léa Gris

Me wrote :

Hello !

Here are news about the restoration job going on my 79 Camaro Berlinetta:

The oil pan crack was soldered.
Crank bearings where checked and are in a perfectly good shape and so
left unchanged.
The radiator is being rebuild with new threads because there where too
much oxidation and rusts clogs. I expect it to be done at the end of
this week
Oil pan and valve covers repainted and remounted with new gaskets.
New 4in1 exhaust headers and true dual lines are being mounted in place
of the rusted and over-patched originals.
Will be filled with 10W40 Motule 300V oil.
New 15"x7" ARE Tork Thrust II polished aluminum wheel will be mounted
next week (waiting for proper P215/65HR15 tires, can't find White Side
or Raised White Letters here).

--
Léa Gris

On Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:36:48 +0200, Lea Gris <lea.gris (AT) nomail (DOT) invalid>
wrote:


Good work keeping an old Chevy going in Europe! When you say the oil
pan was soldered, I hope you mean welded (electric arc) or brazed with
brass or bronze, and not soldered with lead/tin solder.

Here in the states there are 2 kinds of soldering, soft and hard. soft
solder uses lead/tin or the newer lead free solders. Hard soldering
is also called brazing and uses a brass or bronze rod for filler.

Did your mechanic pull the cylinder heads off?

How do they look? any signs of a blown head gasket?

Thank You,
Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

Randy wrote:

I got my car back last week and went with it for 300km total on roads.

The oil pan was indeed welded (thanks for the help).

The radiator capacity was reduced to half due to rust accumulation. That
was the main cause for overheating.

the coolant to detect CO2 leak and it was ok. The gaskets don't leak.

Wheels where finally fitted Cooper Cobra RWL tires.

Carburetor was nicely adjusted as well as CO output minimized.

Got race quality oil (Motule 300V).

The new exhaust sound great, a bit like those of motorbike because there
is no H or X tubing.

There are still adjustments and fitting issues with the new exhaust
exits. It beat at the leaf springs and inside the lower rear quarter
panels. I hope some adjustments will sort out the issues. I choosed a
premium kit but would had better choosed a more factory-like configuration.

The new exhaust have mufflers under the floor pans and it slightly
reduce clearance passenger side. I would had better choosed one big
combined dual in dual out muffler at the right place behind up the rear
axle transmission, as it was factory designed that way.

You may enjoy new shots here:
http://www.noiraude.net/gallery2/main.php/v/lea/Camaro_001/DSC_3527.JPG.html?thumbIndex=12>

Or watch a short video of the new exhaust sound here:
http://www.noiraude.net/videos/idle.ogv
Or sound only here: http://www.noiraude.net/videos/idle.ogg

Regards,

--
Léa Gris

Lea Gris wrote:
Looks good, especially for a 30 year old car.

n0i