Hi, New here & have some rebuild questions

First I would like to say hello, I have been reading here for a while and tried the search feature with some success.

Now to fill in the blanks, I am a fomer '87 turbo coupe owner, and now a '90 S/C owner.

I recently picked up the '90 for $500 with new paint and a blown head gasket, I would give the car a 7 out of 10 for appearance. I am 37 years old and have done my share of gm head gaskets, so I figured how bad could it be? I picked up the felpro kit and started reading here... I am aware of the added stress that the motors have within them by nature, and after reading I am concerned with some things, I have 100,000 miles on the motor and I have run it for 30 to 90 seconds, the coolant and oil are clear (no foam) and the car seems to idle correctly.

My plan was to put a head set in and see if I liked it, then if I did to rebuild, and cold air intake etc. down the line. So what I want to know is felpro the way to go for a stock rebuild after the heads are checked out? and with all the issues around head bolts, is there a better way to go than with the motorsport head bolts?

Like I said earlier the car seems to idle smoothly for a few seconds at a time, and I would still like to follow the same plan, but just wanted to ask these questions before going any further.

Thanks
Matt

Welcome! Best of luck to you and your SC!

Felpro is a great choice for all of your gaskets, including the hg's. Most SC owners use them when they're looking for replacements. As far as head bolts go, ARP head studs are probably the best choice They are easier to install, don't require the same complicated torque process as the bolts, and generally hold up better then the bolts.

Good luck!

Thanks,

do the heads clear the shock towers with the studs?

Matt

Not really sure what you mean by that - but the ARP studs do not interfere with anything - they are just stronger than the original bolts. Do a search and you can find some of the part #'s that people have used. I believe there are two p/n's out there that will fit the SC application.

What I was trying to say

is will the heads go back on the block with out unbolting the motor mounts and jacking up the motor, or will they clear the shock towers without unbolting the motor.

Thanks
Matt

No

mattyblazer said:

is will the heads go back on the block with out unbolting the motor mounts and jacking up the motor, or will they clear the shock towers without unbolting the motor.

Thanks
Matt

Click to expand...

I asked this question before, Heres what they told me.
Passanger side - No problems

Drivers Side - Have to remove long studs up top Because of the Teves brake system, The Shock fenders are not a problem once you pull the Blower and accesory brackets the engine bay look bigger than you thought it was.

That's the answer I needed

I can deal with a little extra work, but did not want to get into an all out nightmare....

Anymore tips with this job would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Matt

ARP Studs......!

Numero Uno, Use arp studs, the kit I used had allen sockets on the top to make it easier to screw them in, because as you were asking there IS a clearance problem on the driver side, put all the front ones in as per the instructions, the back ones that are a problem are self evident, you screw them in place after the head is settled down, not a big problem just don't screw all the studs into the block! I didn't see why they say to use sealant on the studs as all the stud are screwed into blind holes not into water jackets? Soooo I used sealant anyway not much of a point to argue over. Numero Dos, No one seems to know if Arp ever changed the kits but the early kits for our engines had a problem with the bottom row of stud interfering with the exhaust manifold, so I read that the set for the Chevy Six worked better, Summit will disavow knowledge of this and tell you that they don't suggest using the Chevy set, but, I just this past summer used them on my SC and they worked brilliantly. Good luck and were here for you, I 'm not that up to speed with this engine, as some of the other "Mechanics" around this site are, but I have built my share of Ford engines. If you need it I will find the P/N for the Chevy set, but I think you will find it in the search engine. Happy New Year and cheers and beers, Frank H.

...part # is......233-4003,chevy V6,2.8L,60*,11mm head stud kit...ARP....fits perfectly,used them on my 90 SC hg r/r.....no problems.
z

mattyblazer said:

is will the heads go back on the block with out unbolting the motor mounts and jacking up the motor, or will they clear the shock towers without unbolting the motor.

Thanks
Matt

Click to expand...

Matt,

If you use the studs, You'll have to grind a little off the the bottom studs. On my set, the exhaust manifold won't clear one or two of the studs. It's been a while since I've installed, so I'm not exactly sure which ones need to be altered.

Chris

ChrisNVSC said:

Matt,

If you use the studs, You'll have to grind a little off the the bottom studs. On my set, the exhaust manifold won't clear one or two of the studs. It's been a while since I've installed, so I'm not exactly sure which ones need to be altered.

Chris

Click to expand...

Did you use the chevy studs?