Vintage Musclecar Parts

09/05/2026

Engine project update;

The 12.5-1 468 is shortblocked and ready to go into temporary storage under the workbench until Mike has a chance to get the heads cleaned up for me.

Once those are done, I should have basically everything I need except for possibly pushrods to finish the build.

The heads will be the BPE 316 c.c. aluminum ones that I'd originally installed on Yeti's 572. They're obviously soiled from use and need to be cleaned before they can be reinstalled, and I also need to swap out the HR valve springs for solid roller ones.

More when it becomes available.

09/03/2026

Brief update: 2 steps forward, innumerable steps backward;

The last couple of weeks have not been good, at least not from a productivity standpoint.

First and foremost, Yeti is down. I dropped it off with Kevin a few weeks ago for him to install a wideband O2 system so I could start fine-tuning the carb. Kevin got the system installed, took the truck for a brief test drive, and the truck responded by promptly overheating to 240°. He limped it back to the shop, checked coolant once it was safe to do so, only to find the radiator basically empty. As there were no external leaks and nothing coming out the exhaust, that left only one option--when he pulled the dipstick, he found the crankcase full of milkshake.

Just before the 2nd dyno session, I'd pulled the intake to swap out the solid roller lifters for the Johnson hydraulic rollers. As the intake gaskets were still in decent condition, I simply siliconed them and reinstalled the intake as I've done countless times before. There initially appeared to be no problem as the engine exhibited no issues while on the dyno.

Looking back at that moment, it dawned on me that I couldn't remember re-torquing the intake bolts, so I had Kevin R&R the intake. The gaskets didn't look all that great and the intake bolts had indeed loosened up, so I/we assumed we'd found the issue. Everything was buttoned back up, and the initial fire-up appeared promising as the engine ran fine (after a double oil change btw), and a brief test drive had coolant temps at 170°-180°, so the truck was parked and left for the following day to wrap up the final small loose ends.

Yeti had other ideas.

When Kevin re-checked the oil, it was over full, and the coolant level had dropped. This time there was no milkshake, but there was roughly a quart of water that made it's egress from the oil pan before the oil came out.

The only possibility I can think of is that there may be a porosity issue with the block--there was a tiny "blemish" in the #6 cylinder after Mike had finished boring & honing the block, but it was initially deemed to be cosmetic. Apparently it wasn't.

(Look at the 12:00 position of the bore about half way down in the attached pic)

Kevin is booked up for the next couple of weeks, but once he has time the next step is going to be pulling the plugs and pressurizing the cooling system while listening with a stethoscope in the #6 hole to see if anything can be heard. Assuming this is indeed the issue, the 572 will have to come back out and be completely disassembled so I can have the #6 hole sleeved.

I'm not even going to bother with trying to chemically seal it for 2 reasons:

1) The leak is winding up in the crankcase, and the last thing I want in the oil is sodium silicate--remember that whole "cash for clunkers" fiasco from a while back?--that's precisely what big brudder used to intentionally destroy the engines so they could not be salvaged/reused.

2) I'm not going to trust a chemical sealant to hold up under direct cylinder pressure.

As I have big expenses (taxes and homeowners insurance) coming up, I definitely do not have the extra funds to cover this at this time, so it's a matter of whenever Kevin can find the time to dedicate to it and I can find spare funds to dedicate to it.

That fiasco aside, I'm still in hurry up and wait mode on several other projects due to delays with outside resources. This is actually a significant issue as I can not complete these projects until I have parts back, and as such I can not get them listed for sale so I can recover those investments.

As of now, it looks like "death by a thousand paper cuts" is on the itinerary for me.

Something's gott'a give...🙁

09/01/2026

Holley "LIST 3310" for Kevin Moore at SuperTech Heavy Duty, my go-to wrenchman.

This belongs to another customer's '67 SuperSport Camaro with a hopped up old-school small block and a Muncie 4 speed.

Several visual clues identify this carb as a mid 1970 or older 3310, even though it somehow managed to escape Holley without any ID stampings.

It was tired and filthy and had been set up for track use. The car is being returned to mild(er) street driver status, so the carb was rebuilt, re-tuned for street use and an electric choke was added.

Kevin is currently wrenching on the car, it'll be a little while yet before it's done but when it is ill try to get pics and video. It's a very, very cool period correctly suvivor.

08/31/2026

Here's another one I've not seen before--at least on an actual vintage era carb;

This is a genuine early 1970's Holley that's never been messed with before aside from the typical tuning tweaks. It's never been restored, and it belongs to the original owner.

Notice anything missing? 😄

It's currently being rebuilt and will be going back on the same car it's been on for a very, very long time.

There's a kind'a cool story with the car, once it's done I'll see if it's OK with the owner to share.

08/30/2026

I've said it before and I'll say it again--oftentimes a perceived carb problem is actually in the ignition system.

I got a call from a client a week or so back about a stalling issue they were having with a QJet I'd serviced for them not too long ago.

The car was a new build and was recently completed, and they were having an issue with it sputtering and stalling after a relatively short run time--basically just long enough for the engine to come up to full temp. As soon as it cooled off it would fire right back up again.

As I've been down this exact road more times than I can count, I inquired as to what ignition system the car was running. It had a factory distributor with a popular aftermarket points eliminator kit--as I suspected.

It took a bit of prodding, but I finally convinced them to either swap the distributor for one with points, or temporarily reinstall the points in the existing distributor.

Below is their follow-up email (edited for privacy):

Subject: Qjet

Message Body:

"Eric, I talked to you yesterday about the stalling issues I was having. I took your advice and put points back in my distributor. It seems fine so far. It had to be a bad module in the breakerless SE electronic system I had.

Thanks ###"

Again, this is definitely not my first rodeo.

Thankfully this one was a relatively easy one to resolve.

08/27/2026

I remember the day and exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

With music being one of my top 3 passions (and with SRV being one of my primary guitar influences), that news hit really hard.

To this day, his music (and blues music in general) is a double-edged sword to me. The line between joy and grief can be surprisingly narrow.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19GXQfvWTA/

RIP Stevie Ray Vaughan — Passed Away on This Day in 1990
⠀
Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stephen Ray Vaughan) (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was one of the greatest and most influential electric guitarists of all time. With his extraordinary tone, ferocious attack, remarkable technique, and deep connection to the blues, Vaughan revitalized blues guitar during the 1980s and inspired generations of players around the world.
⠀
With Double Trouble, Vaughan created landmark albums including Texas Flood, Couldn't Stand the Weather, Soul to Soul, and In Step. Performances such as Pride and Joy, Texas Flood, Cold Shot, Scuttle Buttin', Lenny, and his breathtaking interpretation of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) demonstrated a guitarist capable of combining enormous power with exceptional sensitivity and control.
⠀
On August 27, 1990, Vaughan was killed at just 35 years old when the helicopter carrying him from Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Wisconsin crashed shortly after takeoff. Today, on the anniversary of his tragic passing, we remember an extraordinary musician whose influence on blues and rock guitar remains immeasurable.

08/26/2026

Hollley LIST 4557 for Hans Littooy's '70 L78 396/375 Camaro.

This one came in for a full restoration.

Ink stamps will be added now that live testing is done, the ink will wash off during post test cleaning if the stamps are applied beforehand.

08/25/2026

A quick cheat sheet for Melling and/or Elgin small block and big block Chevy factory performance replacement camshafts:

1966 L79 327/325 and 327/350:
Melling 22200

1967-1969 302 Z28 "346" or "30-30":
Elgin E-901-P
Melling 22410

1970 LT1 350/360 (Camaro/Nova), 350/370 (Corvette):
Elgin E-904-P

1966-1970 L72 396/375, L78 427/425 and LS6 454/450:
Elgin E-905-P
Melling 22396

To the best of my knowledge, these are true "blueprint" camshafts an not "modernized" profiles with a deceptive nostalgic name.

Speed Pro/Sealed Power also offered these at one time, but I've no experience with them nor do I know if they are still in production.

Enginetech also offers at least a few of these grinds as well, but my personal experiences with Enginetech products have not been positive, so I can not personally recommend them.

$1.00 worth of free advice re: `67-`69 302 Z28 engines:

The factory 346/30-30 camshaft was way too big for this engine and gives up considerable lower RPM performance and driveability for a modest upper rpm power increase.

Consider the following: Only 1 year later, Chevrolet went to the 350 LT1--a larger displacement engine, but at the same time they also reduced the cam timing on the intake side but retained the same exhaust lobe as the 346 camshaft. That should tell you something--not to mention the LT1 was/is definitely no slouch.

If you're dead set on 100% originality, then the 346 cam is your obvious choice. However, if you'd like considerably improved street manners with a similar idle and only a slight loss in upper RPM power, I strongly advise going to the 1970 "178" LT1 camshaft.

Going with ANY bigger cam in a 302 is the fastest way to a miserable driving experience for anything that's on the street.

If you're lucky enough to find a NOS CRANE blueprint cam of any of the above, you've hit the jackpot.

Regarding lifters: For solid flat tappet installations, I consider an EDM lifter absolutely mandatory such as Crower 66900X980-16 or a quality equivalent, that's non-optional.

For a hydraulic flat tappet, I strongly advise a Crower 66000X3-16 "cool face" lifter or a quality equivalent.

Yes, you can find cheaper versions of these lifters, but IMO lifters (or valvetrain components in general) are the LAST place you want to try to pinch pennies.

Take the above for whatever it's worth to you--or not worth to you.

08/24/2026

Yes, I deleted the last post.

I'm tired of trying to help.

Learn your own lessons the hard way. I tried.