Good engine rebuild kits? Bought 69' Caprice

[Guest Shaffer]

I am hoping someone here will have some information/advice for me. I ended up buying a local 1969 Chevrolet Caprice, with the 396 engine option. It has a knock in the engine that we are still unsure of. I have heard it can be carbon build-up, but we have tried the "water in the carb and ATF in the carb trick", but no change. If I have to end up rebuilding it, does anyone know of a good site to get rebuild kits from? I want to get the engine repaired first, then start on the body, then interior. I know a lot of folks here have owned a lot of different cars and just because this is a Chevrolet, I know a lot of folks here have great advice.

This Caprice I bought is a highly optioned car (for a late 60s Chevrolet). It has A/C, power windows, power locks, tilt wheel, power steering, power brakes w/front discs, vinyl top, hideaway headlights and the 396 engine, with turbo automatic. Even these cars are oddly optioned, because I was considering another 69 Caprice, that had the fiber optic light monitors and bumper guards- which my car does not have, but it did not have power windows, power locks, vinyl top, 396 engine, disc brakes (power drums), or hideaway headlights.

My 69' is 100% original- including the dirt, so I have long restoration ahead of me. I bought the car under the impression that the engine was good, so when I got it home and heard the knock, I was disgusted and put it on E-Bay. Considering it is one of my favorite cars- not to mention rarely optioned, I think I will keep it, rebuild the engine and totally restore it.

Thanks for any information on the engine kits

Attached are photos of my project car.

[Guest Shaffer]

Front

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Interior:

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Another interior:

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Engine:

[NTX5467]

There are many engine "rebuild kits" on the market from different vendors--including hot rod parts vendors. Used to be that TRW or Sealed Power would assembly customized "kits" from the necessary parts in the NECESSARY sizes for a particular engine, at a decreased price, from what the individual parts would cost.

TWO things to consider before you jump off into such a venture--until somebody (i.e., machine shop) pulls the engine apart, vats the disassembled parts, and then cleans things up to see what the wear patterns are, then ordering a kit is not a very intelligent thing to do. Sure, you can order up .030 oversize pistons (as that's usually where many engines end up with the minimum "clean up" bore job) and bearings for .010 undersize journals (either from wear or from polishing to get the journals cleaned up--or Chevy's "famous" .008" undersize production journals) and then appropriate rings and other items. One side issue is that many of these "hot rod" vendors will want to probably sell you more than what you need (with respect to forged pistons for a street engine, for example) as compared to OEM spec items that are plenty good enough to use. So, you're going to need a machine shop to start with, for the cleanup and machine work at least, before you can pretty much do anything (unless you have that in your back garage).

Second issue relates to the first. If you find a competent and reliable machine shop in the first place, if you let them procure all of the parts/gaskets/etc. for the job, then if something comes in wrong or late, it's their issue to deal with. If YOU get the stuff ordered, then if it comes in wrong or late, it's YOUR issue to deal with--at their expense of having their work like tied up with your delayed job--and "make things right" with respect to getting the right parts. This is exactly why many machine shops will not do one of these jobs with the customer supplying the parts.

Sure, shop the mail order outlets for pricing, if you desire, as a point of reference more than anything else. Shop the local auto supplies that deal in these things too, which can give you a better handle on what the real costs might be, not to mention being more realistic with respect to "normal" replacement parts versus "hot rod" items. Then, with these researched items, head off to the machine shop with your "shopping" inquiries. Most of the machine shops in the area might have a "book" of prices for various labor operations, so shopping for the ones with the best reputations and quality of machine work can be important.

With a generally low mileage engine, you might not suspect it would "need much", but if it's going to be what would be expected of a rebuilt engine, then you need to look at "everything". That would mean the basic cylinder bore operation, hopefully with deck plates, gapping the rings, doing a complete valve job and probably reconditioning the valve guides (with the late model-style silicone bonnet seals, checking the rod bearing bores in the rods, new valve lifters (with pushrods and rocker arms as needed), possibly a new stock spec cam (what Mellings and others sell as "stock" are actually a little different in specs than what Chevy originally sold) too. Timing chain can either be the OEM style or a replacement timing set with steel sprockets. Maybe even a new oil pump, with stock pressure and volume, and a new pickup screen (if needed). A little bit more involved than just "rings and bearings". If aftermarket pistons are used, then a balance job would be in order, as most aftermarket pistons (in oversizes) are not the exact same weight as the stock pistons were. On that subject, you might figure in a new harmonic balancer too.

Then there's the related items to consider. Water pump, fuel pump, carb rebuild, ignition system items, plug wires, starter, belts, hoses, and even a new battery. Also be advised that many of the "budget" engine parts on the market today are just that--"budget". Some will give decent service life, others will not--THIS is where a good machine shop comes in as they usually know where to use name brand items and where the other "value" brand items can be used. If they've been around long enough, they also probably know what name brand items have deteriorated after becoming part of a conglomerate corporation and which ones might have improved.

In other words, a good machine shop operation (with competent machine shop employees) can be a valuable asset in any engine rebuild operation. How much it costs to get a big block Chevy engine rebuilt these days might be more than what you might have expected, even if it's "just a driver", but spend the extra money and use the better shop. Everything usually has a cost, somewhere along the line, whether it's piece of mind or having to deal with problems created by not spending enough to do the job correctly "after the fact". It's your money, your car, and your judgment of how to spend your money.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Guest Shaffer]

Thanks. I have now been told it could be the rod bearings by a 396 "expert", so we are going to check/replace those first. My grandpa said however, that something could be wrong with the engine to cause this, but I have no clue? Could it? The car has 119K miles. The inside of the engine is very clean without ANY oil build up. It looks like a new engine around the lifters. I am just hoping a rebuild is not required, because I have enough work ahead of me, just with the body/interior restoration required.

Thanks again.