Build Your First Chevy Engine - How to Build Your First Engine

After installing the timing gears and chain, degree the camshaft. We're not going to go into that here, but we've included a story reference that will detail everything you need to know to perform this step. Once the cam is where you want it, install the timing-chain cover and gasket.

Before final cleaning, install the oil-pump pickup using a Melling installation tool available through PAW. Before we had the pickup welded to the pump cover (remove the relief spring first), we measured pickup-to-oil-pan clearance with a lump of Playdough. Shoot for around 3/8 to ½ inch.

We used the Vortec iron head for this engine, since it flows very well in the mid-lift range. With the small cam, we didn't need to change the valvesprings. To seal the heads, we used a set of Fel-Pro blue high-performance head gaskets and ARP head bolts.

Prepare the lifters with thick lube supplied by the cam manufacturer on just the face of the lifter where it contacts the lobe. Lubricate the lifter sides with oil and install all the lifters and pushrods.

Since this is a mild street engine, we elected to use GM guided rockers. We lubed the ball-and-socket area with moly but used oil on the lifter tips. Then we set the lifter preload. The entire procedure is listed in one of the additional research stories you can find on our Web site.

We always use a bead of silicone on the front and back walls rather than those pesky rubber seals. Be sure to carefully glue the intake gaskets to the heads with a quality sealer, especially at the bottom of each port to prevent a vacuum leak. Topping off this small-block is an Edelbrock Performer RPM dual-plane intake, 750-cfm Performer carb, and a GM Performance Parts HEI distributor with MSD wires.