Repair manual for 1974 C3 Corvette Stingray. Looking to replace head gaskets

[alfa147x]

Looking for recommendations for a repair manual for a 1974 C3 Corvette. I think it blew 1 or both head gaskets. It had oil, coolant, smoke from exhaust pipe. Either way if I replace one side I'll go ahead and replace the other.

It has a 350 small block V8 going to take the car cover off tonight and get more information on the exact engine.

Found a tutorial online on doing this without pulling the engine. Any idea how feasible that actually is? I rather spend some money and do this right than half-ass it.

 

[Jimzz]

Pretty much any small block Chevy manual will work.

I have a 73 myself and have the Factory Service manual but for head work any good chevy will do.

 

[yhelothar]

I rather spend some money and do this right then half-ass it.

Why would you half ass it after you spent money to do it right?

 

[WoodButcher]

factory service manual
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1974-Chevro...anuals_Literature&hash=item54033da234&vxp=mtr

 

[olds]

Why would you half ass it after you spent money to do it right?

:biggrin:

 

[alfa147x]

Why would you half ass it after you spent money to do it right?

:biggrin:

I rather spend some money and do this right than half-ass it.

What? looks perfectly fine to me :whiste:

 

[alfa147x]

factory service manual
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1974-Chevro...anuals_Literature&hash=item54033da234&vxp=mtr

Checked out the box that the car came with and found a Haynes Repair Manual in it. Would it worth getting the factory service manual and have both to reference?

 

[Squeetard]

Done a lot of head gaskets on small block chevs. In car is almost as easy as pulling the engine so don't worry about that. A couple points.
The exhaust manifold bolts are a bitch if they have been in there forever, may even break a few.
Take the heads to a machine shop after they are off and have them check and surface them. They may need flattening. At the same time they can remove any exhaust bolts you broke off in the heads.
Take a very straight straight edge and check the block surface, it is rare but it may need surfacing too, have to pull the engine.
Buy marine head gaskets, the are a few bucks more but worth it.

 

[hanoverphist]

really, all that info is available online on many different forums. its easy enough to find and reliable enough to rebuild full motors. just google what you need, like "350 chevy head bolt torque spec" or whatever. http://www.small-block-chevy.com/assemblyspec.html is a great resource page as well.

 

[Zargon]

obligatory put an LSX in it instead post

 

[hanoverphist]

id drop a ZZ4 in it, quick n dirty. no management. decent power, way more than the 73 350. oh, and cheaper.

 

[alfa147x]

Ha we are struggling to prepare for a head pull on the car and you guys are suggesting to swap the engine... I doubt that would go well.

 

[WoodButcher]

Checked out the box that the car came with and found a Haynes Repair Manual in it. Would it worth getting the factory service manual and have both to reference?

Personally I would say yes. I have them for all my vehicles as well as the Haynes if I plan on keeping and doing repair. I like the Haynes / Chiltons as they are not written for the pro wrench, which I am not. Often times I need to reference both to wrap my head around an idea or task and having both for me helps. I also use the forums, not here but specific forums for my point of interest at the time.
Right now I'm putting a 350 into my '93 Safari and I'm rebuilding the trans and my brother in law is doing the motor for me. I've been a member of astrosafari.com for some years but I need to swap the wiring harness and computer so I just joined here. http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/forum.php
I have all the manuals for both the donor van and my victim plus online advice if and when I need. You don't need to buy the service manuals but they sure can be handy. I learned my lesson when I did repair to a steering column on an S-10 back in the '90s. I didn't read the whole process through and when I got to step 25 (I don't remember exactly) he Haynes manual stopped and said "beyond this point is a dealer repair" or some such drivel,,,
I had to reassemble, drive to a buddies house who was a mechanic and tear into it again.

 

[bruceb]

You probably could do the head removal while in the car, but it would be better to pull the motor. The whole thing can then be cleaned, boiled out, painted, cylinder bores checked and refinished. You do not know how much (if any) of the coolant got into the oil. It would be peace of mind to do the whole job, including rod and main bearings, camshaft and lifters, along with a timing chain and gear set. Better oil pump and check the drive gear on the distributor for wear and wobbly shaft. In short, it is time for a full rebuild, so do it correct. It won't cost that much extra.

 

[alfa147x]

We need to go through the paperwork that came with the car to see what has been done to it.

My roommate's dad gave it to him. His dad picked it up from the shop where it has been for a few months and drove it down. That's when the head gasket blew and had to have it towed to the house. My roommate has no experience working on cars and isn't the most patient person in the world. He doesn't care for prep work and/research. He actually wanted to dive into just taking parts off the car till the heads came off.

I'm not exactly excited to start work without researching what we are getting into so I might just follow his lead.

 

[hanoverphist]

You probably could do the head removal while in the car, but it would be better to pull the motor. The whole thing can then be cleaned, boiled out, painted, cylinder bores checked and refinished. You do not know how much (if any) of the coolant got into the oil. It would be peace of mind to do the whole job, including rod and main bearings, camshaft and lifters, along with a timing chain and gear set. Better oil pump and check the drive gear on the distributor for wear and wobbly shaft. In short, it is time for a full rebuild, so do it correct. It won't cost that much extra.

i pulled the heads on my 76 impala in the driveway, ended up with a bad piston. pulled the bottom end, rebuilt the engine without ever taking out the block. checked the cylinders, they were still true and fairly nice, rehoned with it in the car, re-ringed and rebuilt the bottom end. had the heads surfaced lightly (were still straight, wanted a bit of a compression boost) and redid the valves just for giggles. put it all back together after a thorough cleaning of all the airways and intake,and it was a beast. with the older cars its still possible to rebuild a full engine while the block is in the car.

get a copy of this and read up on it. i was in a pep boys a while ago and they had a few copies of this book sitting on a rack. fairly cheap on ebay as well.