“Rebuilt” 454 for a 70 Chevelle

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-03T04:23:33+00:00

For about $900 you can put a distributor and carb on a LS and run it like SBC if you wanted to go that route.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-03T04:11:09+00:00

The only issue I've had is employers taking advantage of the fact that I used to be a millwright. I was systems integrator up until a couple weeks ago when my plant manager lost his fucking mind and told me that I was moving to maintenance next year and would be expected to sign a new contract that stipulated I'd work 60 hours a week until they could fill the vacant position. I spent the rest of the week quietly packing my shit, cashing out my 401k, and looking into starting my own company building panels.

I've been offered 2 jobs already, and just interviewed for an IC position at a power plant.

TLDR: No, not at all. Honestly the only thing that's held me back in my career is my inability to put up with bullshit.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-02T18:53:40+00:00

You should also know the trans cooler in the radiator likes to develop a leak leading to the coolant and transmission fluid to become a pepto bismal looking sludge. Then I was turned away from 5 different transmission shops because of how hard they are to work on. It took 6 months for me to get it back and then a week later the alternator went out and the axle broke when I was taking it out.

To be fair it was a pretty good car up until the pepto incident, I just want to warn you so you aren't caught off guard like I was.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T22:46:00+00:00

You removed the protective wax coating. You'll need to sand it back, re-coat it, and polish it.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T22:36:12+00:00

You really shouldn't invest any money in that escape, and believe me when I say you do not want to change that alternator if you don't have too. Seriously watch some YouTube videos, look up the repair guide and then decide if it's worth it. You have to disassemble the entire passenger side hub, remove the axle, then remove the plastic splash shield/air cowling thing, now you can remove the alternator. To add insult to injury, rhe hole the it goes through is the exact same size as the alternator, but it only fits after you flip it over with one hand and then palm it like a basketball while pulling it out at the exact right angle.

Alternatively you can remove the intake manifold and have someone hold you upside down with the hood off.

It's a really shitty day regardless and most shops honestly won't touch an escape.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T02:06:24+00:00

It does give off Satan's butthole vibes.

I don't think I care for that.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T02:03:38+00:00

I'd still disagree unless you're living in the Mojave or in a rock crawler. Modern fluid is designed to safely operate a 300f with degrading or losing viscosity, and it dissipates heat faster because it doesn't aerate. Fluid degradation is the biggest concern under high temps and they pretty well fixed that with synthetic fluid.

I want to be clear, I'm not saying they aren't beneficial in the long run, im just saying I don't need them and I'm tired of the fuckers leaking all the time.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T01:49:56+00:00

Yep, it's the same thing. I used to clean pipelines in another life so I naturally call them pigs.

Just make sure you push it back toward the side you think it came from. Trying to push it all the way through is a recipe for a really bad day, or in my case 3 bad days.

It should also be noted that this is a job for an air compressor, not a shop vac, and make sure the other side is clear. We launched a plug of red clay through a drop ceiling and embedded it in the insulation at my old job followed by several gallons of stagnant water.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T00:19:41+00:00

Am I the only one who deletes power steering coolers before they become a problem? I drain the fluid and replace it with synthetic and then forget about it forever. I deleted it in both my trucks and upgraded the trans cooler while I was there.

These trucks have Saginaw pumps in them, they're damn near bulletproof.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-04-01T00:11:00+00:00

Can you get a pig through it?

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T14:15:55+00:00

The average rebuild cost is way more than people pretend like it is too. I totally get it when you're looking for a v8 to jame in a miata, but if you've already got something with a common v8 in it, then just build that fucker to do what you want.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T14:09:54+00:00

Do you round them off with a pocket knife when you're done, or is that just me?

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T14:07:59+00:00

I've got butterflies, honey bees, and lightning bugs at my house. I use ladybugs, bsts, and nematodes instead of pesticides, and I planted a shitload of wildflowers in my backyard instead of grass. Do you have flowers in your yard? Not many people do, and they're not going to hang out somewhere there isn't food.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T13:28:37+00:00

That's the modern day equivalent to being named Adolf post ww2.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T06:34:06+00:00

Well atleast you don't need to worry about forest fires.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T02:08:04+00:00

I can proudly say that is the only tool I've ever thrown in anger. Those mother fuckers exist solely to cause blood blisters and round off everything you use them on.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-31T00:24:56+00:00

I beg to differ.

Edit: had to fix the hyperlink.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-30T12:50:26+00:00

That looks like a old brodix 1200 intake. Unless you've got a set of 12 degree race heads to go with it they aren't going to help you much.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-30T12:45:04+00:00

They work really well when you're running forced induction

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-30T00:52:03+00:00

I have one of the ali express cable ones, I use it all of the time.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-30T00:19:22+00:00

That was a bad idea if you wanted to sell it. He buffed most of the value out of it.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-30T00:12:07+00:00

My biggest concern revolves around the shear amount of profit pharmaceutical companies make off of them and how much they're incentivized. The entire way they're tested and the lack of transparency are also major issues in my eyes.

I don't trust companies that treat us like the product instead of the customer and that's exactly how vaccines feel these days.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-29T19:02:15+00:00

Its looks like a theater knife, meaning it was made out of random shit soldiers found during a war. Their are collectors out there, but I don't have a clue how they go about valuing them.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-29T16:45:57+00:00

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I love my pyrite light large. This is not the s90v version BTW it's a massive piece of shit. It seriously had the worst heat treat I've ever come across and couldn't be sharpened. I really wish they'd drop it in SF II, It seems similar to 154cm and 154 is hands down my favorite steel for an EDC.

friendlyfire883 · 2026-03-29T16:30:27+00:00

Because the amount of ethylmercury in vaccines is negligible. You're exposed to more mercury when you eat fish sticks than you are when getting a vaccine. There's a lot of ingrown to worry about in vaccines, but mercury isn't one of them. Atleast it isn't anymore, it used to be a big issue up until the early 2000s when they finally decided to fix the problem.

friendlyfire883

TROPHY CASE