Have to make my own collector gaskets, because i dont know the brand of the headers, and i never found a gasket that matched. That said, this time i tried Remflex Gasket Sheet, and im sold. Easiest best stuff i ever worked with.

...and the header reinstalled!

Wrapped part of the y-pipe as well, since its so close to the trans pan.  Hopefully this will help with the trans temps some!

​First impressions are that it works pretty good, but ive only had it idling in the driveway. We'll see how well it does on the trail soon enough

​Already running a 3G alternator in the '88, but its tired and isnt charging properly. Its a 200a unit that i built many years ago, and i dont have time to troubleshoot it before the ECBR next week, so i ordered a new 200a one from Powermaster:

After the Roundup ill put the old one up on the bench, disassemble/clean it, and see if i can fix it for a trail spare.
Also, header wrap!

Wrapped the passenger side header while still installed on the motor, that sucked!  I dont recommend it.

​i pulled the driver header to wrap that one on the bench:

​Tomorrow itll go back in and then hopefully thats the last thing i have to do before the Roundup next week!

Things need to be done.
​I fixed my oil pressure gauge; the needle was stuck. I need to make a heat shield for the OBA supply hose down to the frame, and theres a leak in the hose i need to fix as well.  I need to adjust my draglink as the steering wheel isnt straight.  My remote trans filter is leaking so i will probably just replace the filter after putting a couple more miles on it. The C6 shifts good, altho i thought it would be a bit firmer, so i might make some adjustments there. I swapped out my speedo gear too and got it damn near perfect, im off by only 1mph at 60.  Oh, and OD would be nice, because its doing 60mph at 3k rpms. Its loud on the highway.

I messed with the tune a bit today.  Seems Stinger was just off on the base fuel requirement, because i cranked it up, and its running a ton better!  So now i need to really dig in, and learn how to tune this thing.

​Finished filling the radiator, primed the oil pump, stabbed the distributor. It lives!

​Ran it for 20 minutes at 2-3k rpms to break in the cam, then shut it off. The tune isnt quite right, but i think theres an issue with my wideband, because theres no way its this lean:

Its like 19:1!: I couldnt find any leaks on the headers or collectors, so it could be the O2 itself. I have another so ill swap it out for the other one and see if it makes a difference.

Progress!
Replacing the oil cooler with a Ford Performance 90º adapter:

​I waited until today to install it, because i wanted the lower radiator hose installed to make sure i got the clocking correct.
Its snug, but it fits!

​If the radiator is in, that means its time for fluids too:

...and where we left off for the day:

​All thats left now is to top off the radiator, prime the oil pump, and stab the distributor.  Which means the next day i get out there to work, i should be able to start it up!  Here's hoping it all goes well!

Cold, but otherwise nice outside, so we made some progress on the '88.
The exhaust is now done, with the exception of the wideband O2, which i want to calibrate anyway.   Pretty much everything thats left is under the hood, so thats where i went.
Put the fuel rail on, and then broke the oil pressure sender.  Kinda sucks because the plan was to install the plenum/TB next and finish the harness & vacuum lines.  Maybe tomorrow.
Anyways, i moved on and instead reinstalled the dipstick, coil + bracket, and most of the accessory drive:

P.steering pump is plumbed, and so is the York.  Its a rats nest of wires under the right now but itll all clean up once the TB is reinstalled.  We're getting pretty close to finally firing this thing up!

So, this happened:

Damn thing fought me every step of the way, but its in.

Its the holidays, so we'll get back to this one in january.  Happy new year everyone!

Welp, the engine for the 88 is back, so lets get it assembled!

​Rotating assembly:

oil pump/pickup:

heads

...and damn near everything else!

So with that all done, we're pretty much ready to drop the motor back in!  And as long as the weather holds, that should be happening next week...

So the engine is now back at the machine shop again. We'll see what it needs soon enough.

In the mean time, i decided to open up the Kaase oil pump.  As expected, its ruined as well.  All sorts of scoring on the gears, and the aluminum housing as well

So add that to the list of items that will be getting replaced as well.

So the engine came out and went back onto the stand wednesday.  Spent thursday & friday disassembling it to see just what went wrong.  Heres what i found.

I had pulled the oil drain plug the night before, so when i got home from work i could immediately drop the pan.  This is what i found:

​So we're not off to a good start.  So i moved to the top end to remove the heads.  I bought a cheap ($10) parts organizer from Harbor Freight and used it to organize the rockers + hardware, lifters and pushrods so i could keep track of where they came from

I found 3 pushrods with chips in the top.  Coincidentally all exhaust valves

​Heads off:

​I can see slight scoring in the bores:

​Rolled over, lets inspect the bottom end:

​If its not clear in the pic, the oil pickup is absolutely covered in metal, to the point of it seeming like it was dipped in nevr-seize

​Pulled the #2 crank bearing cap, and well....

​Scored to all hell, including the crank journal.
​Pulled a rod bearing, and same thing:

​This is typical of all rod bearings:

​Crank is out.  All bearings wiped, all journals scored.  I hope i can salvage the crank.

​Starting pulling lifters.  #5 intake lifter is wrecked:

​#7 intake lifter also damaged, altho not nearly as bad:

​Cam lobe wiped out:

​All piston skirts showing wear:

​All cylinder bores scored:

​And the bare block, waiting for its return trip to the machine shop next week:

​You know what they say....any job worth doing, is worth doing twice.