Dang that stuff is expensive.
I own one full can.

 

L61 cams installed

Knub to block that oil galley

Balance shaft

Unbalanced shaft

All timed. Well. Im off a tooth in this pic. But i fixed it

 

Taking my junkyard trip Saturday morning for the hhr coolant stuff. Should be dropping this back in Saturday night.
I could start dropping it in Friday but I dont wanna deal with swapping that thermostat housing with my mid length header on.
Stratus will be taken care of in 2 weeks when I can afford the reseal kit. This week has been expensive.

I went through 4 cans of brake clean tonight, and I still need to get some more. Probably be cheaper for me to get a parts washer at this point

 

got what i thought was everything this morning. I need to go back tomorrow and get the crossover tube for the back. they look identical, but the HHRs is like 2 inches longer. big sigh.

Also figured out the thread pitch to plug the coolant purge on the saab head, so ace hardware will solve that for me.

I am getting frustrated, this engine should have been back in already.

 

Hhr thermostat housing

Whoops. 1 to many ugga duggas

Its back together!

Clutchhhh. Ready to go in!

Overall its not as clean as id like, obviously. But I can pressure wash it all at work when its rolling again.
also. I'll be deleting the stock Ion coolant tank and replacing it with the hhr tank. I'm hoping to mount that on the frame rail or the fender well. Also going to try and move the fuse box and ecu to where the stock coolant tank was, as long as I dont need to extend the wiring harness. Should be dropping it in tomorrow. Thursday is my girls birthday, so I'll be baking her a cake while shes at work. No work for me then.

 

Ah yes, the chefster in you lives on.

Looks good.

What was that broken piece?

 

Coolant temp sensor broke upon ugga duggas

 

Well. The hydraulic on my hoist bust. Luckily I had a dolly under the engine and it was basically on the ground, but it did tilt over. Nothing broken from what I can tell.

In the midst of shuffling cars and trailers around tonight, somehow the boots tore on the axles. So I guess I'll be replacing both inner boots and going in with fresh grease.
They are zzp stage 1/Napa gold axles otherwise I'd say screw it and replace em.
Shifter cables also broke.

I'm getting quite tired of crap not going right.

This thing better at least be ready for the drag strip when the season opens up.

 

Take a breath and slow down, Billy. You get in a hurry and things like that happen.

 

Engine and trans mated this morning.
removed the shifter cables and also replacing my rusted steering shaft while I'm in there.

Got the cooling system mocked up, so that should be good to go.

My axle sockets are at work, so those are still hanging in the hubs, but I'm going to remove them to clean and put the boots on. Also be easier to get the drivetrain back in.

Unless I go for cams or a higher comp piston, I'm never going to see over like 180hp. Might be time to reconsider boost upon making this thing breath again.