TERRY McGEAN tmcgean@hemmings.com • Instagram @tmcgean
Continuing Education
F
That fairly obvious diagnosis and cure left the teen me feeling like some sort of engine whisperer…
rom an early age, I was interested in learning how various things worked, and naturally that curiosity was often focused on cars. Even before I was done with elementary school, I tried to get my hands on books that showed how the various systems of a car functioned and pestered my father to further explain the things I couldn’t quite grasp from the printed word. Magazines came a little later, though still before I’d reached junior high. The urge to spin wrenches led me to tinker with bicycles and then minibikes, until finally I was able to get my hands on an actual car. The real goal, of course, was to have a car of my own to mess with, even though I wasn’t yet old enough to drive legally. I managed to pull off getting a car when I was just 15. With my parents’ blessing, I bought a well-worn ’72 Chevelle that was only 11 years old at the time, but seemed as though it had been driven to the moon and back already. The idea was that I’d have time to get the car shaped up before I got my license, and I was more than happy to dive in. The Chevelle had a 350 engine, and I don’t know if there’s any better place for a budding hot rodder to start wrenching than on a Chevy small-block. The one in my car ran but had some issues, the first of which revealed itself the day after I got the car home and tried to start it again, this time with the hood up, giving a great view of the flame that shot straight up out of the Quadrajet; it did this on every restart. I suspected the timing was off, and when I put a timing light on it, I found I was right — when I reset the distributor to factory spec, the flames ceased. That fairly obvious diagnosis and cure left the teen me feeling like some sort of engine whisperer, confident I could cure more of the Chevelle’s ailments. The next most obvious flaw was the noisy valvetrain — typical old-school Chevy small-block rocker arm chatter. I tried adjusting them using the procedures I read in manuals (Do this with the engine running? Really?), but the noise persisted. When a valve stuck partially open while leaving school one day, resulting in a rhythmic carb backfire, I realized I had bigger problems: The camshaft and lifters were worn out. I persisted and pressed on into more uncharted territory, buying a cam and lifter set and
removing the original parts to find that the factory cam was well and truly wiped out — the lifter for the valve that had gotten stuck even had a hole worn in the bottom. Later, after swapping the cam, I installed a different set of cylinder heads, something else I hadn’t done before. Each project, and each task for those projects, was a learning experience that left me with new knowledge as well as a little more confidence. A few years later, while working in a gas station part time during college, I helped a co-worker swap the heads on his Monte Carlo one night while keeping an eye on the pumps. The station mechanic was astounded the next morning when the formerly dismantled Monte immediately roared to life when its owner tapped the key. “So, I guess you know sumthin’ about engines, huh?” was the greeting when I came in for my evening shift that next day. I guess I did know a little something. The tinkering, trial-and error, and outright screwups experienced along the path leading up to putting that Monte Carlo engine back together had left me with more of that knowledge and the confidence it brings. I kept right on tinkering and was fortunate to find myself in a position to put more engines together and then test them as a magazine writer and editor. Working with people who knew volumes more than I did was a fantastic way to continue my engine education. But this is one of those subjects that is so vast, there’s always more to learn. Very recently I found myself working on one of Chevrolet’s LS-style V-8s. As you’re likely aware, the LS — more accurately, the Gen III/ Gen IV small-block — is extremely popular with hot rodders and engine swappers today. I’ve been fascinated with the LS since it debuted in the 1997 Corvette, but I’ve never had the opportunity to really get my hands on one until now. I’m late to the party but I knew coming in that this engine represents a whole new ballgame compared to most traditional V-8s from the ’50s and ’60s, in spite of maintaining similar OHV architecture. There’s plenty to learn, but I’m already beginning to feel a familiar comfort level as I look toward the next project. What then? A Gen III Mopar Hemi? Ford Coyote? It’ll never get boring when there’s always more to learn.
