383, A sense of direction

[Justwondering]

hot dam Cam ... when you go to moving you move fast!
See you on the other side....
I just spent the past week with brother at hospital ... his gown was not nearly as cute as yours..

JW

 

[Camtron]

so this is what the other side looks like. Drainage tube in my chest. Should be going home tomorrow.
Thanks for the well wishes.

 

[Justwondering]

Isn't it amazing how quickly they can do the surgery and then get you back home?

Looking forward to you recovering at home. You just can't get any good sleep in a hospital bed with nurses checking your vitals every other minute.

JW

 

[Camtron]

Isn't it amazing how quickly they can do the surgery and then get you back home?

Looking forward to you recovering at home. You just can't get any good sleep in a hospital bed with nurses checking your vitals every other minute.

JW

Yea the endless parade of nurses and X-ray technicians and breathing specialist is enough to drive you crazy when all you want to do is rest.
I have a small air leak from my lung so I’m unfortunately here another night, maybe two.

I’m ready to go home and see my baby boy.

 

[Justwondering]

Hope its only a day and you are back home.
Those drain tubes are so easy to empty at the hospital, but what a pain at home.

Next, they will tell you to get up every 2 hours and walk. Just remember, scar tissue is not your friend where your muscles are concerned. They tell you to move, you get up and move.

That baby boy needs you to get well so he can go for a ride one day.

JW

 

[Camtron]

They just pulled my drainage tube out; I’m going home today.

 

[Camtron]

Since it’s my biohazard waste, I’d figure I share.
12” (give or take) of tubing was in my chest. No local anesthesia or anything to remove it, just a deep breath and a quick pull on the exhale. Where I’m holding it is the stitches they had wrapped around it to secure it to my side...don’t worry, I washed my hands immediately after taking this.

 

[Justwondering]

Welcome to the club.
About 10 months ago, after having his LVAD installed my husband had two of those tubes sticking out of his chest for about a week.

The nurse did the same thing ....'Just take a deep breath'... he did and the guy just quickly pulled the tubes in one smooth motion on the exhale.

Its amazing how they figure these things out.

Glad you are headed back home.

JW

 

[Camtron]

Welcome to the club.
About 10 months ago, after having his LVAD installed my husband had two of those tubes sticking out of his chest for about a week.

The nurse did the same thing ....'Just take a deep breath'... he did and the guy just quickly pulled the tubes in one smooth motion on the exhale.

Its amazing how they figure these things out.

Glad you are headed back home.

JW

It’s good to be home. My little boys smiles and hugs was the medicine I was missing.
My wife says, it looks like I got stabbed in the back and shot twice in the side, lol.
Did your husband also experience a substantial amount of relief once the tubes were out? My pain levels dropped and my breathing improved within a minute or two of it getting pulled out.

 

[Justwondering]

Absolutely ... he said there was a constant pressure and he had trouble breathing. The pain was dependent on how much fluid was coming off and how he laid in the bed. As soon as they pulled the tubes he felt better and the pain subsided.
Glad you are home!

JW

 

[Camtron]

Made it out to the garage for the first time in a few weeks. Kind of a trial run to see how I feel moving around and if I’m up to doing the 5.9 swap finally.
Replaced my heater hoses and slapped in a new voltage regulator and Mancini ignition module that I’ve had in the garage for a while. Feel good, felt good getting out and getting my hands dirty turning wrenches.

It’s not the nicest or the fastest, but god damn does being in and around this car make me happy.

 

[88granfury]

I’ll be getting my hands on a 1968, 383 B short block in the next couple of days. Block, rods, crank and caps, magnafluxed, tanked and cleaned up, ready to rebuild at standard bore. I plan on keeping it at the stock 4.25” bore and building what would be a relatively stock 383; probably cut some weight with aluminum heads, aluminum intake and headers. Plan to stick a 727 behind it with the 8.25” rear end and 3.23 gears I have in the garage. Keep things relatively mild and basic overall, nothing special at all realistically.
I wanted to go for a build that will easily move the weight of an M body (with or without highway gears) and give me the over HP/TQ I’m looking for without necessarily being a performance build and a 383 will get me just that.
I’ve done a bunch of googling and reading online about BB swaps in the last year but haven’t ever attempted one first hand. So, if any of you have tips, tricks or part advice that will make things easier that you’d like to share, I’m all ears and appreciate it.
This puts me closer to finally parking my Fifth Ave and making it a legit long term project...maybe in the springtime I can find a nice 90s New Yorker or Dynasty to be my new daily.

It’s a royal pain in the ass putting a big block in an M but absolutely worth it. I had the engine out 12 times to grind for clearance and had to open up the trans tunnel seam a little. A K car “reliant” booster is mandatory and if you run a high rise intake plan on cutting a 14” diameter hole in the hood and running a scoop. Mines a 73/4 A body fiberglass one. There is no replacement for displacement!

 

[Camtron]

I can dig it.
I’ve been looking at a tall version of the Maxwedge hood scoop or a hemi hood scoop.
I think either or would look pretty sweet on that big flat center of the hood.

For now, I still just have the block and bulk of the stock rotating assembly bagged up out in the garage. Have some new Stealth heads from, 440Source put away in my storage room. Have someone who, I like to call a friend on here who’s offered to help me out with some of the extra big block parts he has. I’ll get there with a little time and patience.

 

[Camtron]

And now after reading about glassfiber work and some how to videos, there’s a big part of me that wants to score another hood and take the few days to mold a fiberglass hood with hemi/Max wedge scoop.

Funny how things snowball.

 

[Camtron]

Tore into the magnum. Get all new gasket, instead of just manifold gasket for the carb swap. Plus I have the peace of mind knowing that everything is as good as you’d expect from a 5.9Mag that was driven by a little old lady for her farmers market weekend projects.
I’ll take some pictures later when I get home. Sitting in a drive through now waiting for our dinner and then, I get to dye Easter eggs with our little boy for the first time;
But I’m for sure at least getting primer and paint on the block tonight. Maybe just stay up late and get it all buttoned back together.

I can never plan ahead these days.

 

[Camtron]

Something I just thought of and hopefully one of you can provide the answer.
When I bought my torque converter I ordered the LA style balanced converter. Since the Magnum I have is balanced at the flex plate, Can I just knock the weights off the torque converter and make it neutral balanced so I can run it?

 

[80mirada]

360 LA balance is different than 5.9 Magnum balance. The late Magnums used a balanced flexplate (2000-2003 for sure). You would just have to elongate one of the torque converter bolt holes to line up with the offset one

 

[Camtron]

360 LA balance is different than 5.9 Magnum balance. The late Magnums used a balanced flexplate (2000-2003 for sure). You would just have to elongate one of the torque converter bolt holes to line up with the offset one

Yea, that’s what I was asking. The magnum is balanced at the flex plate and uses a unbalanced/neutral balanced converter, the LA is balanced at the torque converter with a unbalanced/neutral balanced flex plate...can I knock the weights off my high stall LA converter and run it behind the balanced magnum flex plate?

 

[80mirada]

Knocking the LA weights off should work, but be careful And dress the welds down carefully. I totally miss read your post...... having a bit of a low brain power weekend.

 

[Camtron]

Knocking the LA weights off should work, but be careful And dress the welds down carefully. I totally miss read your post...... having a bit of a low brain power weekend.

No worries, we all have those days. I appreciate the input. I have the stock TC from the Magnum too, would just rather run the high stall if it can be made to work.

Cheers and Happy Easter.