It's 11:30 at night--you're working in a dimly lit and rather chilly garage assembling the engine you've been diligently working on and compiling parts for over the past few weeks. You've just set the crank in the block and you reach for the torque wrench. But wait! What's the torque specification? Where do you look it up, and who are you going to call at this hour to verify that the specs are correct? Do you guess and continue assembling the engine not knowing if it's all in vain?
We've been there, done all of that. If you're building a V-8 Chevrolet engine, the solution is to tear out (or photocopy) these pages and post them on the wall of your garage, or tuck them away in a safe drawer of your toolbox. Because on these thin sheets of processed trees are all the engine specifications you'll need to complete your engine buildup. We even included production figures, which are handy when shopping for another engine to rebuild or when looking over a used truck to buy.
While this article won't help you remember to install the oil-pump driveshaft or install all the rings on the pistons before sliding them in the cylinders, at least you'll know the correct torque specs and engine clearances.