After hours of work below and above the car we managed to get the engine (B230FT) and the transmission (AW71) out as one unit. The Concept 780 had lived a good bit of its life with the third owner on the Pacific coast so there was a good bit of salt air pitting of the metal on the motor but there is still life in it for another day. The stock 1989 motor had only 140,000 miles with good compression but we decided the to make some updates during the restoration, including the replacement of this “K block” with a 1993 “L block”. For sure keeping the period correct Red Block motor, but we are upgrading to the final version L Block engine, which has the piston squirters and a more robust design. We also are having new Mahle oversized pistons added, along with the IPD Turbo cam and other updates during the motor rebuild. The new L Block is at the machine shop getting final work done while we pulled the original. All of the accessories will be replaced or restored to factory condition.
Check out the time lapse video of the engine pull:
(The boys are having some fun from pulling their first engine- posing as if they just came back from a hunt and got their first Elk!)
New oversized pistons!
Newly refurbished L Block!
Newly refurbished head waiting on valves
