Tom! What a bummer you read it all
I picked up a couple Pontiac engine books, but don't really plan on doing anything more than gaining an understanding of the engine.

My patience and perfection vary, and my time is typically better used in other ways, so I do like to outsource annoying or significant tasks.




Latest update:

Had a new local mechanic up near Monster Transmissions pick the car up to check out the t-stat and electric fan relay. Oh boy...

T-stat side:
New t-stat and still poor water flow. I had strong water flow after switching to a 69 style water pump & TC cover, so this is a new mystery.

210 degrees (w/either new or old 180/185 t-stats) and the upper hose is still collapsable.... wtf? (verified with handheld temp reader in addition to water temp gauge)


On the electrical side:
Installed new fan relay & 30 amp fuse in-line - both melted in 10 minutes.
Mechanic discovered that the engine wasn't ground to the chassis, and all other grounds were ground to paint. He ran a new ground and ground paint away at other connection points.

Also found that the little power distro block was running on a 12g wire. He ran a separate 8g wire for the fans. (The pair draws 22amps)

Wires still heat up but do not get insanely hot.

New discoveries:
- Numerous coolant leaks along driver's side head. Not sure if it is gasket or head itself.

- Oil leak at sending unit.

- Drive shaft makes "clunk" at differential when downshifting or shifting to reverse.

- Removal of spark plug wire from any 7 of the plugs results in change in behavior. 1 of them does not.


This current mechanic suspects possible overheating during break-in under the hands of the mechanic that had my car until now (through both engine rebuilds, etc.).
That (prior) mechanic is a hot-tempered defensive redneck who just swears and points fingers, then says to have the car brought back to him. He blames the transmission people.
Naturally, the transmission people say they barely had the car on, only drove a few miles, and stopped at 210 degrees because they didn't know what the max was.

Redneck mechanic has warranty responsibilities - but I don't trust his work, the safety of his shop, etc.
The machine shop, if they didn't plane the head evenly, has warranty responsibilities as well. I do not trust them, either (they are the ones who killed the engine the second time).

If this is anything more than a gasket (for the coolant leak), I am at a loss as to what to do....
The transmission, engine rebuild, paint, bottom detailing, etc added up to $7200 - over budget by $3500.
Car has been gone for 172 days.


While some of these issues, especially if major and easily traceable, are warranty issues - I just don't trust anyone... and am hesitant to let my car spend days, weeks, months at those same shops over an hour from my house with people who have a bad track record and bad personalities.
On the other hand, I can't throw thousands at new shops trying to chase other people's faults.


I can't wait for this to all go away.