Well crap, you can probably expect to be bugged by me a little then.
Did you replace your freeze plugs? If so, where do you get those at? How do you get them out and put them back in? Also, how did you keep the parts of the block that shouldnt be painted from being painted? You went with the color I want to, a silver or aluminum color.
Id love to go with Diamond pistons, but good Lord those things are expensive.
Yes, that block was hot tanked, and the old ones knocked out. I used a hammer and a punch, and just drove the punch through the plug, then pried it on out. It doesn't take much to do that. The machine shop gave me those to install, also the little ones for the lifter oil feed holes. To get back in, hammer and a socket. Some even go as far as to loc-tite them in, but I install mine dry, and have never had any leak or seep on me ever.
As for the block, what parts not painted...I used a good used gasket that was not torn, and used that as my model, and tapped off the areas of the block that don't need, or should not be painted, such as the front the rear engine covers, and head areas.
I went with that color cause at the time, INTENSE was only offering their heads in blue and black. I talked Jeff into doing my heads in the same aluminum color as he did my transmission he built for me years prior. He didn't have a problem with that. I got the same paint, and did the block to match. The "Pontiac Blue" in a red car...:th_shakinghead1::th_sick1:
I went with the Diamonds...cause they can take the abuse. Knock problems, lean conditions, and running nitrous too. I just didn't want to go through a rebuild cause of weak pistons on a boosted car.
~F~