Nov.17th - Friday. Got my buddy Mike Sterling to meet me down at Speed-O-Motive at 430, ...we loaded the shortblock in the back of his truck and took it to my buddy Bob's house in Glendora.
Nov.18th - Saturday. Put motor on an engine stand, and also picked up and installed ARP Main Studs and a Miloden Windage Tray.
Nov 24th - Thanksgiving - Monday i got home and recieved a letter indicating my credit limit had been raised on one of my credit cards, ...you know what THAT means...[grin]. I placed and order with Summit Racing online at work the next morning, ..ordered a Melling oil pump, Moroso intermediate shaft, magnetic oil drain plug, ARP oil pump stud and a t-shirt. I ordered it regular ground shipping, and it all came the next day (Wednesday)! Fantabulous. After stuffing myself with a festive meal, ...twice, ...and watching football all day thursday (Thanksgiving)...i went over to Bobs. I think Bob was as excited as i was. It seems we are both looking for any exscuse to go play out in the garage on our cars or motors. [no updated pics]
Nov. 30th - The new Hot Rod came last night....tonight i ordered a Moroso [6 qt] oil pan and pick-up from www.Kragen.com, from the insert in the Hot Rod magazine, ...$133 total. Should take bout 4 days for shipping. My buddy Bob and i were talking last night, ...he is putting a 1000 cfm Holley Dominator on his 396ci, which means i can use his 800 cfm.
Dec. 9th - I've been watching the mail for week and no packages, i came to find out that my pops intercepted the delivery, wrapped them, put a "Do Not Open 'Til Xmas" tag on them, and hid my car partz....[ugh!].how many more days til Xmas??
Dec. 27th - Ok. Finally got to unwrap my Moroso Oil Pump P/U and Oil Pan. First thing we did, just fer kicks, we checked the torque on the rod bolts, checked them at 42 Lbs i think, and they checked out fine. Next we checked the clearences for the oil pan, oil pump p/u, and windage tray...everything looked tits. Next we bolted and attached the P/U to the Oil Pump...we put the P/U in the freezer, and the pump top plate in the oven.....it was still a very tight fit, but we got it in and put the oil pump back together.
Jan. 15th - Bob went to his friend Joey at Americams and asked him what he thinks the kind of cam i should run. Joey advised a Hydraulic Cam with anti-pump up lifters since the car will be a daily driver until i pick up something else when im done with this project. Easy enuf to change to solid lifter cam later if so desired.
Jan. 20th - Went over to Bobs this morning and installed the cam, Compitition Cams lock plate and Cloyes "True" roller timing chain today. Short block is almost complete! Thank you Joey at Americams for your knowledge.
Back before it was time to go to Joey, i didnt know a whole lot about how to pick a Cam for my or any other application. I knew how a cam operated and what its function was, but had no clue what "advertised", "@ .050", Lift", or Lobe Center" meant. After talking with Bob, Victor and reading a few articles...i have a better understanding.
LIFT - [example] A .250 lift means the cam is opening the valve a 1/4 of an inch, same with a .400 lift is opening 4/10ths of an inch etc...
DURATION - Means how long the valves are staying OPEN. This determines what the top of a Lobe will be shaped like. A short duration lobe will have a more 'pointed' Lobe top surface, and a longer duration cam Lobe will have a more 'table top' looking or 'flatter' top end Lobe surface.
ADVERTISED - This means "GROSS Measurement" of the valve lift or movement.
@ .050 - This means the Lift is measured AFTER it has already opened .050 of an inch. It is believed by some people that no "AIR FLOW" can exist before .050, so they measure a cams lift FROM .050 and that is why you might see a cam lift of ".400/.325@ .050" - the .400 is 'advertised'.
LOBE CENTER - Has a lot to do with how a motor will idle and how much Vacuum will be made for power assisted brakes and stuff. Most "stock" cams have a Lob Center of .114 and .118, this provides adequate vacuum and a smooth and economical idle. A LC [Lobe Center] of .108 will have a very rough idle and will most likely NOT have enuf vacuum for brakes. Most after market hi-performance cams have a .112 LC.
Later 
Feb.02 - Two weeks later i recieved the 2 pc. Proform Timing Chain Cover and ARP Stud Kit from Summit. The first thing i did was "chase" all the timing chain cover stud holes. After that, used a little Loc-Tite and installed the studs. The timing chain cover looks like a good idea and all, ....but it came with a pretty thick rubber gasket and a shim for the dampner, while pre-fitting the cover, we also discovered 2 holes that were not drilled in the outer cover.....we got out a punch and drill and modified the cover to fit properly. Next, whipped out a tube of Permatex Blue Silly-Cone and made our own gasket....and put the cover on. We then cleaned the bottom surface where the oil pan will bolt to the block with brake cleaner and let that dry before applying another nice bead of silly-cone and bolted the Morroso oil pan on.
The shortblock is complete.
After standing back and admiring our work [remember this is my first motor] i pulled out my Vortec L31 heads and set them ontop the block.