Success!!! :thumbsup:
The engine has started for the first time!
After almost four months, I'm not sure whether to laugh, cry, or just drink a lot of beer. Maybe I'll do all three. . .
The engine arrived back last week. It took a few days to uncrate and reinstall. The spark plugs were removed to crank the engine and build up oil pressure, then the plugs went back in and the video shows the results of the first button push.
And now, for the rest of the story . . .
When I bought the SLC kit, Fran mentioned that a local, reputable engine supplier (Thomson Automotive) had an LS7 for which a customer had paid the deposit, then walked away. If I would be willing to step into the customer's shoes, I could have the engine for a fair price, less the deposit amount already paid. This seemed like a good deal, so we proceeded and when we picked the car up, the engine was already resting on the frame of the car. I paid Fran and Fran paid Thomson.
Fast forward to about 6 weeks ago. We have a new, theoretically stock LS7 crate engine with the wrong crankshaft reluctor wheel and yet the correct crank sensor. In speaking with Brian Thomson, he said that sometimes they would build up an engine for a customer with the old style reluctor wheel, but whenever this is done, they stamp an index number on the side of the engine and keep a permanent record on file of what was done, against this index number. However, the engine in my car had no index number; it had only 6 dots stamped on the side, indicating an unmodified crate engine. In any event, having a mismatched 58-tooth sensor and 24-tooth wheel made no sense at all. This left everyone scratching their heads. Was it an error from GM? Did someone get part way through a modification and then not record it or stamp it and then put the wrong sensor on it? All Fran did was pass along the engine and place it in the frame. After 2 years since purchase, GM would not honor a warranty and without any clear evidence of where things came off the rails, it would be pretty hard to make a case.
To make a long story short, Fran offered the use of his corporate shipping rate, I paid the shipping and at no charge, Brian Thomson stripped the engine down and rebuilt it with all of the necessary, stock LS7 components.
Both Fran and Brian were helpful, responsive and accommodating.
While there are still some unanswered questions about how my engine wound up in the state it did, I am happy that it is now installed, running and the SLC project is back on track.
Here's a link to the video evidence:
https://youtu.be/H89Rz09pLb0