Engine rebuild pt3...

Replacement con rod cap bolts arrived Saturday morning - so I cleaned and oiled up all the bits and refitted pistons 1 and 4 with new bolts and torqued them up to
45 Ibs ft without any problems.

Fitting two of the cylinder head bolts into block as guilds, cleaned the surfaces and fitted the head gasket and head - tightening the nuts and bolts in the correct order.

After positioning the crank back to TDC on 1 and 4, I started fitting the timing chain and gear assembly. I will refit the original chain tensioner and check to see if it needs replacing.

3hrs

Engine rebuild pt1...

With a clean cloth and some degrease solution I gave the block a good wipe down, removed any over-paint from the flanges.

Using STP oil I coated the big end shells and dropped the crank in to place, next the thrust washers again giving everything a good coat of oil. On with end caps and hand tighten at this point.

Checking the end-float of the crank came in just over half way between of the recommended tolerance.

Next the pistons, checking the ring gaps where at 180 deg to each other, I used a ring clamp to compress them and trapped the first one in. Again covering the small end shells with oil and hand tighten them - after each piston was attached I used the crank pulley to help rotated the crank.

STP oil is very sticky stuff and crank is fairly stiff to rotate - it's also very cold today and trying to snow again!

4.5 hrs

Block paint...

With the weather a bit warmer today it was time to give the block a second coat. The first coat took a couple of days to dry in the colder temperatures.

The Kurust had done a good job sealing and giving me a great surface to paint, areas of over-paint I will clear off with a sharp blade.

2 hrs

Engine block blue rinse...

With the block cleaned and degreased I gave it a couple of coats of Hammerite Kurust to convert the surface rust and seal it for the black engine enamel. As you can see from the photos the Kurust goes through many colour changes ending up a dark blue/black.

It's too cold today for the engine enamel so that will have to wait for a warmer day.

1 hr

Engine breakdown... pt16 Completed!

Yes the final bit done - removing the crank from the block. Just four bolts on the front and rear main bearing caps holding it in place.

The crank looks ok, the big ends and main bearing surfaces are marked/stained from the sitting in the oil for so long, but I'm fitting new shells and this time I'm going to us a 20W/50 mineral oil for the first 500 miles of running in.

I then gave the block a good clean/degrease in preparation for a coat of black paint and the rebuild!

3 hrs

Engine breakdown... pt8

A quick first look at the crankshaft, it has some surfaces rust. The last time I looked in here the thrust washers had dropped out and the crank and block was badly chewed up.

This replacement block and crank looks ok, but I will need to check the end float and probably renew the thrust washers while its stripped.

30 mins