Aha yes be good to see you too if mine is ready for Tuesday - got my fingers crossed!
Got an email off Mike earlier on and the case is now back together and the crank turns nicely
I thought I'd just write out a list of the things that were wrong with the engine. It was still running really well but was probably ready to blow up in the near future.
- masses and masses of gobbo in cam carrier – presumably trying to seal it. Bits of gobbo had come off already and you could see a lump of it poking out of one of the oil spray bar holes when you squirted oil through – not helping cooling
- burned pistons – only 3 burned (?) - but still usable. Could have been linked to advanced timing map I had done a few years ago but that would have been because it was coping with the engines other issues. Switching maps now and getting it checked through (if it was purely to do with the map it would probably have affected all pistons?)
- a number of the head bolts weren’t properly loctited in and consequently were a bit loose – made it easier to take apart
but not a good thing if you’re driving it
- evidence the case had been fretting a bit (moving about)
- Case bolts – some O rings were showing damage as they came apart – may or may not have been assembled correctly on the last rebuild so may have contributed to the leaks
- Engine airflow tinwork completely missing
- Cams well worn and rocker faces also marked – able to regrind/reface though.
- Longstanding problem with case on one side – from when I bought it I think – a mark where someone previously had tried to lever off barrel
- However a load of loctite 574 was hiding similar problems with case mating surfaces on the other side – all 3 needed machining down - not dealt with on last rebuild
- Crank main bearing badly worn through
- Heads have acne – may have powered a submarine in previous life - but usable – the charles Bronson of cylinder heads – ugly but tough
- One valve guide had a bit of damage but can be sorted
- Chain ramps badly worn
- Valve springs not consistently installed – a fair number were upside down
- Rings – one snapped in two – possibly on installation, another disintegrated - no idea why
- Chunks of loose metal floating around inside the engine which appear to be some sort of aluminium - can only think something was left inside when Zentrum replaced the chain tensioners - I really dodged a bullet with that one - chewed up chunks were stuck to the mesh on the oil pump.
It's a testament to the design of these engines that even with all this stuff wrong it still ran really well (although it was of course pi55ing oil.....)
Here's a pic of one of those bearing shells - they aren't meant to be like that
I'm really excited about driving a properly assembled engine.
In the meantime the bodywork is still moving forward nicely. Outser sill is tacked in place and should all be welded up today
I picked up the front bumper from the strippers this morning (always nice to have a lapdance on your way to work
)
I was really pleasantly surprised - it had started to rust round the edges but you're never sure how bad it is until you strip it
Looks pretty good. The only corrosion was a tiny bit in the corner
In spite of my good intentions last night I didn't get all my jobs done - Did pop the badge on though
Then I fitted the roll-over valve to the top of the breather tank (It lets it breath but if the car rolls over it stops fuel coming out). Started fabbing a bracket to hold the tank to the back of the headlight bucket but got knackered half way through and went inside
