Tweet
The head of the Soviet Navy once said 'Perfection is the enemy of good enough..' Someone else probably said it too, but it applies here. They also had meltdowns on their subs....
I've owned my car for a little over 30 years now. In '96, I did a major mechanical overhaul to compliment the initial restoration that I started with. This included a majority of the mods in the Kastner manual with a goal of making my car an autocross car. While I completed most of the changes, some errors at the machine shop and a lack of funds in my early 20's prevented me from going all the way. My car however was really great, and I've enjoyed it all this time!
Fast forward to now. I've got the time and a couple more $$'s. I sourced a set of triple Webers (one of my always missing pieces) and have started the process of restoring them to perfect (DCOE 40 18's and a Cannon intake manifold). My plan was to rebuild the Webers, pull the head and have the compression raised (and fix any issues found in the head like worn guides, etc) and then start the process of tuning the Webers to my already installed TS2 camshaft.
Unfortunately, While the head came off/apart without drama and appears to be in great shape, I found the following:
- Several Tappets are absolutely wiped, and cam is too (of course). --- Some of the worst tappets I've seen in a while!
- Pistons do not look terrible, but I've pulled all and will be taking to my machine shop for a look. Piston slap might be their downfall
- Cylinders 1,2,3,4 & 6 look great. #5 has a long dark mark in it that looks like a carbon mark
Good things found-
- Bearings and journals all look great, oil pressure has continued to be good. Will mic them, and replace as a matter of course since the engine is open.
- I'm hoping to hone the cylinders lightly and then mic them to see if I can re-ring them, or piston and ring them. If not, then it will get bored to .040 over.
- No issues with the oil pump or any other system found so far.
- Found the likely culprit/source of an oil leak I've been chasing- loose oil pan bolts on the passenger side
- Found the source of the stronger than normal exhaust fumes in the cockpit - loose fastener on the last stud #6 cylinder.
Frankly the car ran great. It was very fun to drive, but in my search for perfection, I opened a up a mess. Truth be told, I may have prevented a catastrophic failure, so this work is likely a very good thing to be doing now.
I've not built a large engine in a while. Should be fun.
Oh, and I have to say a huge thank you to all the 6-Pack members who have endured my texts and phone calls over the past two weeks as I dug into this. Friends like y'all are one of the many things that make this club great.
I've owned my car for a little over 30 years now. In '96, I did a major mechanical overhaul to compliment the initial restoration that I started with. This included a majority of the mods in the Kastner manual with a goal of making my car an autocross car. While I completed most of the changes, some errors at the machine shop and a lack of funds in my early 20's prevented me from going all the way. My car however was really great, and I've enjoyed it all this time!
Fast forward to now. I've got the time and a couple more $$'s. I sourced a set of triple Webers (one of my always missing pieces) and have started the process of restoring them to perfect (DCOE 40 18's and a Cannon intake manifold). My plan was to rebuild the Webers, pull the head and have the compression raised (and fix any issues found in the head like worn guides, etc) and then start the process of tuning the Webers to my already installed TS2 camshaft.
Unfortunately, While the head came off/apart without drama and appears to be in great shape, I found the following:
- Several Tappets are absolutely wiped, and cam is too (of course). --- Some of the worst tappets I've seen in a while!
- Pistons do not look terrible, but I've pulled all and will be taking to my machine shop for a look. Piston slap might be their downfall
- Cylinders 1,2,3,4 & 6 look great. #5 has a long dark mark in it that looks like a carbon mark
Good things found-
- Bearings and journals all look great, oil pressure has continued to be good. Will mic them, and replace as a matter of course since the engine is open.
- I'm hoping to hone the cylinders lightly and then mic them to see if I can re-ring them, or piston and ring them. If not, then it will get bored to .040 over.
- No issues with the oil pump or any other system found so far.
- Found the likely culprit/source of an oil leak I've been chasing- loose oil pan bolts on the passenger side
- Found the source of the stronger than normal exhaust fumes in the cockpit - loose fastener on the last stud #6 cylinder.
Frankly the car ran great. It was very fun to drive, but in my search for perfection, I opened a up a mess. Truth be told, I may have prevented a catastrophic failure, so this work is likely a very good thing to be doing now.
I've not built a large engine in a while. Should be fun.
Oh, and I have to say a huge thank you to all the 6-Pack members who have endured my texts and phone calls over the past two weeks as I dug into this. Friends like y'all are one of the many things that make this club great.
It was a blast! Can't wait to get both of our cars back on the road!
Comment