66 replies to this topic

[bajean]

Finally after 2 years of collecting parts I finally started to build my engine. I gave my block to my machine shop and did all the work as per my last post ( boring +0.020, line boring for the billet main caps, new cam bearings, drilled for 11 head studs, tapped oil gallery plugs ). Having done all that i got the block back gave it a proper clean and measured the piston to deck clearance which came in at 0.90 mm. I then disassembled everything again and took the block back to be decked by 0.4mm to get my desired CR Ratio ( 11:0:1 ).

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[bajean]

Two days later all the engineering work was done and assembly could begin (after meticulously cleaning everything - I used several cans of brake cleaner, compressed air, thinner and a couple of different sizes of pipe brushes to make sure all the oil gallery’s are free of any debris.

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[bajean]

Next came the assembly ( a much awaited moment after all this time and money…… especially money ).
I started off by gapping the rings to 12thou ( put the ring in by hand and pushed it down with the piston ). Out of the box all the rings came in at 11 or 12 thou which was right within the spec i was aiming for. Having gapped all the rings I moved on to measuring bearing clearances on the mains with plastigauge ( which came in at 0.038mm ) and measured endfloat on the crank. Using a set of std thrust it had just 2 thou of endfloat which is a bit on the tight side. I then proceeded to lap in the thrust washers using 400 and 800 grit sandpaper and WD40 to get the endfloat to 4 thou.

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[bajean]

Having done all the measurements it was time to build the engine for real. Started off by putting in the crank, applying a generous amount of assembly lube and torquing the mains to 63 ft/lb with arp lube. Checked the crank to see how it spins and all was good. Next came the followers and then the camshaft ( once again with a healthy amount of assembly lube ). Pistons where next, made sure to offset the rings, once again applied plenty of assembly lube to the rings and bores and slid them in. Then torqued the arp rod bolts to 30 ft/lb with the arp lube. Having torqued everything and checked everything multiple times turned the engine over a couple of times and all was good.

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Edited by bajean, 30 August 2022 - 11:15 AM.

[bajean]

Having built the engine it was now time to marry the gearbox and block together….. this is where i made an oopsiee….. At the moment i dont have and engine hoist so i had to do everything by hand, so i put the gearbox on a small trolley and gently lower the block onto the box ( making sure the rubber o ring was there and the half moon seal….. ) I called it a day and went home. The day after while i was having breakfast i was scrolling through the forums like i usually do and came across a engine build thread and people were talking about the half moon seal, that’s when i noticed i had put the seal in backwards…. ughh. Later that day i had to tear everything back apart ( please note i applied silicone to the gasket between the block and gearbox. Pros - creates a better seal / Cons - creates too good of a seal ). I ended slowly trying to separate them making sure not to damage the gearbox - what a pain, on the bright side thank god I noticed before putting the engine in.

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Edited by bajean, 12 August 2022 - 06:31 AM.

[bajean]

After that whole mess, I put in all the oil gallery plugs, core plugs KAD oil pump and a couple of other things. I then gave it a coat of paint. I then put in the MED billet filter housing, and prepared to dial in the cam, thats when i noticed i had forgotten to buy a new cam triangle ( the one in the picture is old and bent ), so i am now waiting for the new triangle to arrive aswell as some other goodies from MED.

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Edited by bajean, 07 August 2022 - 04:00 PM.

[bajean]

Yesterday was a good day in terms of progress. Dialed in the camshaft endfloat to 0.10mm ( had to skim the backend of the timing gear as i only had 0.05mm of endfloat ). Then went ahead and timed in the camshaft, this piper XT is supposed to be timed in at 107 degrees, after checking it three times in a row got it to 106.5 which is good in my book ( as the chain stretches it will get to 107 ).

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Edited by bajean, 02 August 2022 - 12:29 PM.

[bajean]

Having done all the precise and accurate stuff, all that remains are the easy bolt on parts. Next on the list was to insert the distributor shaft while I still had easy excess to make sure engine was at tdc and the alloy timing cover from MED. Next was the Rally spec head, MED steel pushrods and 1.5 ratio roller rockers.

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Edited by bajean, 02 August 2022 - 12:31 PM.

[bajean]

Having torqued the head I then set the clearances for the roller rockers. Next I installed the aldon distributor making sure that the rotor arm was pointing at number 1 cylinder as it was at tdc and ht leads. I then installed the transfer case housing and flywheel assembly. I also painted and heat wrapped the maniflow exhaust manifold.

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[bajean]

Next I installed the  water pump, powerlite micro starter motor and lightweight racing alternator. I also bolted up the twin HS4 carbs and ram pipes. That leaves only the thermostat housing which ill be getting from DSN as well as a couple of other alloy bits next month. I will hopefully be starting the engine outside the car and breaking in the cam. If all goes well i’ll also be swapping it into the car soon after. 

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Edited by bajean, 07 August 2022 - 03:42 PM.

[Viktor]

That looks really good

[TahitiSprint]

You're building my dream engine, very impressive! 8-) 8-)

[bajean]

Cheers appreciate the comments, up until a year ago it was still a dream for me too. Hopefully planning on starting it this weekend.

[bajean]

Yesterday was a really good day ! Started off by filling it up with oil for the first time, and spun it round with the starter for a couple of seconds ( which was really nerve wrecking until i saw the gauge move ) to build some oil pressure, managed to build 50 psi of oil pressure on the starter with a weak battery. Next i put the plugs back in wired up the coil, fitted the radiator and prepared to start it. It all came down to this moment 😅. Filled up the float bowls with fuel and put some fuel in a 500ml bottle , cranked it for 2 seconds and it roared into life. I then kept it running for a couple of mins at high idle with a solid 85 psi of oil pressure. Every so often id blip the throttle and was immediately impressed at how responsive it is and how quickly it revved. Had a bit of a heart attack when i noticed oil spewing out everywhere so i immediately turned it of, but turns out it was the timing chain breather which just needed a length of hose on it. I’ll try to upload a video to you tube and link it here, beware however i temporarily was using a huge old honda muffler which made it sound awful 😂

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[bajean]

https://youtube.com/...s?feature=share
Video of the engine running.

Edited by bajean, 14 August 2022 - 06:48 AM.