Got the block back and it looks great
Measured all the main and rod bearing clearances, and both look to be right on target, near the top of the recommended, on mains measured 1.5-1.7 thousandths and manual calls for 0.8-1.9 thousandths, and around 1.4 thousandths clearance on rod bearings and manual calls for 0.4-1.4 thousandths
Only installed crankshaft so far
hi, does this group still meet on ea thu @ 1930? is it open only to DMS members?
thanx!
Yeah we will be working on assembling more of the engine this thursday. Anyone is welcome to come by and check it out, in general I think you must be a member to use DMS tools.
We got the pistons installed, only had one issue where the oil ring was overlapping itself as we tried to install it on #3 (so piston got to where ring was and wouldnât go into bore), but didnât try to force it and realized the problem without hurting anything. Have been double checking all the clearances as we go, ring gap and all the rod bearings look to be exactly in line with what the factory service manual calls for. Next will be starting on the lower timing cover and chain and then the engine should go together quickly.
Nice work! Itâll be neat to hear it roar to life again.
Slow progress, got the valve springs reinstalled, but forgot about a broken off oil pan bolt in the front cover, attempts at extracting it failed after breaking a left handed drillbit off in it, so will just replace the whole front cover, oil pan would probably not leak skipping a bolt, but a couple clicks on ebay and a replacement will be here by next thursday, when we should be able to finish engine assembly.
Got the engine assembled, will be putting it back in the car next week to see if we made any horrible mistakes.
Precision removal of old jb weld from flywheel using rotary hammer
ARP bolts for the flywheel, lubbed the head for torquing and red loctited the threads so they will not back out
Then torqued to specification, the thread insert (time sert) I put in at a slight angle turned out to work fine, it torqued to 90 foot pounds just like all the other bolts
A long time in the works, but the engine finally fired back up, good oil pressure and no horrible noises, probably need to adjust valve shims to reduce valvetrain noise, but so far the complete rebuild is looking good.
Need to replace radiator as it leaks (not sure when it started leaking), and figure out why main ground to intake manifold didnât have a good connection along with actually connect driveshaft and check the torque on everything.
Purring like a kitten! Now thatâs the maker spirit.
It only took ~4 months, but the car is driving again. Just some more routine maintenance and prep to be ready for the MSR Houston race in 3 weeks.
Have also been sneaking in some improvements, new short throw shifter is hidden behind shift boot
Absolutely fantastic, Brandon! Yâall did a great job on that rebuild.
Turns out a car will ârunâ on less than 10 volts, after driving car around parking lot a bit it developed an odd hesitation where it wouldnât respond to throttle input, turns out I failed to fully seat the alternator plug so it was just running on battery and after a bit of time didnât have enough voltage to drive fuel / spark at higher rpms but it would idle fine
Itâs good to have easy problems to fix. The stock gauge cluster is fairly useless, will be installing a digital voltmeter gauge which would have made the issue immediately obvious.
Notably the Makerspace Shuttle will also run on less than 10 volts until all the gauges fail and you realize itâs a electric transmission.
New starter and starter relay installed, itâs great to have a car that can start itself again after having to push start it repeatedly since the last race.
Car also passed the drip test, let it idle for awhile and no leaks!
Will be loading up the car and heading to MSR Houston next week for the race.
Has it had a few hours drive time and oil change to clear break in debris, and inspection of oil for particulates that would suggest problems during break in?
If not, you might want to plan for it during/after pre race runs.
If you wanted to be serious and messy about it, take tools to open and inspect the filter as well.
Drove it around ~20 minutes and changed the oil once already, it had some glitter like particles (that I think was from assembly lube) but no metal particles and nothing on the drain plug magnet. There is a test n tune the day before, so will drive it around the track relatively slowly for an hour to break it in a bit.
