Ed Lancaster writes:
> stretch), however I take pride in the fact that I have done all the work on
> this car so far. I would like to preserve this record if possible. To those on
> the list who have tackled this project: What do you think? Is this doable by
> an amateur mechanic or is it a job best left to professionals.
The most notable problem any decent amateur mechanic has in doing a first
rebuild is determining what can be done at home, and what needs to go to
the machine shop, or be replaced.
Sometimes, only experience helps. But, here's a few good rules of thumb:
Head--send it off to the machine shop. Have it degreased, beadblasted, if
necessary, checked for straightness, and make sure the shop checks the
valve guides, the core plugs, etc. Let them do the work necessary for valve
grinding, etc.
Crank--same goes as above. Have it cleaned, checked for cracks, journals
resized or polished, as is necessary. Have them check for grooving at the
rear main seal area, and install a Speedi-Sleeve, if necessary.
Connecting rods--take them to the machine shop, too. Have them checked for
straightness and big-end roundness. I've run into a couple of six-cylinders
which had a stretched big end on the #1 rod.
Pistons--clean and inspect. Are all the ring lands straight and true?
Piston pin fit still good?
Block--off to the machine shop. Let them hot-tank it (check for any
attached aluminum doo-dads first--they'll melt away), check the saddles for
straightness, check the bores for size and roundness and any tapering, and
let them advise about need for boring oversize.
The rest is a matter of _careful_ inspection. Pocketing on the lifter
running surfaces? Replace. Scoring on the camshaft journals or lobes?
Replace, or find a good regrind. Oil pump beyond spec? Replace. It's a good
idea to replace the valve springs, anyway, even if they look okay. Springs
do get tired after long usage. Are all the pushrods straight? Check them.
Etc., etc. Look at everything. If it looks worn, it probably is.
The rockers and shaft are probably worn to some degree, but the advice
there is to send them out for rebuilding, rather than replace all the
components. There's at least one rebuilder in CA which does a good job
(actually improves on the original) for the price of about six new rockers.
The remainder, then, is thorough cleaning, degreasing, and careful
reassembly. Most of the assembly work is detailed decently in any of the
reprints of the factory manuals, but, just in case you don't remember what
went where, keep a camera on hand during disassembly, and take a picture
any time you think order of assembly might not be apparent to you later.
New timing chain and tensioner, etc.
While everything is at the machine shop, give the neglected parts a good
looking-over. Most of us could care less about what the condition is of the
distributor and its drive, for example, as long as it works, but having it
rebuilt will go a ways toward smoother running.
And, as you've probably realized already--there's lot of advice here.
<smile>
Cheers.
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