78 1.8L Engine Rebuild

[White78]

First off, for the sake of full disclosure I should say that I have made a number of posts using my wife's account "Ggirl". When we purchased the car she enthusiastically registered made one post and I have been doing the rest, but that doesn't matter because she enjoys the car and hasn't complained too much about me spending money on it.
I will try to keep my progress up to date, but here is what I have so far.

First I pulled the head hoping the burning oil was from the valve seals by passing. After inspecting the cylinders it was quite apparent that they have seen some miles. So I yanked the motor and stripped it. I sent the block to the machine shop to mic the cylinder and bore as necessary. They cut it 0.020" which is fine; but complicated things a little when I purchased pistons. The shop is also doing the head. I wanted to do it myself, but I am on my 17th straight 10hr day at work and patience is not something I have in abundance.

I purchased high compression pistons from autoricambi. I selected the 84.4mm which is 0.157"oversized. The shop advised after they arrived to send them back and order the next size up and they would re-bore the cylinders. Consequently, the next size is 84.6mm which is 0.024", so we'll see how that goes when they arrive. Being from Canada one would assume that I would be comfortable dealing with metric... but that’s not really the case. I also purchased all of the gaskets, seals and bearings from autoricambi.

I have the high performance cams and high performance clutch from Allison’s Automotive. They were also able to supply the pilot and release bearing.

As I am waiting for the pistons to arrive I have been tinkering away cleaning and painting parts. I would also like to take the opportunity to really clean and paint the engine bay. This is a bit bigger of a job because of the other components that will likely need to be removed to paint; namely the brake booster wiring and the throttle cable.

My Fiat is white with a red interior, what do you folks think of a red block? I want to keep the engine fairly plain, but I’d like people to be able to tell that this engine has seen some love. Would a red block be a bit much?

Also, It really pains me to have to wait for parts sitting at the US/Canada border. The tracking on the pistons “June 2 Ready for International Dispatch” then “June 7 Process Through International Exchange”. Maybe I am intolerant, but 2 weeks for a package is brutal. Does anyone know of a Canadian Fiat parts retailer or any tips on how to get parts sooner?
After this is all completed and I will enjoy my car as much as I can through the short summer. I am planning to upgrade the exhaust manifold, electronic distributor and the carb. But that’s another budget I need to plan for.

Thanks for enduring the long read and I will up load some progress pictures as I get along.

[narfire]

Where do you hang the hat in Canada? The Mail for something like pistons should take about a week-10days in my experience. Just don't use UPS, they have all kinds of fees tacked on.
For most parts, like gasket kits, brake bits and pretty much standard stuff, I've gone to Ital Motors in Edmonton. The high performance / aftermarket/specialty things then the US vendors like AR, IAP ect.
You'll notice the improvement in the engine when it is all back together.
I'd recommend a set of adjustable cam gears to really complement the new cams and get the engine degree'd in to the cam specs provided, the difference is again really noticeable.
Good luck with the build. We finally have a spell of decent weather and am driving the spider to work top down.
To Van next weekend for the Best of Italy and France on Sunday.
Chris

[So Cal Mark]

I have never heard of a machine shop boring a block before having the pistons in hand to measure them. We have many customers use a shipping receiver on the US side. They drive across the border to pick them up and deal with Customs at the border, eliminating the wait time

[narfire]

have many customers use a shipping receiver on the US side. They drive across the border to pick them up and deal with Customs at the border, eliminating the wait time

I'm fortunate to live about 40 miles from the border, and that is what I usually do. For items for personal use, you do not need a broker to do paperwork. Just pay taxes as a rule unless the part(s) are made outside the US or Mexico, then a duty is usually tacked on.

[White78]

I have never heard of a machine shop boring a block before having the pistons in hand to measure them. We have many customers use a shipping receiver on the US side. They drive across the border to pick them up and deal with Customs at the border, eliminating the wait time

Yes, he admitted he jumped the gun. I am hoping that they will compensate the cost of the shipping for the new pistons and the return.

Hey narfire, we are up in Prince George. Weather has been hit and miss so far, good kind of weather to have the engine apart. Once its all back together we'll take advantage of every sun ray.

[narfire]

Wow, PG is up there but I think there is one here that has a spider in Whitehorse...talk about a short season.
Do look into a set of the adjustable cam gears...big improvement with the new cams.
I was trying to think of some nice twisty roads up there to drive on. I spent my time up there on the forestry roads and highways perhaps a drive to the "Zoo" in the Fort?

[digitech]

I have a white '79 and the block is red - I like it>

[White78]

Wow, PG is up there but I think there is one here that has a spider in Whitehorse...talk about a short season.
Do look into a set of the adjustable cam gears...big improvement with the new cams.
I was trying to think of some nice twisty roads up there to drive on. I spent my time up there on the forestry roads and highways perhaps a drive to the "Zoo" in the Fort?

The Zoo! Might be nice to drive to... and promptly turn around. Haha. There is some nice drives out in the Shelly area and Giscome region.

Actually, the drive from PG to Williams Lake is nice. I wonder how the Fiat would perform on the road up to Barkerville.

Thanks digitech, I'll give it a go. Pistons showed up today so maybe I will see some progress next week.

[White78]

Hi Folks,

Here is an update. Before Picture:




Head pulled:



Stripped the block working off my tail gate:



Engine gutted:


Lightened flywheel:


High compression pistons:


After the first piston install, a noticeable streak... pulled out and carefully rotated the rings @ 120 deg


Crank & Pistons installed:



Here's about as far as my progress goes. Other than that I have almost all of the parts cleaned and painted. Still a lot of assembly needed.

PS: Narfire, thank you for the tip to call Ital Motors. I had to order new tappet shims to suit the performance cams and luckily they had stock, so I should have the head ready to go soon. They charged 8$ per shim which seemed a little high considering they are $2 from Autoricambi. I can accept the difference though for not having to be at the mercy of Canadian Customs.

I will look into the adjustable cam gears for sure. I need to pull back the reigns a little, gone over budget... amazing how quickly paint, cleaner, 38mm socket, piston compression tool and all of the other one time use tools can really add up in cost.

[narfire]

I had to order new tappet shims to suit the performance cams

I have a few kicking about down here. I suppose I could have mentioned that.
Engine's looking good. Yes project or wallet empting creep is a hazard with these cars... oh well the smiles are all worth it.
Chris

[White78]

I have the head all set for install. But I need to carry on doing further assembly on the block. A good day came along and I opted to spend it in the engine bay. I am more of a mechanics guy rather than aethetics, but the opportunity came for me to clean it up and I took it. I regret not getting a little closer to the exterior of the body, but next year I will take of it when I do the body work.
Bloody hell there was a lot of oil and grime. The before picture was after about 3 hours of scrubbing and 3 cans of break cleaner. Haha. I just hope I remember where it all goes after.

Pictures!

Before:


After:

[So Cal Mark]

very tidy!

[White78]

Thanks Mark. Work demand have been absolutely relentless and family obligations are always there so, the progress has been slow. In hindsight I probably should have followed focodaves example and had the engine done. I like to tinker but I love to drive. I got hung up today on searching for the oil return pipe. For the life of me I can't recall such a thing. I bumped an old post about this, but Haynes isn't talking about the dip stick pipe is it?

After the sump is installed (49), it calls to install the flywheel (50). Is it really necessary to do this? I would not be able to continue using my engine stand. It makes it pretty convenient and I'd hate to remove it from the stand.

[131]

You can leave the flywheel until you're ready to bolt the clutch to it. You can do it under the car if you want.

[White78]

Hi Folks,

I have a very stubborn gasket on the oil filter housing. Is is wire reinforced and I cant even get a blade between the housing and the gasket. Any tips on removing stubborn old gaskets?