engine rebuild begins

[geospider]

and away we go.
motor and trans out together. not that bad. front and back up on stands, another set of hands from brother in law, and out it came.. the Leveler was worth the $35 from Harbor Freight.
then to the tear down. block to the machine shop in a couple weeks.
then the new shiny stuff goes back in.

the clutch always felt fine, but damn was it worn.







will try to post as I go

Geo

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Looking good so far, Geo! I'll be awaiting the next update. By the way, what pistons are you putting in it? Any other modifications?

-Bryan

[geospider]

84.4 ( 1 bore size up), 9.8:1
nothing else. just a little bump without going too far and needing more stuff. then not having the gas around here to run it. AND still need to smog every 2 years.
Was a pretty smooth operation really.

won.t have any update until it gets to the machine shop.

geo

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Cool. Are you happy with your machine shop? I've got a couple shops around Livermore that are very knowledgeable, but they do mostly American V8s for the racing folks. Not sure they are familiar with Fiat engines, but I haven't seen any issues. Turnaround time can be months, though. They all seem busy.

-Bryan

[geospider]

similar here.
using Joe's machine shop in Concord.
He did my head a few years ago. willing to talk about the Fiat info I have gathered from the guys at AR, etc.
they are incredibly busy; but I am on the sched for last week of Oct. First talked to him in August, knew he was a few months out. would be worse if he was doing the whole build. Just doing the block: clean and bore, check crank and resurface flywheel.

[toyfiats]

Hopefully I won't need the work of a machinist again, but will be interesting to hear how Joe's works out. I've seen his truck around town back when I actually had to get up every day to commute to work.

I ended up using Terry Tinney in Bryan's neck of the woods for my head work. No complaints.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'll have to check out Terry Tinney, and I'm kinda surprised that I haven't used them before. Anyway, I have used Dan's engine shop and Tech machine shop in Livermore, and both seem very capable, but again mostly with big V8s. Flywheel resurfacing and routine head work like a valve job only took a week or so, but when I asked about boring out blocks, they said it would be months. The story seemed to be that lots of racers were taking time during Covid to get their engine work done.

I've also been buying myself some measuring tools, like good micrometer sets, bore gauges, dial gauges, etc. So, I can do a lot of inspection, but any actual machining has to go to a shop of course.

-Bryan

[Nut124]

Make sure you check ring gap in the bore. I bought a set of pistons from a well known vendor. Came with rings that were way off.

What end gap are you targeting?

[geospider]

I know how to set the gaps; and clean up any burs from the filing.
planning the gap settings given in the manual. I know there are some instructions on the ring packaging, but haven't read through that. prob won't get block back until mid Nov. they start last week of Oct.

pistons: 84.4 and 9.8:1. Stock cams, 32/36 carb: nothing crazy

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Regarding ring gap, I'd definitely check the shop manual and also what the ring manufacturer says, and the advice from your machinist. The general rule of thumb for the top ring in a street engine is 0.004" gap for each inch of cylinder diameter. For your 84.4mm bores, that would be about 0.013" to 0.014" or so. A bit more for a serious performance engine. The general rule of thumb for the gap on the second ring is about 0.005" for each inch of cylinder bore.

But, these are general rules of thumb, so your engine might be a tad different.

-Bryan

[Nut124]

Sounds like you are on it.

Bryans' advice is good as well.

I received rings along w pistons where the rings were way too small. End gap was 25+.

This was from a reputable, top Fiat parts vendor.

I ended up going w custom steel one-piece top ring from total seal. An extra $100.

[geospider]

thanks you guys..
will update as progress goes along, or questions arise.

[geospider]

Block back from Machine shop. everything looks great
Bored/honed, decked (almost nothing)
crank was basically perfect; just a light polish. cleaned up the Aux bearings: which were also fine.
They even primed the block, and put rings on the pistons. very clear stamps on all rod and main bearing caps.

excited to get this put back together

will update with pics: esp since that will be the prettiest the motor will look

Geo

[geospider]

All going very well so far.

primed with piston posing on the left:


Painted: yep: Ford Grey: apparently closest to stock


Crank installed: caps ready to go. wasn't sure how the thrust washers were going to go in: but very easy.


and now with new 9.8:1 pistons installed.


It is nice not being in a hurry as with fixing other cars in the household.

also, so damn clean and pretty: best it will look.
Now to install all the the rest.

It's been a lot of fun so far.

Bryan, will let you know if I need a set of hands for install.

geo

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Looks good, Geo, just let me know if you need some help.

Painted: yep: Ford Grey: apparently closest to stock

But I thought stock was a heavy coat of dripping oil in various places?

-Bryan