bought an intact engine to put in my teener, so...i am afraid to ask...before i put it in my car... Options

[BritCarJim]

what "might as wells" should i do to it before installation. i know that it ran before a tree fell on the car body and the thing sat for 25 years before rescue as a parts car. i will clean up what i can, de-rust, paint, etc., but...seals? things to tighten, loosen, adjust, replace?

[poorsche914]

Jim - if I understand correctly, the engine in the car runs (how well is another matter?). What I would do is use the tin and fuel injection system and any other "missing" parts needed to complete your current engine. Test the FI components to be sure they are working properly and replace any of the vacuum lines that are questionable. I have never dealt with L-jet but am sure there is plenty of info online.
Once you have the car running properly, you can worry about the 2nd engine - reseal, rebuild, store, or trash.

Let me know when you get the engine and car "home" and we can arrange a time to swap bits and pieces and get that car running (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

steve
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[Valy]

Sat for 25 years?!?
Check that it turns.
Replace all the rubber hoses. Check the intake boot.
Replace oil.
adjust valves.
Pray.

I would assume that the main seals need replacement as well. Better now than after it leaks in the car.

[billh1963]

Sat for 25 years?!?
Check that it turns.
Replace all the rubber hoses. Check the intake boot.
Replace oil.
adjust valves.
Pray.

I would assume that the main seals need replacement as well. Better now than after it leaks in the car.

Well, here is what I know....

The car was a daily driver until a tree fell on it breaking the windshield and the top. The owner was young and only had liability insurance.

The car sat after that.

I just pulled the engine (I am keeping the transmission) and without doing anything the engine turned over smoothly with a breaker bar. There is no water in the oil (from condensation) so I feel confident that the internals are good.

I would pull off all the external stuff and clean up/renew as required!

[Prospectfarms]

Valy's provided a good list. After a 23 year "nap" I had to perform the following RR to my car's (1.7) engine before it ran smoothly and semi-reliably. I was lucky in that I had normal compression in all cylinders and the valve train sounds OK. The work was time-consuming but not difficult. As you probably already found out, dropping the transmission/changing clutch is ridiculously simple on this car. Here's the list as I recall it:

-Tune-up
-Fuel filter
-New engine oil/transmission fluid
-"New-used" Manifold Pressure Sensor (MPS)
-New clutch, T/O bearing, fork bushing and crank seal
-Rebuild four brake calipers
-New MC
-Rebuild Aux. air valve (AAR)
-"Boiled out" and lined the fuel tank

Most relevant to your post I had to replace:

-chassis and engine fuel lines
-rubber hoses between FI and fuel rail (had to chop the swaged connection to FI and replaced it with a new section of R9 hose and hose clamp)
-replaced all vacuum hose with new using kit purchased from AA
-plenum/air box/intake manifold seals
-all gaskets/seals for components attached to engine/transmission (speedo angle drive on transmission, engine oil sump cover plate, valve covers, reverse switch on transmission, oil pressure switch, etc.)
-re-torqued the cylinder head stud nuts, the rocker stand bolts and the rocker shaft retainer (bolts,nuts, can't recall).
-fuel pump
-new "engine" or "ignition" harness, but not the FI harness which was surprisingly sound. I have a '72, and the wiring changed considerably on or after '73, IIRC.
-all terminals and boots that needed it. I fabricated some of the connections or replaced with non- OEM.
-RR'd all the grounds and ground straps (Neg battery, engine to chassis ground, transmission to chassis ground, relay board to chassis ground, ignition harness to engine ground, there's one more but I forgot it.
-RR's the exhaust manifold, hot air valves, hot air pipes, HE and muffler

This was the work necessary just to get the car to run right. For instance, each one of those rubber FI connectors to the fuel rails, and part of the fuel lines themselves burst while I was getting the thing running. Big mess, and dangerous. Another example, I couldn't get the idle right until I'd fixed all the vacuum leaks, the MPS, the AAR and all (most) of the exhaust leaks. The original FP worked for a time after I cleaned it using reverse polarity in a diesel bath, but then it would intermittently fail a few weeks later requiring to a time-consuming diagnosis.
.
SAE...R9 fuel hose is currently specified for FI because it resists ethanol contamination better than R7. Of course, R9 is 5X more expensive. I'm not convinced it is any less likely to rupture than R7 but there are many out there who would disagree. I have used it only on the pressurized sections of the circuitous fuel system of my '72.
Almost all the fuel line I used was 5/16." Metric R9 is not available or I haven't been able to source it anyway.

The original fuel pump had three ports. I replaced it with an in-line Bosch two-port pump that cost $29 new from NAPA.

I don't know if this is effective, but I tried to "clean" the oil galleys by changing the oil with a cheap light (Walmart 5-30) viscosity oil a couple of times in succession, running the engine up to OT between changes.

I replaced the accordion thermostat with a T-2 thermostat after a simple modification of the linkage.

Many engine tin screws were loose or missing and I replaced them. Ditto the gaskets around engine tin perforations (such as the spark plug boots). These are important to cooling and I replaced them with whatever I could come up with.

[Prospectfarms]

Oh, one more thing. This is a transmission issue but probably good to say. Pay attention to the axle U-joints. I first reused the screws and that was no good. The connections loosened and I almost lost the half-shafts. Using new screws and the proper washers are important. While I'm at it, I had no success in establishing good shift adjustment until after I replaced every bushing in the shift linkage.

[rick 918-S]

Just because it turns does not guarantee the internals are good. If it were me I would at least pull the intake and check the valves from the ports.

Very likely, No actually I would pull the heads and check the cylinders for flash rust on the top of the cylinder. An extra few days to check these things out may be the difference whether you end up with a long term engine or just another short term solution.

So, I would pull the heads, pull the cylinders, Clean the rings, clean and or hone the cylinders, have the valves checked at the local chevy machine shop. Replace the guides if needed and maybe a set of AA cylinders.

The bottom end can be accessed from the cylinder bores. I would take my little hand pump squirt oiler and squirt oil around all the rotating assembly. These parts sat for years and the oil film strength is likely long gone.
New oil will seep into the bearing surfaces and ensure that when you start to crank the engine with the starter your not relying on the pump to supply fresh oil to the bearing before the engine starts. If you have a sound lower end this is the best way to not scorch a 25 year old dry bearing or wipe out the cam in the first 10 seconds of cranking.

Don't put the cart before the horse.

[BritCarJim]

hmm. now that i think about it, poorsche914 is right. the engine in the car now runs. somewhat poorly but it runs. i got to drive it around the block yesterday morning. hopefully i'll get it home this week.

(you might remember that the guy i got it from had it trailered to a local repair shop. i had them pull the calipers and pedal assembly. i've rebuilt all that and taken it back to them.)

probably what i ought to do it pull the original engine and use this engine to replace missing bits...such as all the engine tins and the FI system. the original engine in my car doesn't run very well but it sat for about a year. between ignition stuff and a FUBAR'd Weber conversion i think thats most of the problem.

i think the suggestions about are good, whichever engine i apply them to.

[JFJ914]

Jake and Len would advise you to replace the valve springs and retainers with some HD ones or at the very least new stock ones.

[poorsche914]

Found these today. Might come in handy

L-jet Manual

Technical Manual L-Jetronic

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