engine rebuilding, complete newbie Options

[mightyohm]

Ok, so I have myself a 2.0 core motor that I want to rebuild into something like a 2056. I am new at this whole engine rebuild thing, but I am willing to learn. I have the VW Wilson book and some general references.

Once I tear the core down and end up with a pile of parts, what do I do next?

From the book it sounds like you just take everything to your local machine shop. That includes:

1. case - inspection, align bore, etc
2. heads - valves, seats, crack repair, etc. mine definitely need some spark plug holes helicoiled and exhaust studs replaced
3. rods - inspection, rebushing?
4. crank - inspection, grinding, polishing, magnafluxing etc.

Does this sound about right? Where does balancing come in?

And most importantly... who does this work in the bay area? Is there one shop I can take everything to and they will know what to do (and not rip off a newbie like me)? Will they tell me honestly if any parts are not usable and recondition the ones that are? Should the heads go somewhere else? Do I need to clean this stuff before I take it in?

Sorry but I have a lot of questions. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[mightyohm]

Some more questions I have..

I forgot to number the rockers before I tossed them into a box, without realizing that the pushrods (which i did keep in order) are wear matched to the rockers as well as the lifters. How big of a deal is this?

I also did not mark which piston goes with which cylinder. Does this matter if I reuse the pistons (I most likely will not, even if I do, the cylinders need honed badly from rust and wear).

The VW book only mentioned keeping the lifters and the pushrods organized, which I did. It omitted keeping any other parts in order.

Also, where can you get replacement hardware for these engines? Is it best to just find the local (or mailorder) metric fastener supply place and order from there? I would like to replace a lot of the engine hardware as it is rusty and generally ugly.