engine rebuild help, lots of questions on organization and other stuff Options

[stateofidleness]

hey guys..

so im in the middle of "rebuilding" my engine, and by that i mean replacing all the hoses, stripping the smog equipment, painting/powder coating to make it look nice, and other general maintenance.

what i have a hard time understanding is how you guys keep everything sorted when taking it all apart?? im an ABSOLUTE noob with this stuff and am basically learning as i go from online forums and friends (MUCH MUCH MUCH appreciated btw!)

taking it apart is no problem lol, but im scared that i wont be able to put it back together.. i barely know the names of most of the parts of the engine let alone where the parts "should" be. ive seen some very beautiful engines on here and know what mine could possibly look like if i take the time to do it right. that is what inspires me and keeps me motivated.

WITHOUT spending tons of $$ on taking it to a shop to be "machined" (dont even really know what that means... is it possible for me to have a solid reliable engine "rebuild" without taking it all COMPLETELY apart... basically tin off and stopping... i dont have the knowledge or funds to turn it into a huge powerful engine but i think i can do most myself and have a solid build.

what all would ya'll recommend i do (im a novice, keep that in mind) and side question is how do ya'll keep it all organized?
another side question: if i get all the tin off and decide to powder coat, will the coater straighten the tin for me to? how do ya'll straighten the edges?

thanks for the help in advance!

maybe i should post in the concourse section as well for some pics of stock 2.0L's?

[Twystd1]

Jakes video and an understanding of a Type IV engine is essential BEFORE you get even close to a machine shop. READ your engine manual daily till you can see every part in your head before you go to sleep. If possible.

I have built HUNDREDS of engines in my head. So when it comes time to actually build that combo. It's like I have done it many times before.
(Takes the fear away of fucking it up)

Me thinks you have several good opportunity's here to learn a ton of new engine knowledge and have some fun as well.
And you get to understand the discipline of dealing with the aggravation that always ensues when you are the "NEW GUY" or an old guy when building an engine. They never go together perfectly upon first mock up.
It takes some tweaking to get it right. And thats the fun of it for me.

And it is worth the time and money to do your own engine build IMHO.

Your last question was:
"what does somethin like that cost at a shop.. wouldnt even know the jargon or what to ask for lol... "so... can ya'll.. uh... make this shiny and work like new again?""

Wow.... Thats a loaded question.

First things first. WHOMEVER MACHINES YOUR PRETTY SHINY PARTS BETTER KNOW THE TYPE IV ENGINE DAM WELL.
ELSE YOUR PROBABLY GUNNA BE HOSED.

Assuming you have a rock solid machinist. AND you are doing a relatively stock rebuild.
He will know what to do with your parts without much assistance from you.
Unless you specifically call out needed tolerances and he needs to adhere to them.

If you are building a high performance engine. YOU are probably going to dictate what machining tolerances he will need to perform with your combo.

Note: Most automotive machine shops don't have the tools needed for these engines. They won't have boring/honing plates to bore and finish your cylinders. They may well not have the right bars to bore and/or hone your lifter galleys or crank mains. (Type IVs are a weird size to them if they are used to doing chevy's)

A non type IV machinist has no clue that he needs to take out all the cylinder/head studs and deck the block if you really want to do it right.

He will have no clue to the carbon paper trick to see if you have collapsed saddles on your block (Thanks Jake)

Your machinist has to know how far he can clean up your head before he starts taking the strength out of it and it becomes useless as your piston to valve clearance evaporates and your deck height gets screwy.

I could go on for hours about this stuff.

Ask around this place and others for a machine shop recommendation that works on these engines all the time and has a great reputation.

NOTE: MOST type 1 (VW BUG) shops THINK they know these engines. And dam few really do. They just fuck em up real good.

Note 2: You could buy a kit and minimize the machining learning curve and have the joy and knowledge of assembling your engine.

Note 3: If you live in SoCal or Nor Cal. There are several machine shops that I know that have earned a good reputation for doing solid work.

NOTE 4: Assembly should be the least of your concerns at this juncture. That will simply happen in time. You will do your homework. Ask for help. Do everything several times during the mock up stages. And YOU may well build a very bitchin Type IV engine.
(The smiles after building your first engine is priceless)

Find a good machinist. Use the search function here and at www.shoptalk forums.com (Type 4rum) and search "Engine Rebuild".

You will have a years worth of reading if you study 8 hours a day.
This will get you familiar with the terminology and understanding of these very KOOL aircooled engines.

Do it once. Do it right.

Cheers and best of luck on this. Cause I love this stuff.

Clayton