Doing it now with an expert looking over my shoulder. I'm not nervous or scared -- just taking my time and doing it right.

I'll be doing one within the next year. Have lots of books and this website to help me get through it.

I'm in the process of 3 right now.

I'm not scared.

2 2.0's and one 2316



B

I've got 9 going.

You wont have parts for another year


B

Don't "overthink" it... best way to start rebuilding is when you are too young to know better! At 20, I bought a 1964 Sunbeam Alpine with a very decent body, brand new top and the engine in boxes... many boxes! PO had decided it needed a rebuild after 45K... all it really needed was a good tuneup, but he proceeded to tear the engine to bits. After losing all courage, he sold it to me for the princely sum of $100.00. Towed it to my friends house, which had a poor excuse for a garage, and we carried all the engine bits to his basement, where, after many nights with a Chiltons Manual, it all went back together on this really neat homemade wooden engine dolly.

Then we looked at each other and said "How the hell do we get it out of the basement???"

Took a week to figure that out (think lever and ramp system, as in building the Pyramids!) Then out to the garage, and used a $20.00 Come along over a roof beam to wedge it in the car. After much fooling with the distributor (180 degrees off) it ran! Ran as good as a 64 Alpine ever did!!! Which is to say not as good a the worst 914 I ever drove! Took it to my place...so very proud of my handiwork! Did i mention I was in a not so good section of town? A week later, some lowlife stole the brand new top off the car!!! Who steals a convertible top for a Sunbeam Alpine??? Anyway, I was so pissed I put it up for sale topless... and got ... you guessed it...$100.00 for my time and trouble!

Moral of the story? Just Do It! You will feel so great when it works!

You can poke him, but if you are waiting on Raby parts.. keep waiting. I speek from experience.


B

I've never had to wait for Raby parts. Maybe he just likes me better.

Lucky you

I better be quiet. I might need something from him in the near future.


B

Hey look at the start date for this thread! How's that engine running Mike? I'm curious how you decided on the bore and stroke combo and what cam you used. To me the fun part is figuring how far to go. did you go with the megasquirt or carbs?

BS FLAG!!!
39 club members said they can build an engine in their sleep. ya'll are full of shit.
replacing rings is NOT an engine build
if the case didnt split, you didnt do sh..t
building a stroker is a real engine build. everything changes and you better know what "everything" means

a few of you here have seen me pace about for an hour or so talking to it before I fire it up

"there is no try
only do or do not"

that was my post # 914...
yipee...

Your confidence in our members is overwhelming.

Doubt if it runs that great....seeing as most of it is sitting on my bench

yep.....had to sell the motor after my accident in my wifes Volvo ....

but in a nutshell, bore and stroke combo was decided on due to bone stock 2.0 heads, the smaller bore allows the bone stock heads to be more effective, if I went with a bigger bore, head work would have been a good idea.....

cam was Jakes recommendation, still have it and it'll be going into a 1.8....

FI is a brand called LINK, pretty similar in operation of megasquirt but it comes professionally built with tech support and a warranty

yep.....had to sell the motor after my accident in my wifes Volvo ....


Seems like I remember that now. sorry to dredge up the past

I'm trying to figure out what I want to build. I'm pretty impressed with Nathan"s 2056. P/C's a cam, webers and headers. I think he stayed with stock crank and rods. I don't know if he had any head work done. Seems like a pretty economical approach. What's the price range on the LINK FI?

I'm definitely not ready to start rebuilding motors yet.

I've helped put three starters in, helped replace the faulty float in my carb and have done/helped with a few other little fixes but my skill level is still sorely lacking.

Now...give me another couple years & I might be itching to tear mine down and build it back up (I have a Chevy V6 conversion, though, which does seem less complicated).
Stacie

last week I was responsible for overseeing the instalation and start up of a pratt and whitney jet engine (cogen power generating unit) that just cost $650,000 to rebuild and costs my company $100,000 in lost revenue every day it isn't running. It has to run 2 1/2 years without any shutdowns or someone gets called on the carpet (me). Unfortunately these engines (we have three) typically don't make the 2 1/2 year runs and the bosses have instructed me to "fix that". That's in addition to the other 1400 pieces of expensive rotating equipment I'm responsible for. They just approved hiring three more experienced mechanical engineers so there will be 4 of us doing the job that I am currently trying to do by myself.

Naw, a type 4 or a V8 engine doesn't make me nervous enough to actually talk to it. I prolly could do it in my sleep. When I built my bored and stroked Chrysler hemi with mostly custom or donovan parts and a supercharger sittin on top I was a little nervous on start up but I don't think I talked to it.
Even my 911 engine wasn't that much of a challenge but I did a lot of homework before taking it apart. BTW, for those not familiar with it, a type 4 or a V8 is pretty basic compared to a flat six because of the overhead cam design and all the parts that go with it.

Jet engines and all the related auxilliary systems and equipment bunch up my panties pretty good tho. I dream about them but not in a good way.

Didn't really have a choice that applied to me. I have rebuilt a 914 engine. Replaced P&c, main and rod bearings, cam, lifters, pushrods, oil pump,and had the heads done by a machinist. Will I do again Heck yeah. The plan I am hoping to do next is get a Raby kit to assemble.

So my answer would be yeah I can do it but not in my sleep but it does not worry me about doing it.

Over the winter one of my main objectives is to finish the engine kit rebuild videos and add other support services and benefits to make the process easier with less intensity for those that buy my kits. This includes the offering of tools and other equipment from timing lights to deck height tools and air/fuel ratio meters and even tools for doing rocker arm geometry.. These same tools are the ones I'll be using in the video specifically.

Between the video (8+ hours of instruction on DVD) and the tools it'll be hard to goof up the assembly and tuning of the engine..

I really enjoy the build, it's chaseing down the parts that gets me down. It takes

me awhile to beat down my engine enough for a rebuild but when it does have

to be done I am ready to go by then. We all have things that we call fun, mine is

building my own engines.

It bugs me that polls get a bump every time someone votes without posting... so I'll add some content.

There is a big gap between "cold sweat" and "in my sleep". I'm in that gap. If I were building a stock stroke engine, I'd say "no problem". But, I'm building a stroker, so I'm "cautiously optimistic". I'm mostly concerned that I may buy the wrong part and get stuck with it... I will not install the wrong part.

The there's the semantic difference between a "build" and a "design". Building is bolting parts together. Most people could do that. That's why Jake sells kits. Designing is determining which components to use. That's a lot more difficult... and that's what I'm attempting. I've been buying and collecting parts as I find deals on them. My combo will surely not be as effective as one of Jake's engines with all the experience behind them, but I'm doing it on a budget and having fun. I'm quite confident that I will at least have a substantial improvement over a stock 2.0.

The first engine I rebuilt was a 6 cylinder Lycoming engine when I was 19. Talk about cold sweat, high stress and high heart rate. It was done in a group (like most aviation things are), I thought that half of the group was going to pass out when it started and ran on the dyno. The 2nd was a pure jet (also when I was 19) that was phased out by the military (I don't remember what it was), but I do remember spending 20 hours inspecting each blade in the cold section. After that, I wasn't nervous about it starting. The only thing wrong was a leaking fuel pump and we got the engine over 90% power. With NO flame outs! (or catching on fire )

The reason we were rebuilding it was because it had caught on fire during its previous runup/rebuild with a different crew.

My 3rd rebuild was my stock 2.0 (twice). My 4th was going to be a Yamaha XT225 engine, but I took one long look and let my Dad do it. I was the helper.

I would like to on a car. I did on my goped years back, but a goped/trimmer motor is different than a type 4

Hence the exact reason for my kit program...

Doing a stroker build for the first time most WILL make at least one significant "combo" mistake and end up with incompatible components. Just hope and pray that the issues are great enough to be noted with ease...

The issues that are serious enough to stop assembly are the easy ones to spot and address, those that allow assembly are the ones that will bite you in the ass.

Some combos are impossible to assemble.

Its been decades since I've had to do a fresh build up or a rebuild, so I'm rusty and don't remember all the details ... need to keep the book handy

Familiar with VW Type 1's and their snooty cousins: 356/912 motors ... (rebuilt a couple of 911's and a few V8's too).

Still learning and working on a couple of Type 4's at the moment

So that's why every time I checked this thread the last post was dated long ago. I kept thinking something was wrong on my end.

Anyway, I couldn't do it in my sleep, but I am looking forward to it. My only real experience is changing a head gasket on a Saturn and an Acura Legend (gen 2). Both of those were pretty easy. It just takes time. I loved building models and Legos as a kid and see this as the next step. I have been doing lots of reading here as I begin my restoration. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences, it has been very benifitial. I currently plan on building Jake's 1911 fuel sipper, but I am saving the engine for last. So I can wait and see if something better comes along in the meantime.

I am in the same boat(car). I have the parts and was ready to start when I realized the gears in the crank don't just slide off. Now I am hesitant to continue. I have rebuilt small block chevies years ago but this looks way different.

Have your friendly local machinist press off the dizzy/cam gear from the crank when you get your crank polished. I remember being a little frustrated that Jakes video did not show crank tear down. But he does show how it goes back on.

Zach

I don't think T-4's are too much different than T-1's in respect to the crank and gears ... we'd just heat up the gears with a torch a little bit, then use a puller.

When prepping to install new gears, heat them up in the oven to expand them.

If your wife is out shopping for the day, you can also stick your crank in the freezer (sounds kinda sick, huh?) for a several hours to shrink it ... the warm gear(s) will slide on the cold shaft nicely.

But - I also agree with Zack. If a machine shop will be turning or polishing the crank, just let them do the gear replacement too ...

I didn't bump it, but this thread must be a sign. I'm going to build a 2056 finally.... been putting it off for too long.

I'll get my 4 year old to film me...

I need to find that list from DanT on parts I need....