Scott,
I too did my first engine rebuild after deciding that there was NO way I could
afford to have someone do it for me. Luckally, my stepFather was around
to guide me through the rough parts. Since then, I have done about 6 bare
block rebuilds {2 V-8s, 1 turbo Corvair, 3 air cooled VW}. I have a TR3A
bebuild coming up this spring/summer.
Following are some suggestions that I have picked up over the years to make
things easier.
1. If the engine is worn and you are planning to rebuild the car "right" and
keep it, you might wish to purchas as many of the parts before you pull the
engine {assuming that it is drivable in the meantime}. Sometime parts are
unavailable right away. Also, purchasing parts early, and as you can afford
them distributes the $$ pain over a larger number of paychecks. I started
purchasing TR3 engine parts about 2 years ago {a little extream}. I made
the assumption that everything was going to be new except for the block,
flywheel crank and rods. Since I am going to the TR4A head, I purchased a
used bare head, & had a machine shop check it over, install hardened valve
seats, oversize valves & new valve springs. The rebuilt head is now sitting
in a plastic bag, along with a rebuilt rocker assembly {new shaft, arms with
new bushings, new adjusting screws, and resurfaced end}.
The object is to reassemble the engine as soon as possible after disassembling
it. The longer you wait, the more you will forget about what part went where.
It doesn't help if you disassemble & engine & wait 2 months for a part to come
from England via Iceland & Australia. I purchased everything except for the
crank & rod bearings & have them ready to go.
2. Clean the engine & engine compartment BEFORE you start taking anything
appart!!! Steam cleaning is best but a do it yourself car wash is almost as
good. The job goes ever so much easier & more pleasently if you are not
dealing with a foot of grease and dirt.
3. Purchase a package of shop rags & a roll of paper towels before tackling
the project. Also clean out an area to lay out your parts.
4. You can often tell how good a mechanic is by how greasy he/she is while
working on an engine/car. The dirtier they are generally the more amature
they are. Dirt is the enemy of the inside of your engine! Keep your work
area clean, wipe your tools before putting them down. When you are
reassembling an engine, wash your hands whenever they get dirty.
5. When I first started, I placed nuts & bolts into containers so they would
not get lost. I just grabbed a fasterner that looked right during rerassembly.
What I do now is replace bolts or nuts in their holes/ studs after disassembly.
When I remove an assembly and set it asside, I carefully place the bolts,
WASHERS and nuts in their proper holes/studs on the removed assembly. Now the
correct faastener goes back in the correct location {Look Ma, no leftover,
wonder where they went fasteners!}
6. Writing about fasteners ... Here is something I picked up from watching
an ex-neighbor professional mechanic ... BEFORE you replace any nuts or bolts
clean the threads!!! Except for nylocs {which should be replaced and not reused}
all threaded fasteners should screww in easily by hand. There are special
nut looking tools called "thread chasers" that are hardened steel and are
minimum tolerance threads. Run the proper thread chaser down every bolt and
stud before you use it. At this time inspect the fastener for wear & replace it
if you see any. Run every nut down a tap & be sure to tap out any threaded
hole. This takes a little extra time but things go together SO MUCH EASIER.
You do not find yourself breaking bolts on reassembly and you know that
everything will be properly torqued.
7. About them tools ... During my first major repair/ rebuild jobs I often
found myself spending more time trying to find the tool I had just put down
a short while ago than I did using the tool after I found it. Also my tools
were grungy & frequently got lost.
What I do now. I move a tool to where I am working and delibertly set up
places where I will place my tools while I am working. When I go to put
down a tool, I wipe it with a rag, then place it in a designated tool resting
spot {I often use lids for plastic 5 gal buckets for this}. When I am finished
for the day, I put all the tools away {this takes longer but you know that
they are all accounted for and you know where they are when you are ready to
start again}. I have almost halved the time it takes to do things since I
started doing this. Also my level of frustration at not being able to find a
tool that I just had has droped to almost zero.
As an asside, I have learned to search for tools & shop rags whenever I have
a car worked on by someone else. I have found several wrenches, a couple of
flashlights and several rags {including one INSIDE an air cleaner} this way.
8. If something does not come appart, go together or line up, either take a
break or work on something else for a while. After a while come back to the
problem area and look it over before you tackle it again. I can not count
the times & could not get something together, no matter how hard I tried,
went off to something else, returned to the problem area hours later or the
next day and have it slide together quickly.
9. Try to give yourself plenty of time for a rebuild and do not rush.
I have always gotten myself into trouble anytime I got working to fast to
carefully look at what I was doing, or to place removed parts & fasteners where
I had planned to place them. Take your time, be deliberate, look things over,
and keep things clean.
10. Before disconnecting hoses & wires, place masking tape on them. Mark
where they go. Also, feel free to keep paper around & make notes about
how things go together while you are taking them appart.
11. Unless you are absolutely positive your radiator is in tip top shape,
you might want to consider this as an exellent time to get it to a shop &
checked out. This is also a good time to do clean up & repairs in the
engine compartment { It can be so much easire when the power plant is out.
12. If you can get a factory manual. Hayes manuals are generally NOT good
enough. They cut corners & maximize their boilerplate paragraphs, often
at the expense of the information that you needed. I have generally found
that the British produce good readable, well ilustrated manuals.
13. When reassembling things, always check for fit. Rotating things should
NEVER bind. If they do, dissassemble parts until you find out what caused it
& why. Unless something is a press fit, you should not have to force it.
Clearences were designed into the assemblies. If things are not going
together easily, check to see if you are using the correct parts in the
correct order and the correct orientation.
Best of luck on your rebuilding project!! Remember this is one place where
neatness and cleanlyness count!
TeriAnn
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