Replacement Engine project

[mangocrazy]

Peter,

It's very satisfying to see a manky old block restored to something like new. It'll look even better after Jon's finished with it...

Graham

[peteracs]

Small thing, Mark brought along a nice shiny new water pump for me at the LMC weekend.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Did you get the stainless steel fixing kit too Peter?

[peteracs]

Hi Guy

I bought that some time ago. I also had a spare water pump from years ago, but decided a nice shiny new one would suit the engine better. The old spare (new old stock) resides in the box of parts in the Boot of the Spider, just in case….

Peter

[peteracs]

 Not much to report on the engine build at present other than the crank has been deemed good by Jon at Stanwood, but did not have time to collect it before we left for France.

I had been looking for high compression pistons, however Vicks have no stock or lead time and most I could find were forged and well beyond my budget or need for a road car. I then found a guy on Ebay Germany selling a set of +.4 ones. I arranged to have them sent to me in France and they arrived today. Interestingly they are for a Fiat Ritmo 1585 engine according to label and after Googling I see refs to them as being suitable for the 1995 engine, but obviously care should be taken on CR value etc. Not a cheap solution but came with rings and way cheaper than forged. Interestingly they are from an Argentinian manufacturer who I have never heard if, but who make a large selection of pistons.

One question I do have is what is the length of the rods for the 1995cc engine? Is it the same as for the 2l 131?

Peter

[WestonE]

Hi Peter

Yes the Rods are the same length, but use 8V Forged Integrale items with an oil cheek grove machined in for piston spray. There are plenty of these available at reasonable money and you avoid having to make oval big end round or experience the big bang when old rods decide they have had enough!

Enjoy.

Eric 

[peteracs]

Hi Eric

Ok, had a look for forged rods and not immediately obvious if all the rods advertised have this oil groove, is this standard for Integrale ones? also most seem to advertise as for 16V and need 16V shells, again is this the type you mean?

Any pointers would be useful. I see the cheapest rods around are the Chinese ones branded Maxpeedingrods which seem to be ok for general road use according to the forums I have read, but happy to go with a n other if that will give better peace of mind.

Thanks

Peter

[peteracs]

Hi

No movement on the rods, still open to suggestions. Called at Stanwood today to drop off the pistons so he can check the bore sizes we need and to collect the crank which he checked for in tolerance as a check from someone used to it to confirm my measurements that it was ok.

Next was visiting Neil in Derby who has been selling off his VX cars and Beta parts. All the cars are now sold, but I was interested in the VX cylinder head he had left. On visiting I ended up buy a bunch of parts which looked to be useful…….

4 branch manifold, a lot of surface rust, but still very serviceable and will clean up nicely.
VX crank pulley
3 used alternators, I will most likely buy a new on, but useful to have a 65A one around to have as spare
4 brand new 43.5mm inlet valves for the VX head
New gear stick bearing
New gear linkage swivel arm
End of front ARB bush
Great condition battery tray
Accelerator pedal mounting bush
New clutch cable
New accelerator cable
Various gaskets
Mains bearings
Couple of misc coolant hoses.

Big thanks to Neil and really happy with the parts.

Peter

[WestonE]

Hi Peter

On the Integrale Rods you will need to have grooves machined in the rod cheek where it meets the crank. This allows oil spray from the big ends to the piston underside. Remember the OE rods had drilled holes and shell bearings with holes. Integrale have oil spray jets, but this is a fiddly conversion that is not necessary. I copied the grooves on the GC supplied Cunningham Rods. I will try to find an image. I do not think 8V or 16V matters other than the shells are reversed in the big ends so get the bearings to go with the rods.

[peteracs]

Hi Eric

Noted on the grooves.

Had a text yesterday saying Jon had tested my VX head and all appears ok, so I am going to collect and get it all cleaned up, fit new guides and valves in readiness for the next job which is cutting the valve seats.

I had hoped to find a set of bronze guides lurking in someones storage cabinet going spare, but ended up buying from AE Car (photo below of supplied). After talking with Jon we decided on bronze ones all round which replaced the original cast ones. I will need to make up some sort of tool to give consistent depth when I insert them.

Peter

[peteracs]

Ok, decision made on the rods. I decided to go with the Maxpeeding rods. Three reasons, one was price, not expensive, second available from stock in U.K., ordered Friday, arrived Monday, lastly was confidence. I asked Jon at Stanwood what his thoughts were on them expecting a sharp intake of breathe etc. The exact opposite was the case based on his experience. He has a tuned engine in his Lotus race car and he bought second hand some Maxpeeding rods for it about 3 seasons ago, regularly goes towards 9000 rpm and has not missed a beat. So for my very modest needs they seem more than adequate. Interestingly bought direct from manufacturers website and have stock in U.K.

Just need to get some shells for them now as well as main bearing ones.

Photo also shows part nos.

Peter

[WestonE]

Hi Peter

That sounds like a find! In build up check the rod clearance to the crankcase and strip down again to relief the with a die grinder if they are obviously close. Remember the crank does flex a little under load and speed. Some of the cheap Chinese rods had a very bulky profile that fouls.

Pleased to see no risks with old rods being taken.

Eric

[peteracs]

Hi Eric

Thanks, will check. Also I remember the comment you said re the machining of slots in the big ends to help with oil spray for the little ends (see above). I noted Chris Mace recently posted on Facebook some photos which included the rods in his GC built engine and the slots were present on those.

Peter

[peteracs]

Hi

Had a couple of hours this afternoon and decided to investigate the oil pumps I had. I had not realised the 1600 and 2l ones are quite so different. I am fortunate in having 3 of the 2l ones to compare. I managed to get a decent pump section which measured as per Haynes, the problem I came across was the pressure relief spring. Haynes quotes 44.4mm long where all three of the ones I have are within a fraction of a mm in length, but all around 43.5mm. The question is, is this a problem? I suspect not really given that this is a get out of jail valve if the oilway gets blocked.

Any views would be appreciated.

Peter

[WestonE]

Hi Peter,

First I assume you realize 1600 sumps are also different to 2000 sumps? Think of this valve as maintaining the pressure and you realize it's length matters. You can shim it longer with a suitable washer and actually this is done the the standard correct size part when you add a large oil cooler. This is described in GCs books.

Eric 

[peteracs]

Hi Eric

I did not realise they were different, new day, something new learnt. Is the shape or just the internals? I have the baffle kit from Mark to use.

Peter

[squiglyzigly]

Hi Peter,
Also the pumps have different length gears to give more flow. The 2.0l has bigger gears than the 1.6l and the Monte is bigger again.

Ian

[rossocorsa]

Hi Peter,

First I assume you realize 1600 sumps are also different to 2000 sumps? Think of this valve as maintaining the pressure and you realize it's length matters. You can shim it longer with a suitable washer and actually this is done the the standard correct size part when you add a large oil cooler. This is described in GCs books.

Eric 

Late on in the final run they standardised one pump and sump for all versions except VX. The VX pump is higher capacity than the rest.

[peteracs]

Hi

Ok, understand, the one question that remains, is the outer shape of the sumps the same, just the internal baffling being changed?

Peter

[rossocorsa]

Hi

Ok, understand, the one question that remains, is the outer shape of the sumps the same, just the internal baffling being changed?

Peter

I'm not sure but the main difference between pumps is the depth so I suspect it is mainly the height of the pan that varies.