It All Goes Together

With the block, head and connecting rods back from the machine shop it was time to put the engine back together. The pictures tell the story.

Never put a dirty part back on an engine when doing an engine build. As you can see, all the parts were clean and/or painted as required before assembly. I also cleaned the block, head and rods before they went to the machine shop and afterwards when they has been returned. Here’s why: you are paying for the machine shop to do an excellent job machining your parts; you are not paying them to clean your grimy parts even though good machine shops will do that for free simply so they can take accurate measurements. It has been my experience that clean parts into the machine shop equals higher quality work by the machine shops; they care that you care. I also tend to measure very carefully before I deliver parts to be machined so that I can discuss the job with the shop. When the parts come back I measure again to check all is well (so far it always has been - the machine operators are the experts and will do an expert job if you respect their skills) and thoroughly clean again to ensure all swarf and grinding dust has been banished prior to assembly. Use a pressure-washer and blast out all the oil-ways and water-ways and use compressed air to drive out all the water.

Another thing to check, as you assemble, is that the timing marks on the cam belt pulley, or timing chain sprockets, and the marks on the crank shaft pulley are accurate. Also, always refer to a workshop manual. I’ve assembled many engines over the years and still refer to workshop manuals to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything vital and that the critical fastenings are torqued correctly. Though many engine builders swear by engine assembly lube, I’ve always used copious amounts of engine oil and have never had a problem not using the special stuff.

With the clutch and gearbox fitted it was time to fit the engine to the chassis - that will be in the next installment.

Please do feel free to ask questions in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Stay Tuned!