What have you been up to this week

[Hobbit]

Sounds like that Jawa has had an exciting history. Thanks for the info, I'll be looking forward to your write up.

You'd need balls of steel to race sidecar with that sort of power, I reckon you could get into trouble quicker than saying "hospital".

[Sammy]

yeah I have to agree, remember seeing these things race and thought you'd have to be prepared to die to do it lol!!

its looking good though Matte, and you are excused from working on the Bedford due to working on another automotive toy

[Dano]

Borrie gets a new heart....doing a quick motor change from pre 88  to post 88 small block chev..... showing some challenging differences......little buggas......some pre pics for Marty...

[Marishka]

Cool, thanx Dano,
You make it sound easy bud, lol, 
Are they both chev setups?
Or is one holden V8?
Cheers marty

[Dano]

both chevs, just wrote a whole shite load of info ....then lost it ......aaahhhhhh putooooeeeyy

[Dano]

ok, not happy Jan, it is not going as planned, the post 85 SBC - pre  Vortex, has a different head this motor i think is an 87-94 block, It's one piece rear main with TBI heads,generally from comaro's,the two inlet manifold centre bolts are at I believe a 73, pitch....different to the  "standard' pitch of the rest of the bolts and traditional heads. The Inlet ports are also larger andthus making the heads taller and valley deeper...not allowing a change over of good new parts to be used ...buga...

[Dano]

Howdy folks,  (a post to a new chevy forum, but didn't work....what do you think?)  newbe here hoping you all can help a fellow chevy fanatic out, I'm a vanner from Perth West Australia, 41, Motor trimmer by trade and enjoy tinkering in the shed. But I think I've just been sold a lemon, I bought a replacement 350 for my daily driver (an English CF Bedford box van - similar to your chev
vans)         http://www.buga.com.au/index.php?option=com_gallery2&Itemid=8&g2_itemId=225 
hoping for a quick engine change... it has now turned pearshaped and now just trying to dig myself out of the hole before it sinks too deep, LOL, don't get me wrong enjoying the learning curve, just a little time poor that's all. OK what do you think of these photo's?, just popped the heads (193's) off to double check and there was a little crap in the cylinders, a bit of sludge - milky brown -water &oil.. (head gasket?) and the valves a bit rusty in the same pot. Some sand / grit in another cylinder.... the left bank US Drivers side looked ok (apart from thr grit falling into the cyl when I pulled the head off)....the motor had no inlet manifold on it when purchased, so, hoping it's just shed grit & dust....

Can I get away with cleaning the cylinders with compressed air and a good clean before I replace the head gasket (new) & heads ?

which is a better head... 882 vs 193 ? only have pre TBI inlet performer manifolds, nothing for TBI?
I do have a new Holley 350, but have access to Qjet, and am curious about the tuneability?

Thanks in advance Dan.....

[Gordon]

Jeez Dano, that doesn't look good at all mate. What was the condition of the sump oil like? Any signs of moisture in it ?

[BusyKiwi]

Looks like the engine has been sitting with water in it, left outside maybe ? To much water staining for blown head gasket.

Looking at the photo it looks like the engine has been turned over (by hand) but could just be the angle, if it has, poor diesel in the bores and wash and tip out, don't use compressed air as it can wedge the junk into the rings, rinse and repeat.

if it hasn't been turned over ...
Put some diesel down the bore to help lube it. Even soak it for a day or two in diesel
Drain the oil, and turn the engine over and gently turn the flywheel back and forwards a little bit at a time to make sure it's hasn't glued the rings.
Once moving a bit, lay engine on side (rusty bore down) and carefully wind over to do full revolution while watching the bore for any signs of scoring.

If the rings were good you should be ok. If you want to be sure you could remove the pistons and check the rings aren't gunked up (could be just the top one). but if the pistons are moving freely (up and down) and the valves are seated it should all burn off when run.
If you don't remove pistons you can just do a compression test after you put heads back on.

Check your push rods as well, if it had been turned over and was sightly seized the rods could be bent. Just use flat surface and roll back and forwards with one finger in middle of the rod looking for the ends lifting. I doubt they would be but better to check them

[Dano]

Nice one thanks, the oil / sump was drained....apparently it was quite clean, but also the chap reckons it was a runner???....haven't got the sump off yet but will do.

 my thoughts exactly busy but thanks for REAL tips, I did soak the cyl prior to turning over (by hand) -  used Inox, seems ok, but will wash out as mentioned, old heads getting a clean up @ head shop, noticed a cracked valve,  and they'll get a bit of a port too...just to free it up, and breath  easier....The TBI heads aren't worth the time....+ a snapped bolt... ssooooo I'm hoping that this should do it, It'll mean a nice good solid motor when done, no oil leaks etc  if I don't find anything else.....I'll check the sump ...