575 replies to this topic

[CAU998]

Nice to see the heads being put to good use, i was going to do a leak test on the valve seats before i put my engine back together, take it the valves werent seated very well? Van looks to be coming on really well, i've finally seen sense and will be returning to the mini scene in the summer

[minivanman]

Cheers Curtis. The heads been a bit of a nightmare so far. I took it down to get unleaded seats put in it, and found that it had blown between the middle two cylinders, so it needed skimming as well. When I got it back they'd bent one of the rocker studs, and kept a few of the other studs out of it (Lesson learned there - always strip a head fully before taking it in) Luckily I've got a couple of spare heads I can use the studs from. Next problem was that I couldnt get the new valves to seat properly, turned out the seats hadnt been machined properly. Luckily theres a cutter in the garage so I didnt have to take it back. The valves that were in it were a complete mish-mash single groove and triple groove collets, and the caps were different as well. One of my spare heads has the same size valves though so I've used them in it. Just need to get new springs for it now and it will be done. Still faster than taking it to morspeed though.

[CAU998]

Ouch not good sorry about that, doesn't sound very clever, my college tutor made a quick buck on that i think. When he sold it to me, it looked like it was only worth using as an ankor on a boat it had pinkish flakey paint on it and i noticed all the collet groves were mish mash, but he said that he'd had the Inlet valves upgraded for slightly bigger ones which took the A + collets and i had a good look over it and the inlet ports and exhaust ports looked like it matched up to what he'd stated but now it sounds like a load of b***** , ill have a word with him because he must have known it was C**p.

[minivanman]

Yep, think he did feed you a bit of bull. The valves were slightly bigger, because I put MG metty ones back in instead of std. The ports have definately been played with as well, so it was worth it in the end I suppose. Don't think I'll be using the 1.5 rockers on it though after talking to icklemini about them, but I'll probably keep them "just in case".

[CAU998]

Yeah ill still have a word as its obviously a bodge up, when i got it, it was covered in oil and the valves were covered in coke i'd never seen a head or pistons with that amount of coke on in my life but when i questioned it, he re-assured me that it was a perfect head underneath, which it obviously wasn't and it was just lucky that you aren't lik some people that would want my private parts chopped off for selling a bodge job. Be interesting to know why icklemini wouldn't use the rockers as it might save me a huge amount in the summer.

[Tomf]

Why not try the MK2 Fiesta break conversion. So that you can fit the 10" wheels.

[minivanman]

Dave said the rockers can do more harm than good. If they're set up incorrectly they can cause massive side loading on the valves and take out the guides pretty quickly. With the cam I'm using its already a little lumpy on idle and putting the high ratio rockers on will make it rubbish below 2500 rpm, and most of all I want something thats comfortable enought to drive everyday. If you talk to Dave, he can tell you more.

Tomf, I wont be doing the fiesta conversion mainly because it uses 7.9" discs. We dont think these wheels will fit under 7.9s so its got to be 7.5" S brakes. I'm getting trade price on the S setup hopefully so it wont be massively expensive. If I can do the job properly then I may as well. Thats not to say the fiesta setup is a bodge, but I think there are better ways of achieving the same results.

[minivanman]

Been doing more fillering and its starting to look very good now. The front end is lining up well, and the back end is practically done. Today I've been working on getting the w&p arches to fit, which is proving to be a bit of a PITA. The back ones are about there now, but the front ones are a bit more difficult because they're having to be split for the flip front. And it looks like I'll be keeping on 12s for now because my cousin is keeping the KNs for his miglia looky-likey project. Ah well, cant win em all.

[andywaller]

yes mate

havent looked in your project for ages, but i got to say the van is looking awsome, really nice work you have done there.

im glad to se your liking how the filler is making it look good, mines going to need loads of little bits filler and i have been getting a bit worried about that!

[andywaller]

ooops so good i double posted it!

Edited by MOWOG, 22 April 2007 - 08:41 PM.

[minivanman]

Cheers Andy. The thing thats made the fillering easy is having an orital sander - takes seconds to get things looking good, and its got a vac attachment so theres very little dust. Well worth investing in one.

[minivanman]

I have an engine that looks like an engine again
Tomorrows task is to get the head torqued down and give it all a swift lick of paint. Then I just need to tart up all the ancillaries and its done. I love it when something goes right.

[Dog]

Those S followers?

[minivanman]

They're Keith Dodd 1.5 rockers. Dont think I'll be using them though - they'll make this engine a bit too rough.

[Dog]

Ahh I see, I've managed to pickup some Forged S rockers for mine, but I'm going to fit "higher" lift followers, rather than 1.5:1 rockers... Should be ideal with the SW5 cam...


What cam you using?