What it cost me to own a $500 car, Part 41

"StudyStudyStudy" (jesterjin) 01/25/2017 at 15:55 • Filed to: None

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Engine is no longer supported by the crane!

The engine has a bit of tilt to it, which I don’t think it is supposed to have, I have a bit of adjustment to play with, but I will come back to it further down the road when the adjustment is absolutely neccessary (exhaust, intercooler, radiator plumbing).

It all comes back to the mount. The driver side mount was hard up against the engine without the bushing and associated tab in place. As is it would have pushed the entire block over maybe 2 inches.

Unfortunately being made out of stainless, to modify it would require another bottle of gas and wire, a stick welder, or a tig. I had only ever exchanged bottles, so when I looked into buying a bottle I was caught off guard at the price of $150-200 not including the gas. Even renting a bottle would be $70 for the year. Given that this is the only likely stainless piece I will be working on I wasn’t too happy about it and looked at other methods.

I almost pulled the trigger on getting a cheap stick/tig welder, but I really want to get a nice tig to be able to do aluminum down the road, so decided I would hold off for now.

After searching around I called the shop and explained my situation, super nice guy said he would wave the rental fee and just lend me the bottle for the weekend if I paid for the gas. I bought the wire and was on my way.

I took measurements and my orignal plan was to drill a locating hole, but after breaking 3 bits trying to slowly drill through stainless and making little more then a crater, I decided to cut the mount and relocate it.

While the material is quite thick probably 3/16 - 1/4 inch, I didn’t like how the piece was floating in the back with no support. I reinforced it with mild steel braces and figured I would cap the mount off and support the movement of the inner brace as well.

Note the spacer I used later on after the mount cooled and retracted several mm on me. Even now the tab barely fits between the ears.

By my estimates I had to move the “ears” down 20mm and to the side 5mm. I fear though it may not have been enough given the way it sits, but the crank is centered which to me was my biggest concern so I’ll take my little victory as I can. I may be able to clock the motor if my OCD gets the better of me, but there are plenty more crucial things to get done in the mean time.

(Sorry for the angle, I still had the crane in the way)

Not sure how, but turns out the replacement water pump the PO used doesn’t bolt up to the back half of the pump.

Note you can’t thread in a bolt in the holes as they don’t line up, you can even see that one bolt bole to the far left and the hole for it on top of it...The pump is a name brand aisin pump, so I’m not sure if he ordered it for the wrong car or what not.

Given that this is nearly the most painful thing to get to (short of the oil pump) once the engine is fully assembled, I decided to order a new complete pump to install before I start putting back the timing assembly. I think the store probably thinks I like paying to have things shipped separately...

Head is sitting in my trunk. Looks like the machine shop did a great job. Was a bit more then I expected, but I didn’t figure in the cost of the new valve lash pads to shim the valves as the head was decked. They also added a shallower angle mismatch so the valves seal better to the head to hold more boost. Hopefully throw that on this coming weekend and mock up the manifolds to eye ball the space and the modifications I will need.

One big order left for the turbo, waste gate, and flanges, then one small order for hoses left to go.

Lessons learned:

Ask around, some people still have common sense and can be quite generous when it doesn’t cost them anything.

If you aren’t the guy to settle, just do things yourself.

You can spend a lot more money trying to save money if you aren’t careful

Money Spent

308L wire - 40

Helium, argon, co2 tri mix - 60

.030 tip - 2

Steel - 6

Hardware foor space - 5

Nuts, bolts, washers - 20

Water pump and thermostat - 150

Spark plugs -15

Oil cap - 7

Subtotal - 305

Total spent - 25135

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > StudyStudyStudy 01/25/2017 at 16:18

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You need to post some pictures of the whole car more often. I was going back through your progress at one point and found them few and far between. I am enjoying following your progress though. Keep up the good work :)

StudyStudyStudy > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/25/2017 at 16:30

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I would, but it is in a really sad state right now, boxes on top, intercooler pipes and parts inside, covered in oil and grime. Same reason I haven’t updated my insurance, I’m afraid if they ask for a picture they would devalue it lol. Will definitely post more once it looks a bit more presentable.

Picture someone took of it before I took it apart, I think they cleaned it up quite a bit in photoshop though.