Engine rebuild with no former experience........

This morning I removed the anti roll bar to give better access for painting, ideally I would remove the subframe too but I want to be able to roll the car back out of the garage a bit for painting so I will just mask it up.





Next I decided to install riv-nuts for the ignition ECU mounting bracket, better than trying to reach round to fit nuts.







Finally a job I think I've been putting off for a while, cleaning the engine bay. Degreaser first, then I'll sand it to give a key and then clean again with thinners. Boring and will take a couple of days to complete as there is lots of baked on grease.



This section above the radiator looks like its never been cleaned in the last 42 years.



That looks better.



Probably no update tomorrow as it will just be more of the same.

After a couple of days of preparation the engine bay is ready for paint. I will use an epoxy primer then basecoat and clear.

A few new supplies I had to purchase today, unfortunately I had no masking paper or film left, these will last me a lifetime.



The car was originally Magnetite blue but when I first started respraying it back in 2016 the colour spectrometer matched up Lada Sapphire blue as a closer match, so I have stuck with that since.



The bad news is that the weather forecast is cold (less than 10degC) for the next two weeks, so the painting will have to go on hold.

In the meantime I will push ahead mounting the transmission to the engine but as I don't want to leave the engine hanging on the crane or resting on the oil sump, I will need to make a frame so it can sit on the engine and transmission mounting points.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationThe alternator connector has never had a cover and now also has this insulation problem.



I was able to buy a cheap generic connector on ebay.



A new wire spliced in and the new connector fitted.



I then started to weld up a frame to support the engine, it was going well...



...... until the welder started to fail.



It then completely died.

A quick poke around inside revealed nothing, so I left it for 10 minutes and it burst back into life, I think a thermal cut-out out had triggered.



I'll finish the job tomorrow and move the engine off the stand and onto my new support.

Hi Jim,

I believe your welder wants a cleaning!
The dust makes cooling less effective and, depending on its character, could also have an impact on the connectors and/or the functionality of the PCB.

Regards,
Lutz

The first job today was to flip the engine and fit the feet at the rear of the block.



Next I removed the restored pan from the transmission and replaced it with the one from the old trans. I will refit the new one once it is back in the engine to avoid the paint being scratched.



Transferring the engine from the stand to the crane. Lots of parts removed first, they will be refitted once the engine is back in the car.



My dolly could do with being a bit wider, so I welded the two supports together.





The block supported at the back with timber.



Next the rear cover, treated with hylomar and grease packed into the seal to stop its internal spring from falling out when fitting.





This part which is bolted to the intermediate cover seems to be there just to collect oil leaks from the rear of the engine.

Intermediate flange fitted.



Finally the flex plate fitted.



Ready for the transmission tomorrow.