Originally Posted By: Trav
I am not familiar with the engine at a rebuild level but in general my main areas of concern with older engines is the cam and making sure the valves and seats are no lead fuel compatible.
I would definitely look into a roller cam conversion, hardened seats (I don't know if they still use stellite but it was the best at one time for conversions), SS valves.
The less boring and turning of internals the better. You may not need the crank turning, you need a good machinist and someone competent with high end measuring tools.
The standard .xx over and turn the crank .xx and line bore is mickey mouse, if anyone hits you such a thing without measuring first run. A good machinist can make or break the build.
Old engines like this are great because the iron is aged and much stronger than when it was made. The tens of thousand of heating and cooling cycles have made the iron itself much stronger and more stable.
Personally I would keep the old iron heads and have them properly done for this engine, I don't like mixed alloy engines in general.
Iron block and heads or aluminum block and heads either way is fine but mixing them creates a lot of stress on gaskets.
Even an aluminum intake can cause sealing problems with iron heads more so on a V engine, aluminum expands at over twice the rate of iron and wants to tear the gasket apart.
Yes, I totally agree with you! If I can't find a machine shop in the area that satisfies me I'll just do it all myself. I did many rebuilds in the early 70's and I know how to mic everything myself. I will keep everything as original as possible. My one dilemma is how to lower the compression. I don't want to do it with a thicker head gasket. So I'll probably end up buying pistons with a dish in them - I'm still searching on this. I have a complete set of factory manuals to help with the rebuild.
I am not familiar with the engine at a rebuild level but in general my main areas of concern with older engines is the cam and making sure the valves and seats are no lead fuel compatible.
I would definitely look into a roller cam conversion, hardened seats (I don't know if they still use stellite but it was the best at one time for conversions), SS valves.
The less boring and turning of internals the better. You may not need the crank turning, you need a good machinist and someone competent with high end measuring tools.
The standard .xx over and turn the crank .xx and line bore is mickey mouse, if anyone hits you such a thing without measuring first run. A good machinist can make or break the build.
Old engines like this are great because the iron is aged and much stronger than when it was made. The tens of thousand of heating and cooling cycles have made the iron itself much stronger and more stable.
Personally I would keep the old iron heads and have them properly done for this engine, I don't like mixed alloy engines in general.
Iron block and heads or aluminum block and heads either way is fine but mixing them creates a lot of stress on gaskets.
Even an aluminum intake can cause sealing problems with iron heads more so on a V engine, aluminum expands at over twice the rate of iron and wants to tear the gasket apart.
Yes, I totally agree with you! If I can't find a machine shop in the area that satisfies me I'll just do it all myself. I did many rebuilds in the early 70's and I know how to mic everything myself. I will keep everything as original as possible. My one dilemma is how to lower the compression. I don't want to do it with a thicker head gasket. So I'll probably end up buying pistons with a dish in them - I'm still searching on this. I have a complete set of factory manuals to help with the rebuild.
