It's a beeuuuuuteeefull day in Wisconsin. 80ish. Spring has sprung.
The blue Bugeye that was the prime project of SOS'03 last post-Thanksgiving
Day has left the building under it's own power. What started as an exercise
to reduce oil consumption in a 1275 ended with a thorough engine
freshening. (not rebuild) 2 new pistons and a full set of rings, bore kept
standard. Paul A's rear seal fix. (EXCELLENT, btw. I wont build another
A-series without it. I might apply the technique to my Landies as well) New
286 cam. New bearings, gaskets, seals, of course. 1 new valve, rest lapped.
New oil pump, lifters as well. We added a vented timing cover, though
removed the brillo pad, and installed a Volvo flame trap which we Yed with
the valve cover into the Weber manifold. So far, no leaks, no smoke. We
moved the timing mark to the RH top of the timing cover for ease of.... timing.
Naturally, shipwright's disease attacked the owner (not me) and things
got
painted, fixed, and replaced. The car wasn't bad, but now it is much
better. The usual unrelated problems surfaced, and have been dealt with. I
know it seems a long time, but really, the car was only "down" for crappy
driving weather anyway. He and I worked on occasional Thursday evenings,
with more teaching than anything going on. Probably total time taken in the
no-rush-at-all project was about 50 hours, I think. (wait, let me count the
empties...... yep 50 hours is about right)
A satisfying project, and a happy BE owner in possession of a lot more
knowledge, and a closer bond to his car.
Just thought I'd share.
Get out. Peter C.
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