Engine disassembly

Well, we finally got the engine pulled apart. Due to the amount of oil caked up around the crankcase it made it difficult to find the last 3 bolts but we got there in the end.
Thankfully most of the internals are in good condition. The crank, conrods, pistons and cylinders are ok. There is some wear on the camshaft so I am not too sure if that can be machined or I will need a new one. All the bearings have some wear so those are going to be replaced, as well as the rings. The heads need some work so I will need to get new valve guides put in and new seats also. I might as well get as much done as possible while the engine is out then I won't have to worry about it for a while.

Engine before

We spent a good day just cleaning all the muck off the crankcase. I couldn't believe how stubborn oil could be. Shiny!

Rust

Have started doing some body prep work. There is quite a bit of surface rust on the vehicle. The roof was pretty bad. Luckily it had not eaten into the body work.

So after some "wax on, wax off" with some wet and dry sandpaper it was back to bare metal.

It was just a matter of doing one section at a time and sanding it back until smooth and all traces of rust removed.

Then I applied some rust proofing metal primer for protection and to prevent rust rearing its ugly head again.

Bel says, "It looks like a kid has gone crazy with lipstick"

Painting

Today we got the tinware, heater components and some other stuff that surrounds the engine, gave it a good clean then painted it.

Before

After (clothes lines have more than one use you know!)

Spolsion!

Well we found the culprit that was causing the engine problem: a severely damaged exhaust valve.
The give-away is the large piece missing! Looks like I need to add 4 new exhaust valves to my shopping list.

Bible

This will be my new best friend for a while.

Engine

2 litre 'Boxer' 4 cylinder, aircooled. 70 HP @ 4200rpm.

Engine out. I have read and heard on a few occasions that these engines are famous for being able to be pulled out in 20 minutes. After 4 hours I can say with confidence that record was in no danger of being broken today.....

Engine with exhaust, heater and a few other bits removed.

The engine was missing badly when we had it going prior to removal. (Yes we got it to run after being in a paddock for a couple of years!) Next job is to identify problem and fix it.

Brakes

The front discs are a bit rusty, but I have it on good authority that they can be saved.