Triumph Spitfire Engine Rebuild #8

A few more hours at the garage. Most of my time was dedicated to painting various pieces-parts, but I did officially start engine re-assembly...even though it was just a few bolts.

A couple of odds and ends first, however. I finally found my other steering knuckle and got the bent bolt swapped out. I also went with the new flat washers that I bought for that purpose since they were a bit thicker.

There it is! Right where I left if, of course...as is usually the case.

With the new bolt, the crookedness of the knuckle disappeared, as I hoped it would. I also got the bolts lockwired together with not problem. Lockwiring isn't too bad, but you do have to put the wire under a good amount of tension, pulling it tight around the piece, before and during the twisting. This prevent a lot of slack when you're all done. A bit easier said than done, but it's okay with a bit of practice.

Starting the lockwire twisting with lockwire pliers.

After four tries, it's done. On the shelf for future use. Clamp bolts seem a bit long...might have gotten the wrong lengths?

I got the front seal in the timing cover put in. I got it started with my fingers and tapped it home with a rubber mallet.

Went in with no problem.

I also got a lot of stuff painted including the front and rear engine plates, oil pan and valve cover. Two coats of Rust-Oleum Engine Primer and two coats of Rust-Oleum Low Gloss Black Engine Paint.

Taping off the front engine plate.

Decided to go with a Signal Red valve cover using some of my chassis paint.

As for the motor, I went at it again with the brush hone. Turned out much better this time with the cross-hatch. After reading a long post on my favorite forum about one member's adventures at rebuilding his engine in-place, I discovered that a perfect cross-hatch is based on cylinder size, drill speed and repetition rate (how fast you move it in and out of the cylinder). So, given that, I ran the drill at 450 RPM and ended up with the picture you see below after about 45 seconds, at about 2 seconds for each repetition (in and out).

Ooooh, ahhhh. 

Got a lot of the pitting out as well, but I didn't want to cut any more.

After that, I had to wash the hole thing again so that sucked up some time and, with a kid's basketball game fast approaching, I essentially stopped for the day, outside of putting the coolant drain plug and oil galley bolts and plugs, all with new washers, in.

Water drain plug installed. That crankcase breather hole is laughing at me.

New oil galley bolt washers; copper in this case. Block is upside down here.

I still had a bit more time after that so I did an idiot check to make sure that I did indeed have a Mk2 flywheel for the new clutch that I got on Friday. I hastily cleaned up the flywheel of some of it's surface rust...

Before. Some cobwebs in there, too.

After. Still needs more work, of course.

 ...and it fit just fine. Lucky me!

Looks good!

That was about it. Doesn't seem like much, but that was about 6 hours of work. When you think about each part getting at least 4 coats of paint and having to wash the block, it adds up. Until next time...

Triumph Spitfire Engine Rebuild #7

A few more hours in the garage over the last several days. A majority of the time concentrated on block work and it went pretty well.

You may remember from a previous post, though, that I was refurbishing the steering coupler. This came out pretty good, though I did discover that one of the bolts is bent and it appears to be making the one side crooked. If I could just find my other coupler, I'd swap bolts out!

I had sourced the rubber bushings and needed to drill out the centers to the appropriate size, which happened to 5/16".

The bolt and appropriate drill bit. Notice that the shank of the bolt and larger in diameter than the threads.

I had to come up with a way to hold the rubber bushing in place and settled on just a pair of vice grips lightly gripping it. The teeth provided just enough friction to prevent it from turning. I used a drill press to keep the hole as straight as possible. Not perfect, but it worked.

Hi-tech holding method.

Assembly was straightforward, including the grounding strap. As I mentioned in that previous post, the strap electrically connected both sides of the steering coupler since the rubber bushings would prevent a path for current flow. The holes in the strap were different diameters, so there wasn't much choice on reassembly depending on which side of the bolt it was supposed to be one (thicker shank or thinner threads).

The grounding strap showing the different hole diameters.

Partial assembly, closeup on the smaller-holed grounding strap end (top left bushing).

Final assembly except the lockwire. You can't see the crookedness here. Gotta look for that other coupler!

I also painted the timing chain cover in the low gloss black.

Still a bit wet in this picture.

After that is was on to the block. I wanted to hone the cylinders and then clean the heck out of it in preparation for painting.

The cylinders looked okay, though I had concerns about #2 and #3. There was some minor rust in there and some pitting, but I was hopeful it would hone out. Not so much, as you'll see in the video. I have to ultimately determine what I'm going to do, but I'm leaning towards keeping it the way it is as I can barely feel any deterioration.

Think this is #4. Not bad. The line at the top is from the top of the ring stroke, but there is no "lip" there.

Think this is #3. Discoloration and rust is evident.

For the honing process, I purchased a Brush Research 2.75", 240-grit Flex Hone brush from Amazon for about $25. These are what I remember using in auto mechanics class in high school. I go into it more in the video, but here's a still of the directions.

Directions.

After the honing process, which I may revisit, it was time for a serious bath of warm soapy water to get rid of all of the honing residue and all of the other junk that had accumulated from cleaning with the wire cup brush.

Time for your bath!

Once that was done, I put the core plugs in. I used a Gasgacinch Gasket Sealer as a mild adhesive/sealer, though a good tapping was required to drive the plugs fully home. I don't expect them to leak. Oh, and I used compressed air and water to do a basic flush on the block. Lots of pretty nasty stuff came out of there. Should have taken a picture.

Core plug in front of block.

The gasket sealer and a dish-type core plug.

This socket and a dead-blow hammer were all that was required to drive the plugs home.

It wasn't very hard getting them lined up and in straight. I had some initial concerns, but I just tapped on the side that wasn't going in and it did with no issues.

Post installation. Block is rotated for doing the other core plugs.

After that, I put ear plugs in all of the threaded holes or otherwise taped over stuff that I didn't want painted like the fuel pump mounting point, gasket surfaces, etc. I cut the ear plugs off flush with a razor knife so they wouldn't interfere with the paint going down smoothly.

Example of the ear plugs protecting the threaded holes. This is the dynamo mounting bracket point.

One side ready...

...and the other.

I used the Rust-Oleum Engine Primer that I got from Amazon and got two coats on, waiting about 30 minutes between coats as per the can instructions.

One side done...

...and the other.

And the rear mounting plate as well.

I stopped over there tonight on my way home from work and got two top coats of the Rust-Oleum Low Gloss Black Engine Paint on the block and the rear mounting plate. I took these pics with my cell phone, so not that great.

One side done...

...and the other.

I waited about 30 minutes between coats, again as per the can instructions. While I was waiting, I got the anti-roll bar bolted in. My fears of it not fitting turned out for naught as it went in fine. I scratch some of my red paint, of course, but it's in there. I do need to get a crows foot to torque the bolts, however. No pics of that.

I also dropped the head off today to get it worked. I asked them to press in new valve guides, check for a flat deck, hot tank it and install hardened valve seats for the exhaust valves and the intake valves if they thought it was needed. I should get that back sometime mid-week.

Oh, and I did end up taking advantage of the most recent Rimmer's sale to buy the interior for the car. All of it. No, it wasn't cheap. But, I did save a lot of money and, like when I bought all of the sheet metal, I'll do a post of the cost comparison when I get the stuff in my hands, which should be Friday!!!

Triumph Spitfire Engine Rebuild #6

Got a few hours over at the garage this weekend. Family commitments prevented me from getting a full day, but I should get back over there on Tuesday.

The work started cleaning up the front and rear engine plates and the timing chain cover. There isn't too much too these things, but they were rather nasty with that disgusting blue-metallic paint and lots of grime in the nooks and crannies. All of it had been soaking since before the holidays in Purple Power to break down the heavy stuff.

I didn't take a "before" picture of the rear plate, but it was similar.

After a good scrubbing with those brushes in the right side of the picture.

After scrubbing with nylon brushes, I took the knotted wire cup and the angle grinder to everything. The rear plate was easiest as it's just flat. I removed all of the remaining gasket material and easy to get to stuff with that. Then I put them all in the blast cabinet to rough up the surfaces for paint and get in the smaller crevices that the wire wheel couldn't reach.

Close-up after the wire wheel application.

I have no idea what this arrow is for. I didn't put it up to the engine and it may be obvious when I do, but for now...mystery!

Timing chain cover after a visit to the blast cabinet. Not a perfect job.

I chased the few threaded holes in front engine plate with my thread chasers and cleaned out the inside of the hole with round wire brushes. I didn't put any paint on the engine plates because I need to size up the gaskets and see how it's going to fit on the engine so I don't paint anything that is hidden or needs to be clean for gasket application.

I did get two coats of Rust-Oleum high temperature primer (the stuff I mentioned in my last post) on the timing chain cover in preparation for it's top coat of engine paint. Like the way it turned out.

Paint is still wet here, but it will dry "flat".

After that, I gave the bore gauge a try. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but once I did, it went pretty smooth. I did a video to explain what I was doing because it seemed easier. The video isn't all that great, so I may make another one. I also figured out that I made a mistake or two, so I'm going to repeat the measurements anyway. For now, however, if you want a "mostly" correct way to operate a bore gauge, give the video a shot. It runs about 7 minutes.

Triumph Spitfire Engine Rebuild #5

Got a little bit of work done tonight...a Friday of all nights. Wife is going to sunny FL for a few days starting tomorrow so it's Daddy Daycare for a while. Perfect timing on her part as we are expecting 4-8" of snow starting right about the time she is supposed to take off. Since this is a family-oriented blog, I won't say anything.

I was able to source some rubber washers for the steering knuckle from my local True Value store. They are 1/4" beveled rubber washers and ran me a whopping $0.23 each. This is opposed to $1.96 from The Roadster Factory. This is not to disparage TRF, of course, as I've spent quite a bit of money with them in the past and have always liked the quality of their parts. In this case, however, the fit is too close to pass up.

The only modification requirement, however, is that the center hole is too small and must be drilled out. I forgot my drill index at the house so I wasn't able to drill out the rubber as large as I wanted. I was able to do a proof of concept with a too-small bit that I had laying around the garage, however, in the drill press and it worked just fine, so I don't expect any problem. I'll update with a bunch of pics when I get it done.

The washers, as bought. The screw is to the right. The washers at the top are just in case. Update forthcoming!

I did get a new toy in the mail from Amazon today. I fought with myself on whether to spend the money on a bore gauge since I don't really see more than limited use. But, since the workshop manual calls one out for measuring cylinder bores and I've seen them in all of the engine rebuild videos that I've watched on YouTube, I decided to drop the $55 on one. The Christmas gift certificate didn't hurt my decision, either! I went on the cheap side so I don't expect any miracles, but it should give me a warm fuzzy that the cylinder bores, and anything else that I use it for, are close enough. I didn't get to use it, but I will and I'll let you know.

The bore gauge. Definitely from China, but Harbor Freight doesn't carry them. Surprise!

The business end of the bore gauge. Instructions are in English, so there's that!

As I was going to meet the rest of the family for dinner (I got out of work early), I didn't really have much time to do anything else, but I wanted to get the core plugs out.

What are core plugs, you ask? They are commonly referred to as freeze plugs, but that is a misnomer. Based on the common name, many people believe that these plugs are there to provide a kind of over-pressure relief if the coolant in your block freezes. The idea is that these plugs will pop out as the water expands towards the freezing point to prevent the block from cracking. Well, that's not the case.

First, pure water expands as it approaches about 40F (4.4C), then it starts to contract. So, before it actually freezes, water is actually more dense than at freezing. It is a common misconception that water expands all the way to freezing. In any case, the plugs won't pop out. As much as a pain in the a$$ as it was to get my core plugs out, I can pretty much vouch for that fact.

What the core plugs are really for is a result of the casting process. Sand molds, or casts, were made for the cast-iron blocks. Since the molds needed to be designed to provide cooling jackets, oil passages and several other internal pathways, there was sand internal to the block that displaced the iron that was poured in. As a way to get the sand out, there was the need to have several holes in the casting. The block was designed so that the holes all fed into the same "side" of the block (the coolant side) and the sand was cleaned out through these holes.

Of course, the holes now needed to be plugged to prevent loss of coolant, so core plugs were used. At some point, I think during the Mk1 run, Triumph switched from a dished-type core plug to a bucket-type plug. The bucket ones are probably what you are used to seeing in most cars.

Dished-type plugs (except for that one just to the left of center, which is a bucket-type).

Bucket-type plugs.

I did specifically ask Rimmer Bros. just in case, but the dished and bucket types are not interchangeable. Since I didn't know the exact history of the engine, I ordered a set of core plugs for replacement. I did get them all out, but it was a struggle at first.

Most of the videos I watched were based on the much more common bucket-type plugs. The general rule here was to bang on one end and the plug would rotate in the hole, allowing you to pull it out. This, of course, didn't work for me.

Beat the heck out of it with no rotation. 

I finally decided to just punch a hole through the plug, then pry it out. Worked like a champ!

You can just see the hole at the top.

I made quick work of the rest of the plugs in a similar manner...

Just the hole.

The dirty result.

...except for the plug at the rear of the camshaft.

The rear camshaft plug.

I was concerned that I would damage the bearing face in the block if I drove a hole through this plug, so I used my 1/2" cheater bar to bang it out from front. I slid the cheater bar in through the camshaft holes until the end contacted the plug, then popped it out.

The plug is hidden to the far right. I banged from the far left. This is internal to the block; the red rags are in the cylinder bores.

Behind the removed plugs was not pretty and required quite a bit of clean up. There was definitely some adhesive or silicone of some sort in there and I cleaned this out as best I could. There was also quite a bit of normal carbon steel corrosion (black deposits) that was broken apart with a flat-end punch and light taps of a hammer.

Close up of removed plug above and to right of distributor mount.

Plug holes after cleaning them up a bit.

The gunk that came out of the above holes.

I realize the plugs are essentially dead ends for coolant flow, but I tried to clean up the internal areas as best I could. I'll do a flush way down the road when I'm actually ready to fill the thing will coolant.

I do want to mention that at all times I was concerned with what was behind the plugs. Since I had no reference, I couldn't be sure that I wasn't going to bash into something behind the core plug and mess up the block or a water jacket or whatever.

In the end, it wasn't a source for major concern. However, I did start by driving a pointed punch into the plug until just before it punctured it. Then, I went shallow on my angle quite a bit to just puncture through the plug, then pried it out with the punch. This would be a time when I kick myself for not doing a video. However, it worked every time.

This was the closest concern I had. About 1/2" from the plug face to a cylinder wall.

That was about it. I consumed copious amounts of Friday Night Pizza after that. I still have some core plug "socket" cleaning to do and I have to figure out the correct sealant to use (pretty sure it's just plain silicone), but I'm closer to painting the block. I ordered high temperature primer from Amazon as a base coat for my high temperature black paint. Not sure that this was entirely necessary, but at only about $6 a can (as an add-on item), I couldn't resist.

Triumph Spitfire Engine Rebuild #4

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you have all recovered from whatever festivities you participated in and that you are all off to a good start!

As for me, I spent the afternoon in the garage going to town on cleaning up the block. I placed an order on Christmas Day for a bunch of stuff, some of which arrived on New Year's Eve and the rest I expect to arrive near the end of this week or early next. Unless I missed something, it should bring me through the engine refresh...but you know how that goes.

Post-pressure wash but pre-wire wheel.

Cast stampings. Pretty cool, especially the screws that held the negative of the casting stamp.

This was pretty brainless work that was basically just me and my trusty Harbor Freight 4 1/2-inch Angle Grinder with a Knotted Cup Brush. I got as much cleaned up as I could with that and shifted to a Wire Cup Brush and my drill for the tighter spots.

It made quite the mess with the remaining gasket material that I didn't fully remove.

She's going to need a really good cleaning before any assembly happens!

I also chased all of the threads with a bit of WD-40 and my thread cleaner (did I mention how much I love that kit). 

Thread cleaning in action. This is the water plug for the block.

Post-cleaning.

Another post-cleaning shot.

That was really about it. Like I said, not much going on. I did a lot of clean up and odds and ends around the garage so my actual work time wasn't all that much. It is tedious work and it sucks down some time, though, so be prepared.

The next week or so will bring some scheduling challenges so I'm not sure how much garage time I'll get. Until next time...