VR Ute

[In-Tech]

Hiya,
What is truck wash? Picture?

[Gareth]

CT 18 by chemtech is the truck wash I used

[brindo]

Truck Wash.JPG (38.12 KiB) Viewed 745 times

This is the stuff we use, but it’s the same as CT18. We also have a Citra Force and a heavy duty water based degreaser, but find the truck wash or vinegar to be the best – I’m sure there’s other options out there but these are all non flammable which I think is important in any workshop.
But I find the temperature is the key, particularly with spark plugs. If you run it for 30 minutes with the water cold, it’s not very effective. But get the temp up to 50 degs, then its brilliant.

For the heads, sorry no flow figures but they are from Pavtek – it’s just their basic CNC package. All up cost me a bit over $2100 but a fair chunk of that was freight. Rocker studs are still 5/16” as I will just use a bolt on adjustable rocker.
All the other places I talked to were $3500 to $4000. No one was interested in standard size valves so I am happy enough with what I got particularly for the price.

[vlad01]

Whats the ultra sonic like for alloy parts?

[brindo]

I believe some aluminium parts can be damaged. In saying that, I have never had to clean a great deal of alloy parts but the ones I have turned out fine. Basically a few motor bike carbies, rocker covers, timing covers etc. But I don’t leave them in there that long, and I don’t use vinegar, just a bit of truck wash.
I ran all the parts from my Whipple blower through it and couldn’t see any issues after cleaning it.

[In-Tech]

Hiya's,
Thanks for the info on the "truck wash"
I'll see if I can find something similar here in the states.

[vlad01]

Thanks for the alloy info, have always contemplated getting one, but it would almost be entirely for alloy cleaning since they are what I struggle with after my older brother pinched and used up my "mystery" acid which cleaned alloy so perfectly that nothing has matched it.

I suspect it was dilute nitric acid, but the stuff is hard to get here without checks and paper work as it was illegal to buy for a long time, due to certain laws I won't go into here.

I think this has eased up, as I find heaps of listing on chemical supplier sites now. So it might just be some paper work only now from what I speculate.

it was awesome what ever it was, only ate the corrosion away and completely untouched the parent metal, worked so well that calipers for example looked newer than actual new cast calipers. Was almost a white in reflectivity, in the pits and all where the corrosion was prior.

It destroyed iron and zinc alloys, hence this gave me a clue it was nitric acid.

[brindo]

I had deburred the oil pump gallery inlet and did minor clean-up of the valley before I sent it off for machining.
The metal is pretty soft and cleans up really easily. I didn’t go too crazy, just took off the casting dags. You see some go to the trouble of polishing the valley, but I am not sure this is beneficial as it reduces the surface area for heat transfer.

Valley.JPG (132.21 KiB) Viewed 375 times

I’m not against the rear seal conversions but I am just running the factory rope rear seal.
I think if you keep your oil changes up, and keep the PCV system in place with a vacuum in the sump, there’s no reason why a rope seal shouldn’t last (if you keep the revs down as well). Let them breath to atmosphere (or through catch can then to atmosphere) there has to be a positive sump pressure which is asking for trouble. If the PCV is working there should be 0.5” H20 vacuum in the sump (at idle) which solves a lot of issues. Having said that, this one was leaking - but the rear main in my one tonner is still ok with well over 300000kms on the motor.

I didn’t plan on doing any oiling mods other than just a spot of weld over the cam bolt oiler, and redrilling it so it now faces the gears. The other chain oiler is still in place.
And these are the Crower Cam Saver lifters.
There is just a flat that is about 0.002” deep milled on the side of the lifter. The intent would look to be that it is a small path for oil to leak through, and even though the lifter rotates, some of that leaked oil would fall onto the cam lobe.
Could well be a gimmick, but regardless Crower are a reputable lifter brand, so you’d have some confidence in the materials/manufacture regardless of how effective the cam saver function is.

Cam and Lifters.JPG (92.99 KiB) Viewed 375 times

And my calcs are wrong – either that or the deck height is less than I thought or the piston comp height is actually 1.507” which is unlikely.
Pistons are 0.002” proud of the deck, albeit crudely measured with a dial gauge. So could have 9.6:1 compression if I’m lucky. Possibly getting a bit high for what this engine is and might need to be careful with what petrol goes into the tank but if I get it right it should be quite healthy.
But considering minimal decking, these pistons seem to be a pretty good choice for a mild engine.
Cam degreed in Ok. Took a guess straight up of 2 degrees advanced and it matched the card.

Piston to Deck Height.JPG (108.56 KiB) Viewed 375 times

For the engine assembly lube, I used the CRC Engine Assembly Sta-Lube. No idea how good or bad it is, but I’ve never had an issue with it. For me the big advantage over oil is that for an engine like this that will more than likely not be started for a few months, you have some confidence that the assembly lube will still on the bearings when I get around to firing it up.
For the cam chain and similar parts, I just put them in a clip seal bag, add a bit of oil and allow to soak overnight.
For the cam lobes, I just use what came with the cam. Same with the conrod bolts. All the other bolts just get engine oil on the threads and under the heads.

Heads are on and torqued up. I am always hawky of the middle bolts as they never feel quite right to me. I just settle for the lower end of the torque spec and leave it at that.
Rockers are just the Street Terra adjustable.
Shame the rocker cover gaskets aren’t a plain black colour so they don’t stand out as much as what they do.

Assembled.JPG (107.51 KiB) Viewed 375 times

But engine is more or less assembled now.

I still need to fit the intake manifold but I want to get the gasket faces machined. I stuffed up badly when trying to match the ports and kissed the gasket face with the bur, so a light skim will fix that up. I also have no idea how much came off the heads so figure 0.005” skim should also go someway to getting the bolts closer to the centre of the hole. At the moment, the manifold will fit fine as it is, but the bolts are closer towards the inner edge of the bolt hole and a light skim will help centre it up.
I still have to prime the oil system, and have ordered a new RAE distributor and a set of ignition leads as the old set had a couple of burnt ones. Also a ordered a new starter motor and a 120 amp VS style alternator – so will need to mod the mounting bracket for that too.

Other than that, that’s pretty much it until I get the rest of the car back and can start putting it back together.
I’ll be sure to put the engine covers on backwards too.

[VK_3800]

Nothing wrong with rope seals once properly installed, it's the installation that is difficult with the seals available these days so we go looking for simpler solutions.

The lifters sit in high-pressure galleries so it will be pumped down, not just fall. Seems like it should be a small enough area that it won't cause a pressure drop so it could help, Holden V8s can be hard on the cam.

I’ll be sure to put the engine covers on backwards too.

I always wondered if the people who first started doing this had a reason, like supposedly getting a little air flow under the covers. Looks silly though.

[Gareth]

I’ll be sure to put the engine covers on backwards too.

This I have never heard of, what's the benefit?