Rebuild questions

[Bgfoot05]

Finally found someone locally that will rebuild my engine, this is due to most likely a cracked cylinder (maybe 2)

Since I'm basically forced into this situation, and my ultimate plan was to eventually rebuild the engine make it a hot rod build.  Anyway here is what I am thinking will give me enough kick when I want it and will give me some pull on the free way keeping it a fun drivers car.  Any suggestions or corrections to what I'm thinking will be appreciated.  This can all change once they pull the engine apart and tell me what we're looking at but if it's getting fixed or replaced I don't have enough experience in engines in general let alone this one to think I have a good handle of how to get what I want out of it and the level of knowledge in the forum is so staggering I could be reading posts on all of these topics for months and still feel like I have no idea where to go so I'm throwing my plan out there and seeing what everyone thinks.

 

'76 desmogged california car with brand new stock spec radiator I just put in over winter

4 speed

e12 head

exhaust header, not sure which one,  I will get pic next time I'm at the car, it is connected to stock exhaust I'm assuming since I had to get the connector ring between the downpipe and the resonator last year and I just ordered the oem part number and it was correct.

 

weber 32/36 with electric choke

 

How it's going to be driven, Mostly daily driver... this means gym, grocery shopping, errands etc but I'm in the sticks and  I'm going to be on the freeway a lot, and I like midrange torque, I also understand getting there I have to sacrafice some low end but , I would rather be able to have it  pull on the freeway between 4k and 5500 rpm than be able to go nuts from a dead stop, I'm probably not going to be pushing it near redline, not going to be doing track days or any planned hard driving.

 

I'm not looking for huge power gains I'd be happy at 130, my guess is I've never driven this car near stock numbers so however this is going to run after a rebuild if it ends up just getting it to stock or making is a fun performance build I think I have really no idea right now what I was missing before.  And I still thought it was a blast to drive it was just really pokey after 4k rpms and once at speed on the freeway it was just tired there was no acceleration after 5k.

 

 

I would like to keep the 32/36 , I have had zero  issues with this, even with 2 shit cylinders this car wants to run  and starts almost the first time every time no matter how long it's been sitting (I also realize this kind of consistent running has a lot of factors but fuel delivery has not been an issue)

 

Not opposed to going to a 38 but if the 32/36 can handle what I want to throw at it or even if the sync link kit will get me there,  I really feel like I can always change this later and easily. I don't think my driving needs call for  dual sidedrafts, but I haven't seen much conversation about a running a single sidedraft is this a thing? I am open to suggestions in spite of my reluctance to keep what I already have.  I also know the carb will play into the rest of the build too so I am open to reasonable suggestions just most of the posts I've read sounds like the 38 is not what I'm looking for.

 

My driving preference I'm going to need to to pull on the freeway between 4k and 5500 rpm, I'm probably not going to be pushing it over 6 unless I have to pass on the freeway

and cruising the country roads, WI has a lot of twisty hilly back roads .

 

 

Head

would like 284 cam 

if the work requires it upgrade valve guides and sleeves and just general refresh on the head, and port

 

For the block ,this is where I'm going to need an idea of what to have done

I'd like to bump up around 9 to 9.5 c/r (don't now anything about piston size so going to need some help here, I would at least like some direction when the shop calls and asks what I want them to do with it)

I'd like to keep as much stock internals as I can or keep what is already there if possible.

 

 

 

I have to replace my clutch so my flywheel will need resurfacing is it worth it to have it lightened?

Also how much will I gain from a smaller crank pulley.

 

 

Also will be replacing the motor mounts,  since it's out of the car anyway suggestions, rubber or IE Street/track mounts where there is  one rubber and one not?

I've already replaced trans mount with a new rubber one from IE

I've also Refreshed entire shift linkage almost no play now in the shifter

 

 

I think that's it, if I've gone overboard, missed something, or I'm just being ridiculous let me know.  I've never

a. had to replace/rebuild an engine

b. been in a position to build an engine to be what I want

 

So I'm trying to look at this as a positive situation instead of being really pissed about buying a really nice looking boat anchor.

 

Oh and not related but any suggestions on a thicker steering wheel I don't dislike my nardi just curious what everyone else has.

 

Thanks again 

 

 

[Leucadian]

I'll chime in where I can:

 

1.  If you're driving on the freeway a lot, I would highly recommend trying to source a 5 speed w/ OD and a 3.64 open diff.  This will make cruising much more enjoyable.  Obviously, you didn't ask for a rec on transmission, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

2.  Rubber motor mounts.

 

3.  I know @mark92131 ran a single side draft setup, but can't speak much to his experience on it.  There's lots of discussion about 32/36 vs 38/38 vs DCOE, I would give it a search to see what you can come up with.

 

 

 

 

[Son of Marty]

I'd go with a least a 292 cam and 9.5 pistons use the OEM engine mounts (be sure to reinforce the D/S mounting ear)  port match the manifolds/cylinder head ports, and get the engine running well before worrying about any carb changes

[Bgfoot05]

2 minutes ago, Leucadian said:

If you're driving on the freeway a lot, I would highly recommend trying to source a 5 speed w/ OD and a 3.64 open diff.  This will make cruising much more enjoyable.  Obviously, you didn't ask for a rec on transmission, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

I didn't ask about transmissions because I have a g240 which was going to be the swap next year but this is kind of eating into the budget.  Perfectly honest I'm not driving far on the free way I'll just be doing 70 to 80 alot because I'm 8 miles out from the nearest "city" and free way is the most direct path.  I didn't think it was that bad in 4th gear I just didnt' have any more power which now I'm realizing was most likely power drop off from the cracked cylinder  But thanks for the suggestion.  Oh and that transmission is the reason I'm going to have a spare block if they cant fix this one because the guy I got the trans from made me take the engine that was from the car with it or I couldnt' buy the trans, he might have saved my ass depending how this goes.

[Bgfoot05]

6 minutes ago, Son of Marty said:

I'd go with a least a 292 cam

what this look like in terms of power band to the 284, I've seen a lot that this does not idle well.

[Son of Marty]

IMO the 284 will make power in the lower RPM's if you want the power in the 4-5/5k Rpm the 292 will do that, I've never had a problem with a smooth idle, I can get mine with duel 45 dcoes to idle a 400 RPM's before the oil light starts to flicker and I set my idle at 900 RPM's and it's happy.

[tech71]

40 minutes ago, Bgfoot05 said:

For the block ,this is where I'm going to need an idea of what to have done

Forget about the block until your E12 cylinder head has been overhauled and is determined serviceable. That includes a pressure test.  That head could be cracked, corroded, warped,  too skinny, ect ect. 

If you need a replacement head you could end up with a different version, there are 3 main ones, E12, E21 2.0 and 121.

All will work fine but each one requires a different style of piston.

Basically, you  build your block according to what cylinder head you end up using.

53 minutes ago, Bgfoot05 said:

I have to replace my clutch so my flywheel will need resurfacing is it worth it to have it lightened?

I think so

 

55 minutes ago, Bgfoot05 said:

I'm not looking for huge power gains I'd be happy at 130,

Thats a 30% increase in HP which pretty much is  huge for a 32/36 carb.

Rubber engine mounts for sure.

 

Are you preparing for sticker shock? Labor on this endeavor is going to be brutal...

[Bgfoot05]

2 minutes ago, tech71 said:

Forget about the block until your E12 cylinder head has been overhauled and is determined serviceable.

Yes they are going to inspect both head and block before anything is decided upon but I don't want the call and be like uhhh I dunno make it fast?  I can't look at these two things as separate until they tell me things change, I'm not ordering parts, I'm not telling them to order parts until I know the state of the block and the head. I am really just asking what I have in my head for where I want to end up is reasonable or if I'm out of my mind.  They could of  course tell me my head is f'd and my block is fd and then I have to go find an engine or they find a block and a head etc.

 

2 minutes ago, tech71 said:

Are you preparing for sticker shock? Labor on this endeavor is going to be brutal...

Well its not like I can sit there go oh well I don't' have an engine, and I'm not buying something that hasn't been rebuilt  and if I do then to know it's good I'll have it rebuilt.  Any way I skin this cat this is getting done and however it gets fixed it's going to be in the same ball park, or I let it sit and rot, or loose over half of what I paid for it and sell it as a roller. I've spent two weeks thinking about how brutal this is going to be especially since this is going to be split between two shops so I'm going to see 2 stupid bills, I mean of course one is going to be way bigger than the other but I paid cash for the car, I bought because it ran well, or at least I thought it did.   Then a basic tune up turned into the rabbit hole from hell and here we are I'm more pissed about what I paid for the car than this happening at this point because I'd feel better about throwing this kind of money at a clean body that needed an engine than the ticking time bomb I bought.  I do appreciate the heads up though

[Mike Self]

1 hour ago, tech71 said:

I have to replace my clutch so my flywheel will need resurfacing is it worth it to have it lightened?

I had several lbs removed from my 228mm flywheel when I rebuilt the engine.  The shop took crescent-shaped bites out of the edge, between the pressure plate mounting holes.  Removing weight as close to the edge as possible is better than close(er) to the center.  Helps my engine to rev a bit quicker.  You won't need to take quite as much off as you have a 215mm flywheel if that is a non-tii squarelight engine.  But if you're going for significantly more hp, you might consider the larger flywheel for longer clutch life.

 

I've been happy with 9.5 pistons, a 284 Schrick, 32/36 Weber properly jetted and the aforementioned lightened flywheel.  Dunno the final hp, but it seems quite adequate.

 

mike

[Mikesmalaga72]

Good idea, get a full assessment from the builder on the upper and lower end/oil pump bearings etc only then can you budget. As the other esteemed  folks mentioned here all apply. You really need to know where your engine baseline is before setting performance goals. Frankly a stock engine is practical while increasing performance so do costs.  A Shrick 284 cam 9.5:1 compression with all the trimmings, balance crank, lighter rods, port matching larger carb/s valve guides seals,  swirl polished valves, unshrouding valve ports, match porting would net you around 130 plus hp at the crank. A 292 with similar build exc 10:1 pistons on a friends engine was around 160 plus hp at crank with dual webers. Good luck with your plans.

Edited Friday at 12:05 AM by Mikesmalaga72

[Mark92131]

5 hours ago, Leucadian said:

3.  I know @mark92131 ran a single side draft setup, but can't speak much to his experience on it.

 

I built 2 motors with this setup, my cab and a pastel blue 1975.  Both cars had some level of engine upgrades, (Rebuilt motor, Pauter rods, HD rockers & springs, Mahle pistons, 284 Ireland Engineering (IE) Reground Cam, Lynx Manifold, Weber 45 DCOE Carb, 02Again Shorty Header, Standard Exhaust, New Fuel Pump, 123 Ignition distributor and Kingsbourne Plug Wire Set in the Cabriolet)

 

(Valve job, stock lower end, new rocker shafts, 292 Ireland Engineering (IE) Reground Cam, Lynx Manifold, Weber 45 DCOE Carb, 02Again Shorty Header, IE Stainless Steel Exhaust, New Fuel Pump, Pertronix Ignition and Kingsbourne Plug Wire Set in the 1975 Pastel Blue car).

 

The single side draft setup was great, easy to tune, great sound, no syncing issues.

 

Mark92131

 

 

 

 

[Son of Marty]

5 minutes ago, Mark92131 said:

no syncing issues.

If your having sync problems with duel carbs I'd look at the linkage use the factory set up or Hal exhalent reproduction, after all BMW made several models with duel carbs and I don't think they would do that if they couldn't be made to run right. 

[Bgfoot05]

I think I'm going to have the shop look at my steering box since the engine is out and at the very least replace the flex joint there,   any thing else I should just do because the engine is out,  im already going to have them reinforce the driver's motor mount, alternator bushings and inspect the suspension and bushings etc.  I went through the pedal box this winter and that seemed alright other than clutch pedal connection bushing and I took care of that.  And since I have the blue coil and the po left left the resistance wire in place,  I'll have them take out the resistor wire. Have I missed anything? 

Edited Friday at 12:52 PM by Bgfoot05

[Bgfoot05]

18 hours ago, Mike Self said:

You won't need to take quite as much off as you have a 215mm flywheel if that is a non-tii squarelight engine.  But if you're going for significantly more hp, you might consider the larger flywheel for longer clutch life.

am I going to need an upgraded clutch or will stock be adequate

[tech71]

3 hours ago, Bgfoot05 said:

am I going to need an upgraded clutch or will stock be adequate

Upgrade smupgrade... Thats a no