1600 Stroker motor build....

Holy cow people...

Unlike a V8 with two separate heads to deal with, when you fill the X motor up, it completely soaks everything from the cams, buckets, etc all the way down. The assembly lube will last on the bearings until the oil arrives after a couple of seconds.

Fire it up. I can promise you Fiat did not do any special prep on the engines when they were installed.

However, I do understand wanting to be careful at this point.

Great build and good luck!
 
Well as much as I'd love to agree with you, I'm going to err on the side of caution. I spoke to my machinist and he agreed that removing the distributor and the timing belt and rotating the aux. pulley with a drill slowly until the oil reaches the camshaft is the best way to ensure good lubrication while engine is still on engine stand.

I know the discussion of what type of oil to use goes from here to forever but I'd still like to hear of other members experiences with break-in oils.

I was advised to use "Valvoline full fleet 15w40" which is meant for Diesel trucks along with "Lucas break-in additive" which is high in zinc.

Valvoline:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/32108116393...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1832wt_1133

Lucas additive:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lucas-Oil-1...ies&hash=item2c7624b6ba&vxp=mtr#ht_1887wt_896

I was going to just use "Royal Purple" break-in oil which is also high in zinc.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Purpl...rts&hash=item540044ee41&vxp=mtr#ht_1919wt_896

Any thought or suggestions are always welcome.

'PeteX1/9
 
Great questions, but do you want to turn this great progress thread into an oil thread ? This is double beat to death, no disrespect meant.

If you are worried buy special break-in oil, you can't really screw up unless you run too high or low viscosity. avoid synthetic if you can. Diesel truck oils have higher ZDDP, that is why they are recommended.

Hows that install going? I love this thread, the engine looks beautiful.

In case the next post will be: engine is installed, what should I do to break it in. I also suggest you research because that is triple beat to death. Most say warm it up and run it hard to seat the rings.
 
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Kids had a snow day today so my son helped me build an engine cradle.
My engine stand won't allow me to install the flywheel and transmission so I wanted to build somewhere to place the motor and then I can raise it up into the car with my shop jack while lowering the car onto the motor using my car hoist.

















I still plan on screwing the current cradle base to a second larger piece of plywood and installing casters so I can move it around easier and it will get it high enough to slide my shop jack underneath it.

A very simple design using scrap wood but functional.

'PeteX1/9
 
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Great really. Just waiting on new timing belt to arrive hopefully by Friday. My header is being sent out to Jet-hot for ceramic coating in the next week and I'm hoping to prime the motor for oil pressure by Christmas. If all is good I'll install the motor for first fire up early in the new year. How about your build? From what I've read it looks like you're still doing alot of fabricating.
This has been a great challenge and learning experience for sure.

'PeteX1/9
 
Looking forward to updates as they come..

Mine, it's gonna be awhile. Getting too cold to work outside - no real workspace in the garage. I'm thinking about moving the engine to the basement - just gonna be interesting carrying it down through the bilco doors.

So much will need modifying/fabricating for the engine management, I 'm not sure when it will all come together.

I'm thinking I may also repair the rust in the rear strut towers, whilst the engine is out. This would make sense, however I don't want to get spread out on too many disparate tasks. I'd really like to have it all back together before I forget where things are, or have been stored.... I know how that goes!
 
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I used a heavy duty degreaser, wire wheel and elbow grease. I used a high heat ceramic header paint so it'll be easy to wash and can withstand heat. I had bought a pint of POR 15 engine paint for the tranny but I could only apply it by brush so I wasn't happy with the result.

Tomorrow I'll finish my engine cradle by doubling up the plywood platform and adding casters.


'PeteX1/9
 
I bought a soda-blaster last year - I think I'll use that on the trans - certainly can't put it back together without at least attempting to make it look pretty. Not sure I have the level if energy required to detail it as much as yours, which really looks awesome! :)
 
Just got my PBS header back from Jet-Hot (ceramic coating) and am very impressed with the quality as it was coated inside and out. Now I can install it and the motor will be ready to re-install into the car.

Lifetime warranty on the finish.





'PeteX1/9
 
Looks very good. I actually got a refund from Allison on my header for the cost of the coating, the coating job was very poor. Hopefully yours holds up.
 
This is my first time dealing with Jet-Hot and I tried to avoid the expense by using aerosol ceramic paint but that is just a joke. The reviews for Jet-Hot are that they are the best in the business and their warranty is second to none.

AN UNMATCHED WARRANTY

The Jet-Hot exhaust coating warranty is the best in the industry. Lifetime - no questions asked. If you think your Jet-Hot exhaust coating isn't living up to its billing, we'll coat your part again on our dime. If it fails in the first year, we’ll re-coat your part and cover the shipping both ways. If the coating fails after a year, ship us the part, and we'll coat it and ship it back on our dime. Yep, we stand behind our work.


Here's a picture of my coated PBS header installed.




'PeteX1/9
 
Installed motor over the past couple days (pics will follow):grin:. It went very smooth but I did notice that my rear control arm bushings look awful. The rubber is cracked or almost completely missing around the bushing. They're original to the car ('84) so how difficult are they to replace?

I couldn't find a listing for them on the MWB website but I found these on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

Do they have to be pressed in or can I just hammer out the old ones and hammer in the new ones?

'PeteX1/9
 
Don't hammer on them...

petex19 said:
Do they have to be pressed in or can I just hammer out the old ones and hammer in the new ones?

'PeteX1/9
Click to expand...

Actually you can hammer on the old ones as much as you want I guess. Or you can burn them out with a propane torch.

You don't necessarily need a press. You can get clever with a threaded rod, some large washers, and some appropriate sized sockets to force them in and out.

Pete
 
Re: bushing

Hi Pete. Your build looks great. Many thanks for sharing.

The rear suspension bushings are available stateside from Obert:
http://www.fiatplus.com/rear-a-arm-bushing-pr-285573.html
at a good price. He currently shows 14 in stock. Of course you need 4 per car. I have ordered them from him before and they seemed to be good quality. But a word of advice: if you order from him insist that he send them via postal service (USPS). He doesn't like doing so and makes you fill out a special waiver. I can only guess that he has had some problems with the postal service in the past. If he sends them UPS or Fedex you will get nailed here with all kind of duties and fees when they arrive. But I have found if they come via postal they just arrive at your door with no extra fees. Seems to take about 10 days to Ontario.

Also available stateside from Mr Fiat: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fiat-600-X1...ies&hash=item485a1352b4&vxp=mtr#ht_1101wt_906
I have never ordered anything from them, so cant comment on quality or service, but again insist that they ship via postal.

Also available from many suppliers in England and Europe. Like you found. Also check Ebay UK and Ebay.de, or places like Eurosport.

As for installation, well there is a special tool for doing so. Someone here (I think maybe Bernice ?) made one and lends it out for the cost of postage. I'm sure if you use the "search" function here you will find out more.

Or else it can be done in a press - or even a vise - with a selection of sockets and spacers. I posted instructions here a year or two back.

A word of warning. When you remove the arm from the car, a bunch of shims will probably fall out. Make sure you put them back exactly where they came from !

Good luck. If you manage to borrow the tool, let me know. I need to do this too. Maybe you could pass it on to me while it is north of the border.

Cheers, Doug.
 
Usually a press is required

to get the old ones out and the new ones in. Trying to hammer new ones in will damage them.

There is another option and one I have used on my last two Xs. You could replace to original rubber units with urethane versions and sharpen up the handling a little.

Here is where I got mine:

http://www.superflex.co.uk/products.php?cat=124

I see they now have a front tie rod kit, which they didn't have when I bought the front inner, rear trailing arm and steering rack bushes.

For installation I simply knocked out the rubber centre which can be surprisingly (and scarily!) easy. I then cut through the metal tube with a hacksaw which releases the tension then the tubes knock out easily. You clean the surfaces of the trailing arm tubes, lube the bushes and inner metal tube and slide them in by hand. Very simple and worth it in my book.

Cheers,

Rob
 
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