Now there is an idea for a cottage industry - buy a small CMM or laser measurement device and contract to measure and document the shape and size of known good ported heads. Hmmmmm.
volvolugnut
There are only crickets in here...
-
volvolugnut
- Posts: 6233
- Joined: 19 January 2014
- Year and Model: 2001 V70
- Location: Oklahoma USA
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 1000 times
Re: There are only crickets in here...
The Fleet:
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
-
BlackBart
- Posts: 6497
- Joined: 10 December 2016
- Year and Model: 2004 XC70 BlackBetty
- Location: Over the far far mountains
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 884 times
Everybody should jump in here with the interesting and no-so-interesting engines they've lived with.
My list:
Ford Bronco, 289 V8, 2 bbl. Had compression in 5 out of 8 cylinders. I put in a reman 302 from the Ford parts counter. (High school project)
Ford Capri V6. Pushrods. Fiber timing gear like a B20. When you take it apart, it looks a lot like 3/4 of a scaled down 302. I put on a dual plenum alum intake and baby Holley 4bbl and ruined it!
Fiat 124 DOHC 1608, Weber single carb. Designed by an ex-Ferrari engineer, nice little engine. Too bad mine was so worn out.
Another Fiat 124 1608. I pulled the head for a burned valve and put hardened seats in it.
VW Scirocco. The generic SOHC VW sewing machine. They had what, 85 hp? Learned about Bosch injection.
The Alfa! 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider. When I bought (1986) it it was just a used sportscar. All aluminum DOHC 1600 with dual Weber carbs, 5 speed alum transmission. Spins to 7000 rpm, maybe 125 hp, woot! I pulled the head, installed hardened seats, new head gasket, learned about timing chains with infinitely variable degree adjustment. I'm rebuilding the carbs and the suspension, braking, and fuel systems. 53 years, it's time to renew.
1984 Volvo (it begins!) 245T with the intercooler, 160-ish hp. That was a fun engine and car. Noisy, but lots of torque. Pretty reliable, I never did much to it besides tuning and maintenance.
A boring Ford Ranger V6. Good riddance. Solenoids all over the carburetor opening and closing chokes, vacuum hoses everywhere.
1994 Volvo 850 T-5 wagon. Great engine, great car. Wow, the power and smooth torque. A huge tech leap from the redblock cars. Such a good trip car. I just did the basic timing belts and PCV and those kinds of jobs, struts, bushings, brakes. We had a rear main seal replaced at an independent, like 20 years ago. I've changed a lot of vacuum hoses and turbo lines and that sort of thing as they aged. EGR issues.
2001 Audi A4 wagon 1.8T. Ingenious little aluminum engine with 5 valves per cylinder, DOHC, high boost. 180 hp from 1.8 liters. BUT.....BUT....the complication, and the dense packaging of hot components, and the plumbing, and the tiny oil pan with 3 1/2 quarts of oil in it reveals some real engineering flaws or at least bad compromises. All that heat in a tight space made for coking or sludging oil passages. I bought it used without knowing how well it was maintained - but VW mechanics have told me they did it even if you were careful with oil changes. So on a long trip across the middle of nowhere, it blew up with 130,000 miles. Well-maintained, fresh oil, no warnings, no lights, nothing. Spun the rod bearings and threw a rod through the block. So, maybe a compromised oil passage system, running on the freeway all day, oil starvation, bearings heat up, boom. It probably had plenty of oil pressure....at the sender! So I had to rent a car and flatbed this thing hundreds of miles home. I bought a good used tested engine and replaced every single external thing on it - oil pump, chain, hoses, sensors, senders, oil pipes, timing belt, timing chain and tensioner, injectors, coils, rebuilt the turbo, all new seals, replaced the secondary air pump, engine paint, all of it. Adapted to a very large oil filter to hold more oil. Synthetic and I still change it at 3000 miles. We've driven it another 30k miles and it runs great - but I don't trust it at all, and I'm no longer an Audi rally fan boy. I'm going to get everything tip top and sell it. Best ice car I've ever driven, amazing.
1987 Range Rover Classic. My son's HS project. Completely worn out. The block is a Buick 215 aluminum V8 - great engine, but add in Lucas electronics, a mess of a fuel injection system, and old worn molds for the blocks, and these engines were a problem. Even the Seattle independent LR guy couldn't keep it running right. We finally parted it out and traded for a....
1995 Land Rover Discovery 1. Same block, better truck. Upgraded off-road suspension. It eventually developed a deep bottom end knock with high miles, and he sold it to a LR enthusiast who wasn't worried about that.
2006 Land Rover LR3. 175,0000 miles. This is probably the best car Land Rover ever built. Incredibly capable and still comfortable. Jaguar aluminum overhead cam 5 liter V8, 300 hp, lots of grunt, bulletproof. It maintains full oil pressure with a deep narrow sump at any insane angle you can put it. It keeps cool even when crawling in the desert in low range - with the A/C on! The mechanic who recently looked it over said it's in really good shape, and their record in that shop for an LR3 is 470,000 miles. My son asked, How many times has the engine been out? The mechanic said, The valve covers have never been off! He said if you keep the cooling system in good shape, they'll just go and go. All we've done on it is tune ups, struts, suspension bushings, tie rods, brakes, and the air suspension system, which needs periodic maintenance. That's when Ford owned LR so it has Ford electronics, not Lucas, and Volvo switches and buttons!
1987 BMW E30, or 325es coupe. My younger son's project. We hunted down an orphaned, non-running car and rebuilt everything but the engine. BMW's 2.7 SOHC straight 6, low rev, high torque, "efficiency" engine from the 80s. Weaker valve springs and fewer cam bearings for less resistance and friction, so it redlines at only 5000 rpm. A nice engine that makes good torque and good sounds! We recently swapped in a 5-speed for the automatic and he drove it across the country with no issues. We felt good about that.
That leaves the "new" car - 2004 XC70 wagon, and you all know all about that engine. I snapped off the cheap bolt on the cheap cam holding tool, inside the camshaft, which led to pulling the top of the head, a used exhaust cam, new seals, anaerobic sealant and foam rollers, and learning about setting the VVT and timing belt. Replaced a bunch of old vacuum lines and hoses. New coils and plugs. PCV replaced. She's (BlackBetty the Volvo) taken some moderate trips and seems to be very solid. Replaced struts and bearings, control arms, going through suspension bushings, adding ipd sway bars and subframe reinforced bushings.
What have you all taken apart or at least enjoyed?
My list:
Ford Bronco, 289 V8, 2 bbl. Had compression in 5 out of 8 cylinders. I put in a reman 302 from the Ford parts counter. (High school project)
Ford Capri V6. Pushrods. Fiber timing gear like a B20. When you take it apart, it looks a lot like 3/4 of a scaled down 302. I put on a dual plenum alum intake and baby Holley 4bbl and ruined it!
Fiat 124 DOHC 1608, Weber single carb. Designed by an ex-Ferrari engineer, nice little engine. Too bad mine was so worn out.
Another Fiat 124 1608. I pulled the head for a burned valve and put hardened seats in it.
VW Scirocco. The generic SOHC VW sewing machine. They had what, 85 hp? Learned about Bosch injection.
The Alfa! 1967 Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider. When I bought (1986) it it was just a used sportscar. All aluminum DOHC 1600 with dual Weber carbs, 5 speed alum transmission. Spins to 7000 rpm, maybe 125 hp, woot! I pulled the head, installed hardened seats, new head gasket, learned about timing chains with infinitely variable degree adjustment. I'm rebuilding the carbs and the suspension, braking, and fuel systems. 53 years, it's time to renew.
1984 Volvo (it begins!) 245T with the intercooler, 160-ish hp. That was a fun engine and car. Noisy, but lots of torque. Pretty reliable, I never did much to it besides tuning and maintenance.
A boring Ford Ranger V6. Good riddance. Solenoids all over the carburetor opening and closing chokes, vacuum hoses everywhere.
1994 Volvo 850 T-5 wagon. Great engine, great car. Wow, the power and smooth torque. A huge tech leap from the redblock cars. Such a good trip car. I just did the basic timing belts and PCV and those kinds of jobs, struts, bushings, brakes. We had a rear main seal replaced at an independent, like 20 years ago. I've changed a lot of vacuum hoses and turbo lines and that sort of thing as they aged. EGR issues.
2001 Audi A4 wagon 1.8T. Ingenious little aluminum engine with 5 valves per cylinder, DOHC, high boost. 180 hp from 1.8 liters. BUT.....BUT....the complication, and the dense packaging of hot components, and the plumbing, and the tiny oil pan with 3 1/2 quarts of oil in it reveals some real engineering flaws or at least bad compromises. All that heat in a tight space made for coking or sludging oil passages. I bought it used without knowing how well it was maintained - but VW mechanics have told me they did it even if you were careful with oil changes. So on a long trip across the middle of nowhere, it blew up with 130,000 miles. Well-maintained, fresh oil, no warnings, no lights, nothing. Spun the rod bearings and threw a rod through the block. So, maybe a compromised oil passage system, running on the freeway all day, oil starvation, bearings heat up, boom. It probably had plenty of oil pressure....at the sender! So I had to rent a car and flatbed this thing hundreds of miles home. I bought a good used tested engine and replaced every single external thing on it - oil pump, chain, hoses, sensors, senders, oil pipes, timing belt, timing chain and tensioner, injectors, coils, rebuilt the turbo, all new seals, replaced the secondary air pump, engine paint, all of it. Adapted to a very large oil filter to hold more oil. Synthetic and I still change it at 3000 miles. We've driven it another 30k miles and it runs great - but I don't trust it at all, and I'm no longer an Audi rally fan boy. I'm going to get everything tip top and sell it. Best ice car I've ever driven, amazing.
1987 Range Rover Classic. My son's HS project. Completely worn out. The block is a Buick 215 aluminum V8 - great engine, but add in Lucas electronics, a mess of a fuel injection system, and old worn molds for the blocks, and these engines were a problem. Even the Seattle independent LR guy couldn't keep it running right. We finally parted it out and traded for a....
1995 Land Rover Discovery 1. Same block, better truck. Upgraded off-road suspension. It eventually developed a deep bottom end knock with high miles, and he sold it to a LR enthusiast who wasn't worried about that.
2006 Land Rover LR3. 175,0000 miles. This is probably the best car Land Rover ever built. Incredibly capable and still comfortable. Jaguar aluminum overhead cam 5 liter V8, 300 hp, lots of grunt, bulletproof. It maintains full oil pressure with a deep narrow sump at any insane angle you can put it. It keeps cool even when crawling in the desert in low range - with the A/C on! The mechanic who recently looked it over said it's in really good shape, and their record in that shop for an LR3 is 470,000 miles. My son asked, How many times has the engine been out? The mechanic said, The valve covers have never been off! He said if you keep the cooling system in good shape, they'll just go and go. All we've done on it is tune ups, struts, suspension bushings, tie rods, brakes, and the air suspension system, which needs periodic maintenance. That's when Ford owned LR so it has Ford electronics, not Lucas, and Volvo switches and buttons!
1987 BMW E30, or 325es coupe. My younger son's project. We hunted down an orphaned, non-running car and rebuilt everything but the engine. BMW's 2.7 SOHC straight 6, low rev, high torque, "efficiency" engine from the 80s. Weaker valve springs and fewer cam bearings for less resistance and friction, so it redlines at only 5000 rpm. A nice engine that makes good torque and good sounds! We recently swapped in a 5-speed for the automatic and he drove it across the country with no issues. We felt good about that.
That leaves the "new" car - 2004 XC70 wagon, and you all know all about that engine. I snapped off the cheap bolt on the cheap cam holding tool, inside the camshaft, which led to pulling the top of the head, a used exhaust cam, new seals, anaerobic sealant and foam rollers, and learning about setting the VVT and timing belt. Replaced a bunch of old vacuum lines and hoses. New coils and plugs. PCV replaced. She's (BlackBetty the Volvo) taken some moderate trips and seems to be very solid. Replaced struts and bearings, control arms, going through suspension bushings, adding ipd sway bars and subframe reinforced bushings.
What have you all taken apart or at least enjoyed?
Last edited by BlackBart on 27 Oct 2020, 11:57, edited 3 times in total.
ex-1984 245T wagon
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
-
BlackBart
- Posts: 6497
- Joined: 10 December 2016
- Year and Model: 2004 XC70 BlackBetty
- Location: Over the far far mountains
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 884 times
I may contact the FL BMW guy and see how he keeps records of all the head shaping he's done.volvolugnut wrote: ↑25 Oct 2020, 13:14 Now there is an idea for a cottage industry - buy a small CMM or laser measurement device and contract to measure and document the shape and size of known good ported heads. Hmmmmm.
volvolugnut
ex-1984 245T wagon
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
-
volvolugnut
- Posts: 6233
- Joined: 19 January 2014
- Year and Model: 2001 V70
- Location: Oklahoma USA
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 1000 times
I will start my list.
First car was a 1970 Ford Torino GT (this was the fast back). It had a 302 V8 that seemed to run well and had about 110K miles. I soon found it burned lots of oil. A local guy rebuilt it with some money paid by the used car dealer. I drove it hard like an 18 year old would. It soon needed lower control arms. Then it needed brakes.
I needed a larger car and found a 1969 Chevrolet Belair 4 door, 250 CI, 3 speed on column. I went from cool car to old man car in one trade. This car was slow but solid and easy on gas. Several years later I replaced a leaking head gasket. You could stand in the engine bay to work on the engine.
I got a real job and decided to buy a NEW car. It was a 1980 Dodge Colt (actually a Mitsubishi). Four cylinder, 4 speed with high/ low range splitter. This car could often get better than 40 MPG at 55 MPH. I drove it 30K miles in less than 3 years until some ill advised sports car maneuvers put use in a ditch and totaled the car. I got a broken shoulder and needed an automatic transmission to drive. I still had the 1969 Chevrolet,but it was a manual.
A coworker had a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. This had the automatic I needed the 454 V8 I did not need. I bought it anyway.
To be continued next episode.
volvolugnut
First car was a 1970 Ford Torino GT (this was the fast back). It had a 302 V8 that seemed to run well and had about 110K miles. I soon found it burned lots of oil. A local guy rebuilt it with some money paid by the used car dealer. I drove it hard like an 18 year old would. It soon needed lower control arms. Then it needed brakes.
I needed a larger car and found a 1969 Chevrolet Belair 4 door, 250 CI, 3 speed on column. I went from cool car to old man car in one trade. This car was slow but solid and easy on gas. Several years later I replaced a leaking head gasket. You could stand in the engine bay to work on the engine.
I got a real job and decided to buy a NEW car. It was a 1980 Dodge Colt (actually a Mitsubishi). Four cylinder, 4 speed with high/ low range splitter. This car could often get better than 40 MPG at 55 MPH. I drove it 30K miles in less than 3 years until some ill advised sports car maneuvers put use in a ditch and totaled the car. I got a broken shoulder and needed an automatic transmission to drive. I still had the 1969 Chevrolet,but it was a manual.
A coworker had a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. This had the automatic I needed the 454 V8 I did not need. I bought it anyway.
To be continued next episode.
volvolugnut
The Fleet:
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
-
BlackBart
- Posts: 6497
- Joined: 10 December 2016
- Year and Model: 2004 XC70 BlackBetty
- Location: Over the far far mountains
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 884 times
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ex-1984 245T wagon
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
1994 850T5 wagon
2004 XC70 wagon BlackBetty
-
volvolugnut
- Posts: 6233
- Joined: 19 January 2014
- Year and Model: 2001 V70
- Location: Oklahoma USA
- Has thanked: 927 times
- Been thanked: 1000 times
About the same year I bought the Caprice, I bought a pickup. A 1964 Ford F150 stepside. It had been west Texas farm truck and 6 cylinder, 3 speed on the column, and body rust. I soon learned not to shift from 3rd to first without engaging 2nd. If you skipped 2nd the worn shift linkage would lock up. When that happened, you stopped, opening the hood, and used your tire iron to align the shifter arms.
Sometime before or after the Colt crash, I also bought a Pinto. I don't remember the model year, but it was 4 cylinder and 4 speed. Nothing special about it, just really cheap.
I got married and my wife had a 1978 Honda Civic with 1500 cc, 12 valves, and 2 speed Hondamatic. It had no clutch, but you had to shift between 1st and 2nd with the lever every time. This was a reliable little car and was our primary vehicle. I think we did not drive the Caprice because of the poor mileage.
About this time I sold the '69 Chevy. It went off to college with a coworkers child. Years later, I heard it had been sold to another college student.
In another couple years, the Caprice was driven to Denver and sold by my inlaws. When we got to Denver, it failed to pass the smog test. The tester advised replacing the plugs and try again. A couple of these plugs were REALLY hard to reach. It then passed the test.
To be continued. Stay tuned for next time where I move way upscale.
volvolugnut
Sometime before or after the Colt crash, I also bought a Pinto. I don't remember the model year, but it was 4 cylinder and 4 speed. Nothing special about it, just really cheap.
I got married and my wife had a 1978 Honda Civic with 1500 cc, 12 valves, and 2 speed Hondamatic. It had no clutch, but you had to shift between 1st and 2nd with the lever every time. This was a reliable little car and was our primary vehicle. I think we did not drive the Caprice because of the poor mileage.
About this time I sold the '69 Chevy. It went off to college with a coworkers child. Years later, I heard it had been sold to another college student.
In another couple years, the Caprice was driven to Denver and sold by my inlaws. When we got to Denver, it failed to pass the smog test. The tester advised replacing the plugs and try again. A couple of these plugs were REALLY hard to reach. It then passed the test.
To be continued. Stay tuned for next time where I move way upscale.
volvolugnut
The Fleet:
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
Volvo: 2001 V70 T5, 1986 244DL, 1983 245DL, 1975 245DL, 1959 PV544, multiple Volvo parts cars.
Mercedes: 2001 E320, 1973 280, 1974 280C, 1989 300E, 1988 300TE, 1979 300TD, parts cars.
2009 Smart Passion
Ford: 1977 F350, 1964 F150 (2), 1938 Tudor Sedan
Farmall tractors: 1956 400 Diesel, 1946 A
And others.
-
abscate
- MVS Moderator
- Posts: 35293
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Someone misunderstood when the asked if their Amazon could be lifted....
Empty Nester
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread
A Captain in a Sea of Estrogen
1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
Link to Maintenance record thread
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