engine assembly

[stroker70]

I spent most of the day media blasting parts and changing the cam bearings. I also got the main bearings installed and the crankshaft bolted in.

[stroker70]

I got all the pistons and rods installed with no problems on Sunday morning. Later in the afternoon I installed the valves and springs. The valve keepers gave me a fit installing them with no special tool but I got them in eventually. After getting it done and admiring a job well done I discovered that my engine has one odd ball exhaust valve on cylinder 6. The keeper groove is further up the stem and makes the springs installed height considerably different than the other valves. It ran that way but it bothers me enough that I ordered a new valve from Kaiser Willys for peace of mind. See the pictures below. first picture is cylinder 6, see the distance from the valve retainer edge to the valve tip on the exhaust vs the intake. The second picture it cylinder 5 valves and notice they are symmetrical.

[84RabbitGTI]

Excellent photos.  Thanks!  You probably won't make the same mistake I did, but now is a great time to replace that clutch and especially the $30.00 throwout bearing. 

[Logan]

Where did you get the green engine paint?

[stroker70]

The metallic green paint is from Gary Micanek 636-227-7046  $35.00 a pint. He says to brush it on, I tried it and looks OK on the cast iron stuff. I am going to thin it down and spray it on the steel parts.

[stroker70]

I got back to work on my engine Saturday and painted some of the parts. I also installed the new exhaust valve. I decided to pull all the valve springs and lap the valves. I also broke off a stud in the intake manifold while removing it from the exhaust. I sent it out and had all the studs lasered out and it turned out perfect.

[84RabbitGTI]

It looks fantastic!  Nice work.

[jmxkf1]

Great job!   While you have it apart you may want to replace the old rope seal rear main with the newer aluminum block and neoprene seal which was used on the later Willys 231 engine.   You can get it at Willys America in Casadero, Ca.   I put it on my '53 Kaiser and it made a difference. 

[stroker70]

I got the engine assembled to the point I am going to stuff it back in the car. It all went well. While chasing all the head bolt threads with a bottoming tap, I discovered that most if not all the head bolts are open to the cooling system so, while installing the head I used liquid Teflon on all the bolt threads. I was not sure if the head bolts and washers are suppose to be engine color, but I went ahead and painted them too. This engine already had the neoprene rear seal installed, (previous owner had it in backwards) Next weekend I may be able to get the engine installed and running if things go well.