'73 Wagoneer Build

[EKWagoneer]

Not much done this afternoon, only degreased the engine. My dad and I got distracted working on one of our "dang Japanese motorcycles," which is a Honda Trail 90. We have 3 1/2 of them. One of them suddenly didn't run very well, and we had to investigate. Next weekend I will set the engine to TDC and start real disassembly. 63J200atLSU, thanks for the commentary on this build so far.

Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Progress

Finally got some stuff done today. Set the engine to TDC, compression stroke. Then got the distributor out, valve covers off, intake off (HEAVY), exhaust manifolds off, water pump, dampener, oil pan, fuel pump, and the timing chain cover. I'll see how far I get tomorrow.



Fairly clean!

[EKWagoneer]

Progress!

Got a fair bit done today. Took the rocker arms and pushrods out, then took the heads off, and that was when I found the 30 over pistons. My dad and I were surprised when we saw this because we didn't think that anyone had been in the engine before. Stroke is stock or very close. Took the lifters out and then flipped the engine over and removed the connecting rods and pistons. I inspected all of the rod bearings, and I believe they are .020 oversize. Then got the main caps loose and then off. Main bearings are .010 oversize, so the crank was ground a tad bit. Then took the timing chain and gears out, took the crank out (carefully) and then the cam. Most of the main bearings and all of the cam bearings are still in, to be removed. I also cut my thumb really bad and had to stop because the bleeding wasn't.
Today:




Also finally looked over my timing chain cover. The thing is mint!

[63J200atLSU]

Looks good man!

A tip I picked up bartending a while back and dealing with bad cuts in an environment where you can't afford to be bleeding or to stop working (although I generally think if you cut yourself bad working on a non-essential vehicle, it's time to call it a day) is to clean the wound really REALLY well with hydrogen peroxide and then rubbing alcohol and then actually use a new tube of superglue to close up the wound and seal it. I cut my left ring finger really bad cutting out the floors on my truck, all my finger's innards were visible and I was home alone. The H2O2 and alcohol burned like hell, but it healed up with almost zero scar, and I played a gig (I'm a guitarist/singer in my non FSJ time) that night with only minimal discomfort. Truly though, you probably made the wise decision to put down the wrench for the day.

[EKWagoneer]

Not much done today, I still can't do much with my thumb, I can hardly put pressure on it. Just piddled around, got the rest of the main bearings out, swept up the shop floor, and cleaned out my Suburban. My thumb isn't cut super deep, but it is way deeper than a regular scratch. I have heard of the hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and super glue before, I just haven't tried it. Tomorrow I am taking a piece of the bumper I am building to school and doing some work on it...unless I help one of my friends build an alleyway for cattle.

[EKWagoneer]

Ordered Cam!

Just got my cam kit ordered from Comp, part # K10-201-4. I am waiting to order other parts (bearings, gasket set) because I still need to do some measuring, which I will do next weekend, and I am doing a bit of price comparing also.

[EKWagoneer]

Got a bit done this weekend. Was at an auction Saturday, got a Warn winch, 9000lb rating, but it is for my dad's pickup. Sunday got the drivetrain out of the half Wag (engine is a 401, still for sale!), going to get it to school next week. Still need to clean up misc. wiring. Gas tank is out too, got it out after I took the pictures. Probably order gasket set and bearings today or tomorrow.
Pics:


Got distracted doing this- putting a receiver hitch up front on my dad's pickup for that winch, it is in a cradle. Lights are still out because of grill fitment issues, looking into that.

[EKWagoneer]

Little Stuff

I have the chassis at school now, got a bit done today. Cut out the hitch and other stuff, need to trim the remaining bits up, then will get on to the welding. Updates will be periodic, maybe every week.

Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Getting the block ready to be washed up, got the head surfaces and timing cover surface cleaned up, will move on to heads next, most likely. Progress is slow at school, keep having to do other stuff. Almost done with one rear spring hanger, will be moving on to the next soon. After the shock mounts I will make more progress because everything else is more accessible/easier to weld.
Block:

Using this on the block.

3M "Bristle Disc." Yellow is for softer metals (i.e. aluminum) and green is for iron/steel. I start with the yellow to get the bulk and green to get tougher stuff.

Will finish with this after block is cleaned, it is stiff interwoven fibers.

More later.
Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Progress. Slow, but Progress.

Accomplished a bit finally. Got the two stuck timing cover bolts out of the block, and had to heat the block a bit, but it was far from red. Tapped all of the bolt holes for the timing cover. Re-cleaned the front surface of the block again. Took out the dipstick tube. Took out the freeze plugs and oil plugs. Cleaned up the oil pan surface, and finally got around to honing the cylinders. Used a ball hone, it cleaned up everything except for a few small scratches, which I could not even catch my fingernail on. Going to get cam bearings out and the block cleaned soon.
Only pics from today:

[EKWagoneer]

Well over a month since I have posted on my thread... closer to two. I have only fiddled around with the Wag since. I had a bunch of projects and finals at school, and had to devote time to that, and getting some much- needed chores done at the home place, and life got in the way. After the new year I will hopefully have my plan fully laid out and get some real work done. I am thinking through everything twice, and making sure I won't run out of funds. I'm sure I will get lots of good stuff done on the Wag in the spring and summer months- less school, ya know. I hope to have the Wag mostly done by the end of the summer, except the interior. I will be making custom door panels- but I don't need those to drive it!

See ya later.
Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Clean up, clean up...

Cleaning parts now. Working on pistons- got the faces of them mostly cleaned, I will go over them finely later. The faces cleaned up pretty easy with a drill and quite flexible wire cup brush. Got all the rings out and cleaned out the ring lands.
Went from this:

To this:

I will make sure to get everything later when I am ready for a final cleaning.

[63J200atLSU]

That looks like great work man!

I'm totally in the same boat with you with school and then having to get a bunch of stuff done over the break before I can really get to my truck... so now, a week before I go back, I'm finally getting a lot of things done, haha. Keep it up!

[EKWagoneer]

School can get in the way sometimes...but it doesn't hurt to be smart I'm gonna keep on keepin' on with the ol Wag when I can for a while.

Ely

[EKWagoneer]

Block is cleaned. Need to finish cleaning the pistons. Hopefully will get the bottom end of the engine assembled sometime (busy this weekend, need to find some time for this!)

A little here, a little there...
Ely