Valve Drive update

[SAJanesick - Bellsouth]

A few weeks ago after the timing belt broke (due to my impatience and error) the hope was perhaps, just perhaps no valves were damaged because of the particular circumstances.  Life's interruptions forced delays installing a new belt, but once that was complete, the engine would turn by hand and offered lots of compression resistance and no binding due to a broken valve flopping around within the cylinder.  A glimmer of hope.  So far so good.

Well, I did get the engine to run, but I did not get the engine to run well.  After borrowing a compression gauge, the following numbers confirmed the worst. #1 - 0 psi, #2 - 150 psi, #3 - 150 psi, #4 - 150 psi and #5 - 140 psi.  The head will need to come off and be repaired.

Any insights, tips, write-ups or suggestions are most welcomed.  

A bit of additional information that might be useful is that I am not planning to simultaneously incorporate any upgrades to the head.  Any prior "fun money" will be spent at this point just getting back on the road.  

It is a low mileage engine at only 38,000 so I intend to just look at repairing the #1 valves unless someone has information to the contrary.  The current plan is that I will remove the head and take it with cams intact to a local shop for repair as I have never done any valve work save in high school when I rebuilt an old B&S horizontal shaft engine.  Probably much better off leaving this job to someone with practice and expertise.  I did inquire about shop work from 034Motorsports, but unless I were to incorporate some upgrades at the same time, I'd be paying performance shop fees for just a standard rebuild.

Finally, there is no urgency.  The car is in the garage and I have adequate spares to get around until the repair is completed.  Usually summers are relatively calm in terms of car repairs short of the standard attention needed to A/C.  Not so this year.  Perhaps the universe has given me a very special 60th birthday present.

Later...

                - Steve Janesick


-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3349 / Virus Database: 3209/6517 - Release Date: 07/24/13