Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

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#10,662
Now the the rant is behind me,...I expected everything would need changing. I expected to pull the head when it was my original plan to change out the cams and springs. So again,....I expected it.
I didn't expect that I'd need to pull the head after deciding to use the stock cams though....The scare concerning the blow by getting past the valves was for nothing (according to head dude) He saw nothing that would lend itself to that happening. The only thing that could've happened was that some piece of junk got under the seats while I was doing all of that cleaning and junk, and held the valves open.
So,....Now I have a fresh head with new seals at least.

I'm at the point where I'm gonna run out of welding gas on Sunday when I need it badly. This adapter I'm making to adapt the trans is gonna work, but not unless I can weld it all together. ( I'm gonna guess that the weight of the finished plate will be 30-40 pounds. If I showed you guys what I've done to calculate the spacing difference between the 2j and 4r bells, you'd tell me that I was on crack,..but I guess well just have to wait and see....All I can say is that I was the guy that glued a plate onto the side of a Ford 6 cylinder to allow me to adapt a completely different head to an engine. (and that wasn't the reason it failed)

So,....lets hope that I have enough gas. Between whats left of the Mig gas, and the Tig gas,...I should be able to get it at least tacked together enough to where it looks like a trans adapter.

Then,..all I'll need is the pilot hub, and I'll be able to put that together and mount the engine.
 
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#10,663
When is the big show you wanted to drive the monster to ? You're moving right along, Mike.

I know you stated you may not make it but I figured I could go in your place. With a box on my head no one would know the difference. I'll drive my Husqvarna... its orange and sounds like the old engine...minus a few rpm. Maybe I'll put a box over that too.

In all seriousness, this thread is great. Keeps my mind off a bunch of stuff I don't feel like thinkin' about or doing. Wish that pan was available in a kit.
 
#10,664

Good to know I’m not the only person that has issues with shops.
 
#10,665
Funny thing, head resurfacing, when I worked at the NAPA store back in the late 70's through most of the 80's, the resurfacer they had was a large grinder with a cup wheel, left a very fine finish, great for cast iron, not so much aluminum. Later, a new machine was purchased, called a broach, had a large disk with 6 or 8 carbide cutter teeth (a large fly cutter, for all practical purposes), it also left a very fine finish, and worked on both iron and aluminum. It wasn't until much later, I heard about the belt sander method, now, I know it's not your run of the mill Black & Decker belt sander, but I still felt that it seemed like a step backward, although I guess it worked for the old style composite head gaskets.
 
#10,666
It’s going on right now.
 
#10,667
According to the shop that did the resurfacing, the machine that the original guy used wasn’t a belt, it was more like a giant upside down jitterbug sander that the guy moves the head around on..
Nonetheless, it didn’t work.
Not only did it leave a “toothed” finish on the head surface,...it was far from flat. It took .010 to get the head absolutely smooth again. It was high in the center, and low out towards the edges.

Not anymore.

To be safe, I’m going to go get my Mig gas bottle exchanged this afternoon. It’ll pass me off to be at a point where I can solve this dilemma, and not be able to because of an empty gas bottle.
 
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#10,670
The other thing about the engine is that it’s a non-interference engine. Of course I didn’t know that for sure when I was taking the thing apart. The intake cam ( the one that is variable timing) has this 11 mm Allen head bolt holding the cam gear on. That bolt is behind a big assed but. Both of these fasteners require Herculean gonads to be able to get them loose.

There is a nut cast on each cam so that they can be held in place when trying to loosen one of those two nuts holding the sprocket on..
I get the outside nut off easily enough. After trying to loosen the 11mm socket head using standard length hand tools however, it becomes apparent that I’m going to have to resort to a bigger weapon......I get out an adapter socket to adapt 1/2” down to 3/8”, and put my Allen socket on. I check the impact to make sure it’s turning the right way. I put the wrench in the socket, and trigger the gun....it just pounds away,......no chance it’s gonna loosen. But I try it one more time with the air pressure turned up to 125 psi.
BRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTDDDDDDDDDDDD. It starts to spin...success! Only after checking,..and to my horror...it’s spinning the whole cam...backwards..opening and closing the valves with the timing belt off..the wrench had been impacted off the nut.
I stop,....cuss like a dog..and go get online to see if I’ve fcked up 12 intake valves.

There is conflicting info,...I do a leak down,..so when I get leakage out of cylinder # 6, I figured I had to bend at least two sets ( cause only 2 pistons are at TDC at any one time).

But,..I had no bent valves...something was wrong though..I had air pouring out the intake port with the cam removed.

I am a graduate of the school of WTF.
 
#10,672
I doubt that you can deck a head, or anything else for that matter, evenly with a belt resurfacer, the part is just held against a stop and the belt runs underneath, with gravity holding the part against the belt. I'm a machinist, and yes, we do have a belt sander in the shop, but If I want something flat, I'm going to mill it, either with a fly cutter, or an endmill, or grind it, depending on the size of the part, and the precision required. The 2 different machines that were at the NAPA shop both had a platform that was used to square up the head, (I don't know the exact process, wasn't my job, LOL) and it was clamped rigidly in place, then, either the head was moved over the cutter, or the cutter was moved under the head, (I don't remember which, that was a very long time ago). It is also my understanding, that on an OHC head, the deck surface needs to be kept parallel to the cam centerline, and I can see no way to maintain that with the belt.
Just for info purposes:

Belt resurfacer - ENGINE LINE | COMEC

The SPN800 belt leveler: economical, productive and safe. Ideal for flattening manifolds, heads and flat surfaces. Pedal control.
www.comecpn.com


Notice the words "cheapest" and "easiest" in the description, doesn't say "most precise"
 
#10,674
lemosley1973 said:
Say the car whole car does sell on Ebay....what next?
Click to expand...
CarMichael Angelo said:
But,..I had no bent valves...something was wrong though..I had air pouring out the intake port with the cam removed.

I am a graduate of the school of WTF.
Click to expand...

Get one of these..



And some of this:




Remove springs, lap valves. Flip head over, put spark plugs in, pour rubbing alcohol, solvent, or even water, and see if it holds liquid for a few hours.

You can also see if you have a good seat on the valve and seat and if not figure out why.

Oh and that probably causes Cancer in Kalifornia. Everything I buy these days, says it causes Cancer in Kalifornia.
 
#10,676
Well,...for the guys shaking their heads over my decision to use TTY head bolts instead of ARP studs,.....you can go back to sleep.
I bought them,
And a Cometic MLS gasket,...
AND a new 340lph pump, and, and, and,....

Another 1000 piled up into the 2jz swap fund.
 
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#10,677
Swapping a modern Japanese Engine into 70s piece of American steel was never going to be 'cheap'.

If you wanted cheap you could have used the $75 LS Swap option and made 1 hundred eleventy bajillion horsepower with a cam swap
 
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#10,678
I've decided that I cannot go forward on the transmission adapter w/o having the pilot adapter first. I could wing it using the method I'm currently using, but that risks a slight mismatch of the crank pilot/ converter hub.
Which would put a whole bunch of pressure on the front pump, or the front pump seal at the very least.
Which would cause either a premature transmission or converter failure,....if not both.

So I'm stopped dead. I've laid awake in bed several times now, trying to come up with some alternative method to make this thing, but without a big assed machinist's lathe,........anything I'd come up with will be wasted effort.

the thing I need is so freakin simple In theory though..that is what is driving the control freak inside my head crazy...

I need a steel ring. A big assed super thick washer, bolted to the back of the crank, holding the flex plate on. Cut on the inside on one end to ride on the the o.d. of the crank hub, and cut a different i.d. on the other end to allow the 4R converter to ride inside.

Guess it's time to knock on @KZGUNS door....and get out my caliper, a pencil, and a piece of paper.
 
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