| Part name: | build your long block to a turnkey - actual 2275 build out |
| Part number: | billy's build |
| Your cost: | $950.00 |
| Description: | This will give you an idea of what it CAN cost to bring me your long block that has a few problems that need to be corrected before I can finish build it AND break it in for you: This time I received: a long block built by a vw shop in California It is an H block (43 year old case) built into a 2275 6 of the 8 push rod tubes are bent and need to be replaced Dual 48 drla's that needed to be taken apart & cleaned Loose crossbar linkage that needs to be adjusted New chrome tins that are going on with an old aluminum fan shroud New 7mm plug wires 4 quarts of new oil A crank pulley that sits in too far in relationship to the alternator pulley A short crank pulley bolt What I did to this engine: I removed the bolt on valve covers & found they needed new o-rings for the bolts I removed the valve trains & found 1 on correct and the other had 1 rocker block on upside down - I corrected it I removed the damaged push rod tubes & replaced them with Scat big mouth hidden spring style push rod tubes. When I removed the old p-rod tubes the cool tins above them FELL OFF the cylinders! The builder chose not to secure them with safety wire and they were the aftermarket style that don't fit 94mm jugs without help like being tied off. I replaced them with oe vw cool tins that fit the head studs. I removed the sand seal that was bolted into the blocks nose (machine in style) so I could install two crank pulley spacers. normally one is all you need. Unfortunately this engine has an old aluminum shroud that doesn't allow the alternator to sit correctly, so two spacers HAD to be used to align both pulleys. I installed a long crank pulley bolt with a thin layer of sealant on the inside of the pulley and an even thinner layer on the crank to prevent weeping leaks out the bolt. The bolt went on with red loctite and a piece of hose to prevent the washer from caving in to the now open space on the crank nose. I installed an 11.3 x 912 belt with some washers between the top pulley halves to sink the belt to prevent the belt from jumping out. I rolled the pushrods on a flat surface to make sure they weren't bent when the tubes got damaged. None were bent. They went back where they came from. The long block came with printed instructions for a ZERO valve lash setting. I refused to do that but compromised with a .002-.0025 setting of the swivel feet. I cleaned the valve cover gaskets of oil and silicone gasket sealed one side of the gasket to the valve cover. The other side won't get gasket sealant. I installed the v-covers with new o-rings on the bolts to prevent leaks. I installed the chrome off road trimmed cylinder covers after grinding away the material that would interfere with the exhaust flanges. I noticed the alternator was sitting on a piece of cardboard on the alternator stand. I removed it and put the assembly back on the engine. I installed self tapping screws with bolt heads into the shroud to secure the tins in the common position. I installed self tapping screws with Phillips heads into the cylinder tins above cylinders 2 & 4. I took apart, cleaned & inspected the dual 48 drla's. I noted the jet sizes, made sure they all were the same size for their positions. The jets that were not the same size as their mate were corrected. The float settings were corrected to 10 up 23 down. New gaskets & o-rings were installed. The butterflies were set at .0025 open to balance the throttle positions before installing the carbs on the manifolds. New paper intake gaskets are trimmed to fit the manifold bases and installed on the heads. The heads have traditional round ports and the manifolds have D shaped ports. Someone should have mate ported the heads before the build for more flow. Too late to do it now. I mounted the carbs and the crossbar linkage and adjusted the 'down rods' to operate both carbs in sync with each other. I mounted the engine to my test car. I hooked up the electric fuel pump and fueled the carbs to check the inlet valve function and fill the bowls to prepare for firing. I preloaded my test cars oil lines with new engine oil and blew compressed air through the lines until new oil came out. The lines were then connected to the new engines hose barbs. I had charged the test cars battery so I could spin the engine over to develop oil pressure quickly. I installed a mechanical oil pressure gauge to observe the oil pressure readings. Once I built oil pressure I installed the long reach NGK spark plugs, re-filled the engine to bring the oil level up to the top mark and installed my break-in exhaust system. I recorded the cold cranking oil pressure reading. I mounted a coil to my test car & wired it to the new engine along with my timing light and engine analyzer. I static timed the distributor for easy starting with minimal cranking. With a quick shot of starting fluid (to minimize cranking) I fire the engine up and begin making adjustments to the idle speed screws to reach a constant 1700 rpm to burnish in the lifters to the cam and seat the piston rings. I recorded the cold starting oil pressure. After the speed is set I begin inspecting the engine overall for any signs of leakage of oil or fuel. I also listen for any clattering from the valve train. I check the timing and advance it to match the rpm. After 1/2 hour time has passed I slow the idle speed to 900 rpm, set the timing to 7 btdc and begin adjusting the air/fuel mixture screws to reach the highest possible idle speed and then reset the idle speed back to 900 rpm. I recorded the hot idle oil pressure. Now I shut the engine off, remove the spark plugs to inspect them and provide for easy rotation of the engine for setting the valves. I remove the valve covers and oil fill cap to vent the heat out of the engine. I pop the dist cap & spin the engine over to #2 tdc & wait for the engine to get cold to reset the valves. Once cold, the valves get reset. I drain a sample of oil from the drain plate and to my surprise I DON'T SEE ANY SIGN OF CAM LUBE OR ASSEMBLY LUBE in the oil. Maybe the builder didn't use any! I note that all 4 plugs are the same light brown in appearance. The engine is now cold & I reset the valves to .002-.0025. The valve covers go back on, the plugs go back in to 24#s torque & the wires get re-connected. The engine is fired back up and warmed up before reving the engine up through the rpm range. This engine has dual springs and big carbs and sounds like it has a healthy cam so it should be easily capable of 6,000 rpm. That is the upper limit I'll rev it to since it appears to have a stock cooling fan on it. Stock cooling fans can explode at 5,500 rpm. A minor air fuel mixture adjustment is done to eliminate low end hunting after coming down from high r's and the engine is now ready to go home. A Doghouse decal is applied to the top of the fan shroud to finish it off. This particular job had $440 in labor, $240.41 in parts, gaskets & hardware, $4 in shop supplies, $250 in break-in process & $16.23 in sales tax for a total of $950.64 My Break-In process in detail: $250 extra if you want the engine fired up and broke-in on our test car upon completion. YOU SUPPLY 4 GALS OF FUEL FOR THE BREAK-IN. During the first run in process, which is 1/2 hour, I burnish in the cam to the lifters, seat the rings & check for leaks. At the end of the 1/2 hour I set the low end timing, jetting, idle speed & note the idle speed oil pressure. I then drain the run in oil, remove the oil filler & valve covers to cool the engine, set the valves again when the engine is cold & replace the drain assembly after cleaning it. For the 2nd run in I take the engine through its rev range and adjust the high end jetting, check the full advance of the distributor & note the high end rev oil pressure. After that is done, I shut the engine off and let it cool for a few minutes and then restart it to see if any additional fuel is needed for a quick start, without having giving it any throttle movement. Now I'm done. The engine is now ready to drive as you see fit. |