1961 3000 Motor Rebuild

[AJay]

Hi Everyone.
This Fall we plan to finish prepping the frame of our BT7. During the winter we are going to rebuild the motor. The car worked fine when it was "parked in storage" some 10 years ago, but we are not going to take any chances.

What about the trans and OD? Leave well enough alone or pull them apart?
I do remember that if you hit the throttle hard in OD it would slip.. But I think that was an linkage adjustment.

Is there anything I should watch for that is out of the ordinary? I remember this motor did not enjoy unleaded gas, what are my options? What works what does not?

Is there any "must dos" even if looks fine? Ie certain part that goes.

I have a manual on order so maybe that will answer most of my questions ??
Just trying to learn from your experiences.
Andrew
NS Canada

 

[Randy Forbes]

Hi Andrew,

The Healey engine is pretty straight forward, as far as rebuilding goes. Not high tech like todays cars with variable cam timing!

It is possible to have hardened valve seats installed (you only need the exhaust seats done) so that todays fuel won't be a concern. The shop doing the work should check for valve guide/stem wear and concentricity. Might be time to consider new springs too.

Several suppliers now have a kit to fit a real rear main seal. I would recommend that upgrade.

A "clean up" overbore (+.020" to +.030") and new pistons/pins fitted. Unless your cylinder walls are not showing signs of taper. I always use Total Seal Gapless (2nd) rings and low tension oil rings when rebuilding. Have the connecting rods resized.

Usually, the crank can be polished to "std." size. Ten or twenty thousands under is nothing to be concerned about. I made a "fixture" out of a few pieces of angle-iron to pull the front & rear main bearing caps. Don't pound them out with a hammer!

I'd be concerned about the crankshaft dampener de-laminating. I'll be installing one of those "brand new" hipo types before my car goes back into service! I know a guy whose dampener came apart and it broke the nose off the crank...

The rockershaft is usually worn out, so that and rockerarm bushes will be required. Make sure they are reamed properly and the oil holes drilled out (and the holes in the rocker arms then plugged off again)

A MK III cam is the best setup for normal street driving. Always replace the lifters with a new cam (or keep old lifters matched to their original lobes if not replacing the cam!!!).

Verify clearances in oil pump.

Overhaul the carbs and distributor when doing everything else. Probably need a water pump...

I would definitely take a look inside the trans. You'll save yourself a lot of money later on if you catch the layshaft/needle rollers in an early stage of wear. Same story with synchronizer rings. The trans isn't hard to overhaul either. Just follow the book. Same goes for the overdrive.

Another process that I've been doing the last ten years is polymer coatings. There are thermal barrier, thermal dispersant and dry film lubricant coatings that can be used to great advantage. They are cheap enough to buy, but labor intensive to apply. I highly recommend them though, I won't build another engine without them!

I'm sure that I've left out more details than I've covered, somebody here will fill in the gaps!

[ 11-19-2003: Message edited by: Randy Forbes ]</p>

 

[AJay]

Thank you very much, I'll keep your suggestions near by.
AJ

 

[Jerry]

Randy,

Can you give more specifics on the new damper that is available? Brand, cost etc.

What about rebuiding the old one by some of the companies mentioned on the list or forum.

Jerry

 

[Randy Forbes]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jerry:
Randy,

Can you give more specifics on the new damper that is available? Brand, cost etc.

What about rebuiding the old one by some of the companies mentioned on the list or forum.

Jerry<hr></blockquote>

They're being produced in Australia; available from Moss Motors (& probably others); cost is round $400.00(!)

If I didn't personally know of at least one example of a dampener de-laminating and breaking the nose off a BJ8 crankshaft, I wouldn't make that recommendation.

Considering the cost of rebuilding a Healey engine, especially if you have to find a crank, $400.00 is pretty cheap insurance!

Knowing what (little) I do about rubber extrusion and bonding, I would not trust a rebuilt dampener in a high performance application. Your car may not see the RPMs that I will subject mine to, so your situation may be different. This is just my opinion...