Following my investment in a 40ft container full of Europa stuff from Louisiana, there were 3 blocks, 3 heads, 3 sets of conrods, 3 water pump casings, and heaps of other stuff, so after rebuilding a complete engine from my Tawny Brown TCS, I decided to continue the process and rebuilt the 3 other engines which were completely disassembled. It was a jig-saw puzzle and a treasure hunt x 3, working out what I had, what was missing, what could be cleaned up and re-used, and what was corroded or worn beyond re-use. It seems 1 of the cylinder heads was off a non-Europa with the shorter inlet cam.
Firstly, thanks to mud-dawbers, many of the screw and bolt holes were full of white mud, and one blocked oilway going full length of the block was full of grass about 3" long.
The specialist tools I have needed are a valve spring compressor, valve grinding tool, piston ring compressor, hub puller (to get the pulley off the crank), and UNF and UNC taps and dies. Also I have needed an Imperial feeler gauge 1.5 - 25 thou (to measure tappet clearance) , and a 1" micrometer to measure the existing shims.
Add to this much use of a brass wire brush on a bench grinder, and normal tools have been enough to complete the production line task. The largest spanner (wrench) needed was a 1" for the nut holding the sprocket on to the timing chain tensioner.
A compressor has been very handy to blow away the metal swarf when re-cutting threads and cleaning out oilways. Unfortunately when it is cold, the compressor won't start, so I will have to put it in the house to keep it warm. Her indoors just doesn't understand why the compressor has to be in the entrance hall during the winter !!!
I have washed all the parts in a big under-bed plastic storage tray, using paraffin to dissolve all the oil and mud.
The only real problems have been remembering to do everything in the right order when fitting the water pump, and having heaps of patience when shimming up each valve to get the correct clearance between cam and cam follower.
Last weekend, doing my 4th water pump, I still managed to forget to fit a new rubber guide (the one that pokes out of the top),and to forget to check the jackshaft rotated ( I used too long bolts to attach the sprocket). Previous mistakes have been to forget to put the disc oil thrower on the sprocket before fitting the water pump casing, and putting the head on before putting the water pump on, and forgetting to put the cork gasket on top of the pump before fitting the head.
I have not rebuilt an engine since rebuilding my Mini Cooper S 1275cc engine in 1973, so my skills were a bit rusty, as were the 3 sump pans !!!
All the missing bits have been available from QED Engineering near Leicester UK. I understand the alloy plate which covers the flywheel end of the jackshaft is not available, neither are original steel sump pans, but near copies of the sumps are available.
To complete the rebuilds, I now need 2 distributors, 2 mechanical fuel pumps and the long inlet cam. These are available new at high prices, so I will keep watching eBay to snap up more stuff as it comes up for sale.
I have found rebuilding the 4 engines very therapeutic. I used Miles Wilkins book for all the torque settings, and the tappet clearances.
The hardest part is yet to take place, setting the engine timing. I think this is best done before the carbs are fitted. There are timing marks on the water pump and the front crank pulley. I just have to work out at TDC whether the cams are for #1 or #4 firing. I think this is done by looking at the cam lobes through the oil filler cap. Pointing away from each other is one crank revolution away from the cam lobes facing each other, so that will become apparent soon.
Meanwhile the black JPS TCS is back from the respray by ex Lotus chaps, and all the bumpers have been re-chromes, so when all the engine parts are assembled, I will change the work bench to a padded worktop to assemble the doors carefully with the new Banks hinges.
The biggest challenge after that will be sorting out the wiring especially the dashboard, but with the doors off, this should be a lot easier to access.
Alex in Norfolk, (still smarting after the big Miami scam).
