73 Colt Wagon Engine rebuild/ Bay Area

[Rizla215]

Hello Gents,
I'm attempting my 1st engine rebuild. It seems a bit daunting; even though I hear the 4g32 is a relatively easy engine to work on. I've done light automotive work, but nothing near this..
Where I'm at:
The engine is back from the machine shop & in several pieces. I've ordered & received new pistons, rings, bearings, water pump, plugs & gaskets. Oh, & a clutch, too.
I've decided to repaint the block. Thought an old-school blue would stand out nicely from the red engine bay. So I began by

1.drill brushing & cleaning with petrol/rough pad. Got all the old gunk off the mating/gasket surfaces with a razor, then taped them off. Learned that gently tapping the tape with a ball-peen hammer around the edges lets you easily peel off the excess tape.
2. Sprayed 3 coats of grey engine block primer & 5 coats of blue engine enamel. I'm removing the tape after work today & will clean up excess/unwanted paint with a razor & spirits. Here are some pics of the process.... Up to the primer.

[84GKSIG]

hey there mate and welcome, im sure if you were ever to get a little stuck youd find the info on here to keep going

your image link didnt seem to work, but it is recommended you post your images individually

looking forward to images and updates

[Rizla215]

Ah crap.... I was posting from my phone.... We'll see if I have any luck sitting down in the Mac.

[LukeAussie]

Welcome to the forum! Great to see some OS content... there can't be too many US guys on here :-)

Good luck with the rebuild. Something to think about (though it might be too late...) are whether the welsh plugs need replacing (the plugs in the side of the engine block. If there's any sign of leaking or weeping, they're easy to pop out and replace, but now you've done the repaint it'd be a shame to make the changes :-)

Looking forward to seeing your pics! I still remember the first time I saw a Dodge Colt in America and feeling the smile come across my face at seeing my Galant on the other side of the world! There's heaps of 'em in Argentina too...

Good luck with it all!

[Rizla215]

Thanks for the warm reception, everyone…… Not many of us early Mitsu owners here in the states. Cali is lousy with 510's, though….

OK. Here's progress shots(hopefully it works this time):

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[A112H]

You can just copy and paste the IMG section from photobucket, no need to put it in the site Img brackets

[geezer101]

Nice wagon there Rizla215, the wheels have given it some new school attitude (the race spoke look isn't over the top). And it's great to have another member states side of the world who isn't scared to take on something different. Awesome!

[ddt]

very nice wagon there rizla215. Welcome to the site, btw.

[Rizla215]

Lol, thank you for the posting advice & the compliments, guys. I can't wait until I can actually drive her around town. I guess it's time for me to pick up some assembly lube & a torque wrench (I'm a little light in the auto tools dept.) . Any other gadgets/supplies I should have on hand?

[84GKSIG]

assembly lube, torque wrench, rubber mallet, piston ring compressor, if youve pulled the head apart, valve spring compressor if not dont worry.

but with the work your putting in you may as well give the cylinder head some TLC as well. whats being done with the cylinder head?

not every one dose this but while putting pistons back into the block, I like to wet the cylinder walls with a little bit of fresh engine oil, may not need it but it just makes seance to me

has the wagon there ever been resprayed? it looks pretty good

[Rizla215]

Believe it or not; the paint is original. Apparently it sat tarped in a barn for quite awhile. Couple nicks here & there, but nothing major/no cancer at all. So yeah the engine, top & bottom, is completely apart-all machined. Thing is; I didn't take it apart. The mechanic I hired was arrested & is going to be gone for a minute & a half. Had to get it outta impound, track down the engine at a local machine shop, & have it towed back to my house. I only got to drive the damn thing 45 minutes before the engine blew when I first bought it.
But there's certain things every man should do in his life:
Have a kid
Get married
Rebuild an engine
Learn scuba
(In no particular order)
So I'm on 4/4 now. Just hope all the parts are there. I'm still sorting through it all.

[geezer101]

Player 1 has earned extra kudos for persistence... Anyone who is willing to take on a project that isn't a popular car and will be hard to source parts for, has the engine blow up 45 minutes after getting it, then deals with a mechanic/felon who has left his engine in pieces, and then has to hunt down those pieces is up for some kind of award! (note - I didn't add the marriage/kids thing as this will make you look masochistic rather than determined )

[A112H]

The mechanic I hired was arrested & is going to be gone for a minute & a half.

[IncorpoRatedX]

Where at are you in the US??

I have a 73 wagon (build date/title but body style is 74)

I have a ton of spare stuff from when i converted to 4G63T if you need anything.

[Rizla215]

I'm in Petaluma, CA. About 1/2 north of San Fran. Where you at?

So here's where I'm currently at with the build:




Cyl. head was machined & put back together by the guy at the machine shop. Block is now painted & has assembly oil coating the cal. walls. Just got my "official" 1973 service manual today… It's a lot more descriptive than the Hayes manual, but a great deal of it is still greek to me. What should I be doing next???

[GB_BB4C]

It may just be me or the pic, but you have a nice shiny crank that looks like it has been machined, you said you have new piston's, but why has the block not been bored out (assuming oversize pistons) or at least honed?

[Rizla215]

To my knowledge; the block was machined. But between the cops, the impound yard, an abandoned crack-dens, a AAA 200 mile tow, & a really intoxicated Mexican... It was a big day. I may have overlooked it. Is there a way I can verify? They look smooth & shiny. I bought some feeler gauges. Would using those tell me?

[geezer101]

To my knowledge; the block was machined. But between the cops, the impound yard, an abandoned crack-dens, a AAA 200 mile tow, & a really intoxicated Mexican... It was a big day. I may have overlooked it. Is there a way I can verify? They look smooth & shiny. I bought some feeler gauges. Would using those tell me?

If the machine shop is done with it, it should've been honed as well. There should be very visible crisscross hone marks in the block bores. If they appear to be shiny I'd be doubting it's even been touched...

[Rizla215]

Ok. Ill take a look

[Rizla215]

Ok. I don't see cross-hatching, but the guy at the machine shop told me that all the work had been done. Perhaps machined, then honed? Honing eliminates the marks, right? I'm thinking I should be doing a mock build, though. Especially since I didn't take the damn thing apart. Spent some time today cleaning & oiling other parts. Reading the manual, too. Im finding that cleaning is helping me get familiar with the parts & how they work. Although not well enough to actually reassemble it...
Any suggestions on my next step? Don't be afraid to get real obvious/basic

[GB_BB4C]

how it should look

[Rizla215]

Hmmmm.... Doesn't quite look like that. Ill post a pic when it's light out again. Most likely ill have to bring it to a local shop & have it done. I should bring the head & pistons, too? The piston heads are pressed pin, right? Which means a shop has to set 'em?

[GB_BB4C]

yeah piston's pushed onto rods.
are the piston's oversize or standard.. that will determine as to weather it needs to be bored or hones, also if the bore is ovalised, will need to be honed to get back into round again.
best to check and see what up have and what you missing and take it all to the machine shop and checked out.

[Rizla215]

Well. Took it to the machine shop. Looks like it does need to be re-bored & honed. They won't have time to do the work on it for a couple weeks, but they'll put gauges to everything & let me know the extent of it all. Gonna put a vacuum to the rebuilt head (done by the former mechanic/current felon's machinist-who seemed like a decent fellow). & see what else needs to be done. It might be that they do the assembly & I do the install.... I'm not chickening out.... just a lot of work that needs a lot of precision. I think they'll still be plenty of manly work to do hooking that pig up...

[IncorpoRatedX]

I'm in Petaluma, CA. About 1/2 north of San Fran. Where you at?

So here's where I'm currently at with the build:

I'm in michigan, let me know, I can always ship stuff. I drove my 73 wagon from san francisco to here.

[Hellvector]

This looks like such a cool find. I just picked up a 73 GB Hardtop that I will be posting about sometime soon. Don't know of any others anywhere near me in Missouri.