2.1L B20 build for Paul
Crank is in, clearances are good, journals are all about 0.07-0.08mm than installed bearing shells.
Next up:
Ba da bing ba da boom, checked bored and big end clearances and installed pistons.
A few more piecemeal updates. Progress has stopped while I wait for timing gears and a new front timing case (the kind that accepts a neoprene seal rather than felt) to arrive.
Updated rear main seal and housing:
New OEM Volvo oil pump:
I don't have any photos of the old pump, but the thrust surfaces were not in good shape, there was a lot of scoring. I was able to flatten the gears out with a pair of precision-ground flat stones, but even then I was able to catch a nail in places. A lot of money has gone into this engine so it makes no sense to risk it on a worn out oil pump.
I spent some time with a wire wheel and some rust converter, and cleaned up the sump. I also knocked out a dent in the bottom of it.
Crankcase is buttoned up at last
Fuel pump and spacer installed:
Fiber cam gear soaked in engine oil:
Timing gears installed:
I didn't grab a photo, but I also replaced the cam thrust plate and spacer ring, as well as the Woodruff keys.
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Nice work James
If only that was an 850 engine 
Not sure why Paul opted for the junk fibre gear, which have multiple modes of failure.
The Penta Steel gears never fail.
Be a bit harder to find these days , the steel timings gears were the preference years ago and when easier to find
All options are available and similarly priced: steel, aluminium (Skandix special), and fibre.
We picked fibre for minimal noise, if it was a wilder cam, or a track car, steel or aluminium would be better I think. If it causes headaches we will upgrade to steel.
242GT Not really hard to find if you look for 'em.
Skandix stocks them.
George stocks them too, and for only a few pennies more than the fibre rubbish. The 20 or so bux you pay extra for the good gears will save you hundreds later, when the fibre crap fails (because it will, and they all do).
Even with a tame C cam, they will break teeth. They will crack. They will suddenly get very noisy and then the centre parts ways with the teeth, and strand you in the middle of nowhere, or worse, in the middle of somewhere during peak hour (guess how I know this....)
I don't know why people claim steel timing gears are 'noisy'; it's a goddamned B20, and B20s are all inherently noisy. Maybe they want to sell you their fibre timing gears? With my old 144 of yesteryear, I never noticed any difference in noise level between the fibre crap and the Penta gears. And I never had any timing gear failures ever again.
This is a beautifully-built engine otherwise, IMHO. But I'd never recommend using a fibre timing gear.
They were every where in Australua in the 1990's via old wrecked 164 and penta engines , by 2003-4 you had to start looking on the Web, I had a set in the 144 plus 2 spare sets , long gone now.
Fun days back then going to each other's houses helping biuld 140 race cars
Given the noisiest part of a B20 is the rest of the valve train, steel gears are quiet.
I quite like the fibre gears myself. An intentionally weak point is a nice feature in older machines as it prevents more expensive other parts from suffering. I can see what volvo were thinking with respect to preserving the block and other parts in the event of engine failure. In 40+ engines I've dismantled that use this gear I haven't seen a failed one, or ever had one fail in driving these cars. But perhaps I'm just lucky. I've also never gone above 105mph in one or given it like a rally driver, so perhaps I've been too gentle.
This build looks really nice.
As long as they are changed at the recommended 100,000 miles with everyday use, then there is minimal risk. I've seen them fail and it makes a messing the sump and has the potential to block oil galleries.
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Roinik As long as they are changed at the recommended 100,000 miles with everyday use, then there is minimal risk.
Somebody would be doing really well to get 100K miles out of one. First I've heard of a replacement schedule for them, too.
The dealership where I worked during my youth did a roaring trade in timing gears.....
My old 144 went through three sets - two before my custodianship, and one during. When the engine got rebuilt at 160K miles, it got steel gears. Steel gears were far more comparatively expensive back then. But so was the tow tuck, when I was left stranded on Parramatta Rd in peak hour. Never again!
As long as the oil supply is clean and good through that little nozzle inside the timing case, genuine Volvo Penta steel gears never need replacing. They were factory fitted to the AQ120 marine engines, so Volvo obviously knew fibre gears were a problem - or that car owners made good cash cows.
AFAIC, it's a known weakness in the engine, and the factory came up with a solution. Fibre timing gears fall into the same category as Miracle Felt oil seals, 9mm B230 rods, 55mm centre thrust crankshafts, and 'Sealed For Life' transmission service schedules.
You forgot to add "wet timing belts" to the list. Penta alst ditched the balance shafts on the AQ171.
For the record, I run steel 164 gears.