Alex's 360 build thread

ALVO360 · 2018-03-01T00:23:50+00:00

This is where it all began. only 12 days ago on the 24/02/2018. Its had all oils changed, coolant flush leads, plugs, air filter, dizzy cap and rotor, thr...

ALVO360

@timbo Mate, I really appreciate that offer. I have too many 360's and actually have a storage problem I have to deal with. I sincerely thank you!!
@ramrod I'm pretty sure I'm good for now. I think I have 4 good headlights to work with. But thanks for your offering.

ALVO360

egads;c-138152 wroteYup, get it all working with an engine with plenty of headroom for fuckups, good call

I fell for the "ah, may as well while I'm here" trick. It was the sludge in the engine and Conrod bearings which took me on the 'refresh' path. Soooooo much cleaning.

ALVO360

She was very dirty. I cleaned everything, inspected, cleaned and lapped the vales and installed new valve stem seals. of the 3 different types of valve spring compressors I had, not one of them was suitable to install the valves, springs and retainers. I had to buy a special type to get it done : >> https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-10pc-Valve-Spring-Compressor-Tool-Kit-for-Car-Motorcycle-Petrol-Engines-AU/132716239701?epid=19011018734&hash=item1ee6811b55:g:YRIAAOSwq7JUKYTO:rk:2:pf:0

ALVO360

I didnt like the pitting on the edge of one of the coolant ports, so I sealed it will metal forming putty. It has been wet sanded smooth and i'm confident it will hold. I had to carefully rough the surface for it to bond. It was one of those situations where its easy to make things a lot worse, but i did just fine.

ALVO360

Block, bearing caps, conrods and pistons have all been cleaned. Bearings, piston rings and seals have all been replaced. I thought i had ordered the PCV / Flame trap drain hose...but apparently not.

ALVO360

difference between 740 b230et oil pump (LEFT) and 360 b19e oil pump (RIGHT).

jamesinc

I've used JB Weld to patch pitting before and it seems to do the job fine

ALVO360

Now I'm waiting on parts to finish things off. I need a new PCV drain pipe before I can fit the oil pump and sump. Parts have been ordered from FCP and ClassicSwede. I should have most of what I need by the end of the month.

Still...a long way to go from here. Its anyone's guess as to when she will be on the road.
I still have clutch, flywheel, engine mounts. Intercooler and exhaust to sort out, as well as wiring and other niggles.

BTW*** Valve stem seals are different sizes between the 530 and 531 cylinder heads. The 531 head has thicker valves. These were not provided in my VRS headgasket kit. I had to use other seals I found in another kit I had.
I measured the Internal Diameter of the valve stem seals I used for the 531 head and it was:
Upper hole I/D: 7mm
Base hole I/D: 11mm

ALVO360

Mmm

ALVO360

@jamesinc cheers for helping me out with those links to FCP a while back. I used FCP again to find and order the Flame trap/PCV drain hose. I couldn't find that part anywhere!

ALVO360

Head has been installed with new timing belt and tensioner. Its a shame that the cam gear and crank pulley look so SH!T

ALVO360

Im going to need to block off where the rear mounted distributor was..its a 47mm I.D

ALVO360

Bit of a before and after

ALVO360

Swapped the distributor over from the 360. It would've been a simple process if it weren't for the excessive sludge and surface rust built up on contact/bearing surfaces inside the b230 block. Its funny how most of the more troublesome and time consuming tasks start with the statement "I'll just quickly"...

jamesinc

@ALVO360 you can get a neat kit for that rear cam plug on the head from @AshDVS. It includes a new plug as well as a steel plate that mounts behind the plug to stop it being ejected if you ever get pressure in the crankcase. Fairly inexpensive peace of mind.

ALVO360

@jamesinc Thanks for that mate. I've just sent him a message.

My parts from FCP arrived today and to my shock the PCV drain hose is not only the incorrect outside diameter (won't seal at the Flametrap hole and can't be secured by the bracket in the sump), it's extremely poor quality. I went for the aftermarket option and it is just rubbish. Absolutely unusable.

Check out the difference:

jlfents

If you research the topic on tbricks stealthfti along with a few others state they never bother to replace that hose, and I'm pretty sure stealth explains why. No one reported any issues. Might be worth a look...

I haven't bothered to put one in mine but I haven't run the motor yet so can't comment any further.

ALVO360

@jlfents - I did consider its usefulness and questioned the benefit of having it going all the way down to the sump. But for $30 I was just willing to replace it and move forward. I'll do a bit of research and consider my options.

Ultimately, FCP shouldn't be supplying parts that aren't suitable for use. It's wrong of them to offer such products as an option if they are not suitable replacement parts, especially because their company slogan is "if we wouldn't use it in our cars, we won't sell it to you".

carnut222

ALVO360;c-149647 wrote@jlfents - I did consider its usefulness and questioned the benefit of having it going all the way down to the sump. But for $30 I was just willing to replace it and move forward. I'll do a bit of research and consider my options.

Ultimately, FCP shouldn't be supplying parts that aren't suitable for use. It's their fault for offering such products as an option for use, especially that their company slogan is "if we wouldn't use it in our cars, we won't sell it to you".

FCP were pretty good when I had problems with a recent order. If you email them they’ll probably refund your money on that item.

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