71 2 Door from Atlantic Canada

[Canadian510]

Woke up early today to tackle more and was able to get the carbs cleaned and mounted, rad put back in, all hoses installed and tightened, and a bunch more odds and ends. I'm waiting on one of the ball fittings in the Weber's throttle linkage as my set was missing one but other than that I should be good to start the old girl soon!

 

Don't mind the gross old fuel lines they're a "till the bugs are worked out" thing. I'll be getting some nice braided lines soon.

 

 

My L20 with the dual SUs

 

 

And my spare l20. Tore it down to a bare block today and found that it was running crazy lean at one point in it's life and had sat outside for the remainder. The #3 and 4 piston's rings were welded to them and had to pound them out of the cylinder. Cylinder walls still surprisingly seem good and all the bearing surfaces are fine so I might pick away at it and build a nice big bore Frankenstein motor in the future.

 

[Canadian510]

Finished up almost everything under the hood and just have a few small things left before i can start this thing! Just waitting on one ball mount in the linkage to get here. Also started looking at T3 coilovers, camber plates and top hats. They'll cost me a small fortune but i think they'll really add to the car, might grab a set of old japanese wheels and put some different tires on if i go that route too. So many decisions haha

[housew]

nice work!

 

i got some t3 parts on my whip (camber plates with bearings, and strut tower brace).

 

The whole reason i wanted a 510 was cause they look so freaking awesome, and in my mind a good stance and rims makes them. I don't blame you for going that route. Lots of good info on ratsun on what fits and doesn't depending on how aggressive you want to get.

 

How are the roads in PEI? You don't want to go so low you can't drive the car. I actually had to raise mine a little after i got it due to too much low for maine roads.

[Canadian510]

A productive night tonight! Finished up all the wiring and finally put coolant/oil in. All my wiring seems to be good after fixing a few of the previous owners shortcuts and even had the engine turning over to get some fuel to the carbs before my battery decided it wanted a fresh charge. Even listened to a few 8 tracks on the NOS stereo before I called it a night. Hopefully will get the car running in the next few days.

 

Things still left to do

 

Bleed Brakes

Hook up E Brake

Install Slave Cylinder/Clutch Line

Drop off driveshaft to be shortened

Weld clutch return spring bracket to pedal box

Have shop fab up exhaust

And probably a few tiny things I'm forgetting atm

[banzai510(hainz)]

must be a sad battery to break down that fast.

 

hope you made sure oil pump was full of oil before start up

I pour some oil on rockers right before start up(open up the valve cover then reseal)

I also pump the fuel pump by hand till it goes soft then you know the carbs are full and then cycle the linkage to hear the accell pump squirt gas in and it should fire off if the rockers are adjusted and have spark in the correct fire order in time

 

oil pressure in 10-15 seconds

[Canadian510]

 

must be a sad battery to break down that fast.

 

hope you made sure oil pump was full of oil before start up

I pour some oil on rockers right before start up(open up the valve cover then reseal)

I also pump the fuel pump by hand till it goes soft then you know the carbs are full and then cycle the linkage to hear the accell pump squirt gas in and it should fire off if the rockers are adjusted and have spark in the correct fire order in time

 

oil pressure in 10-15 seconds

 

Battery had sat for a very long time so i wasn't all that surprised haha, oil pump was full made sure i did that at least. Wished i had read this a few hours ago about pouring the oil on the cam might have saved me some heard ache who knows

 

[Canadian510]

 

Charged up the battery and went at starting it again this evening. Was checking for spark when all of a sudden the motor wouldn't turn over anymore (was acting like the battery was dead again) checked and the battery was fine. Started to get worried and tried to turn the motor over with a socket on the crank and it wouldn't budge after rotating freely every other time before. Tore the carbs/manifold, exhaust manifold and everything to get the head off and found that the motor had jumped timing and a valve was hitting a piston.....Luckily there was no damage but so much for my "ready to run" engine. Also found that i was getting no oil going through my spray bar or even in the line for it so the cam was basically running dry apart from some assembly lube. Didn't help that my clearance still isn't perfect on the cam so probably had some added friction there. Once i took the head off i noticed some of my valves did settle and i was able to set proper clearance on them finally but still not all (after turning the engine over maybe 10 times)  

 

 

Part of me wants to say screw it and tear the L16 out after everything i've done with it and use the supposedly ready to go L20 i have with my webers. The other part wants to get this wild little L16 running with it's big cam but who's to say it doesn't do the exact same thing again after i figure out what's going on with the oil pressure and then have to tear it all apart again, by that point i'd have the complete L20 in and running hopefully. 

 

I still have hopes of building up my second L20 block while using some Z parts to make a real nice 2.3 engine and could always use the A87 head and big cam on it down the line.

 

What is everyone's suggestions? stick with the L16 and work out all it's problems or say screw it and drop the pretty much stock L20 in with the Webers? I'm lost so any opinions are very much welcomed.

[Z chopper]

stick with the L16. You did so much work on it now, why back out?

[Canadian510]

A rather large update now.

 

Didn't touch the car since my last post as I was going through my options and kept going back and forth between the l16 and l20. Eventually decided to stick with the l16 and pull off the oil pump to see what was going on and off course the last bolt breaks as soon as I went to turn it. My first thought was to swap front covers with my l20 which i quickly found out wont work.

 

At this point the l20 was looking pretty good so started to go through it to make sure it was ready to go. Took out the compression gauge and it turns out I have no compression in #1 cylinder. Pulled the head and looks like I'd need a full rebuild, the play on that #1 piston was crazy. So that option is out.

 

So pulled the front cover on the l16 and enlisted my dad for help (he's been a mechanic for quite some time). He suggested using easy outs to try and extract the broken bolt, long story short cheap easy outs + stuck bolts = broken easy out. On the plus side it pissed us both off enough that we went out and bought a $250 5 piece set of good ones and were able to get both pieces out but mangled the hole. Upon drilling/tapping the hole we didn't quite get the angle right and eventually had to drill right through and put a nut/washer on the inside of the cover after checking it would clear everything. Going to have to clean up where the bit went through before going any further. Also went back to my head and im still not convinced I have it right, my dad keeps blaming the isky springs because they're so stiff and keeps suggesting to put my stock head back on the motor but at that point doing a rebuilt would have been pointless in my eyes.

 

Feels like I'm back to square one, my back up plan of using the l20 is gone and another problem has been thrown in with the l16. The only other thing I can think of is that there's a complete KA24de with transmission and all wiring for sale locally with 75,000kms on it for $400. Would make all my L parts useless but I suppose I could try and sell them off and take a loss.

[sebpv]

I envy you with that steering wheel. I ordered mine End July and because of a missing number, it got sent back...Problem is, it was sent back without a new tracking number and now the sender isnt seeing anything at his post office and that since Aug 5...120$ down the drain...

[banzai510(hainz)]

Fuck the sparay bar bullshit and all this fancy crap

A L motor is simple and this should be running.

time it . electracal time it and oil and gas and it will fire.

 

I cant see how a bolt breaks in a alum cover.

get another l16 cover. these are almost free if you ask for 1.

 

You shoul know by now a L20 cover is traller.

 

find a Z car cover. there the csame size also but ck and make sure to use you timming mark type from the L16.

 

 

 found that the motor had jumped timing and a valve was hitting a piston??????????

 

No such thing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you put it together wrong  its a double roller chain. or the whole slack side guide/tensior fell off came apart.

 

 

update: sept 30

 

maybe the cam dowl broke thus moving the sprocket then in turn vsalve hitting piston(or dowel was never in cam?)

[Canadian510]

Had no oil pressure so chain tensioner wasn't working properly..

 

Engine oil is flowing now after afew fixes and she's turning over great, but that's about where it ends haha.

 

Engine is turning over but will not start. Definitely getting fuel and when we checked for fire by grounding a plug on a metal surface there was plenty. Carbs are sucking plenty of air as well, engine is letting off the odd single pop but that's it. Timing is also pretty close, lined up the oil pump shaft prior to installing the distributor and checked the rotor position in relation to the pistons so that shouldn't be it. Gas is fairly old but have pulled off a fuel line and were running fresh gas out of a bottle for awhile with no changes, also added some fuel to the cylinders after letting it sit for awhile but didn't have anything happen.

 

It's acting like there's no spark but we've checked all the plugs and there's spark there. Wondering if I'm missing something simple here.

[datzenmike]

Set to TDC compression stroke on #1. Intake and exhaust valves should both be closed, if not turn round one more time. At TDC the rotor should be below any plug wire on the cap.  This wire becomes #1 and the others are 3 4 2 in a counter clockwise direction. If between plug wires on the cap you are not likely going to be able to twist the distributor far enough to get it near let alone properly timed. So...

 

Set to TDC, remove distributor and you should see this...

 

 

Note that there is a small and large side for that half moon. If yours it not like this, drop the oil pump and the drive spindle and turn it and put back in until you get this.

 

If you have this and you rotor is pointing between wires on the cap, drop the oil pump and spindle and move it  several teeth and try it. Sorry this is very trial and error but keep trying until you have the rotor under a cap wire or very close.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Had no oil pressure so chain tensioner wasn't working properly..??????

 

not really tru if it was tight when you installed it its not going to jump a tooth as it should be tight already. as thr slack side guide should be adjusted to take out the extra slop also

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Counter clock wise fire order.

 

valve lash set.

 

I would run a new motor with a weber carb first in case your doing sidedrafts(who knows whwere its been) as you dont know if they good anyways.

 

 

turn dizzy with hand to dial it in better till it fires if you have the oil pump spindal set in correctly

[housew]

i don't even have an l16 and im eating this info up. This is great info for baseline timing and to make sure hes not 180 out. I was asking for information like this on a jeep forum a few weeks ago for another project i have going on and nobody was sharing. Just more proof that ratsun is awesome.

 

good luck with the build. If you have gas, have spark, have compression, its pumping air, and not running i'd wager your timing is off and these fellows are pointing you in the right direction. Being 180 degrees off isn't hard to do when its all apart and even a timing light will tell you your all set, but it won't run.

[FirstDime]

nice work!

 

i got some t3 parts on my whip (camber plates with bearings, and strut tower brace).

 

The whole reason i wanted a 510 was cause they look so freaking awesome, and in my mind a good stance and rims makes them. I don't blame you for going that route. Lots of good info on ratsun on what fits and doesn't depending on how aggressive you want to get.

 

How are the roads in PEI? You don't want to go so low you can't drive the car. I actually had to raise mine a little after i got it due to too much low for maine roads.

doing T3 coilover build as well right now, was wondering about the strut bar too.  Do you have to cut or modify anything to make it fit?  I have heard some strut bars get in the way of closing the hood..

[housew]

it clears my engine just fine (sr20det) but the hood catch track (little bar on a spring that holds it up) does contact the bar. I can still shut my hood fine by pushing down on it (not hard)

 

there is no saying my hood is aligned correctly so it might clear at a different adjustment, or im sure that bracket could be trimmed to avoid any interference. I can get pics if my description wasn't clear enough.

[FirstDime]

thanks Housew that is what i thought, i have seen people cut the hood catch track to make clearance just was not sure the T3 one still required that.

[banzai510(hainz)]

if you watch vid you wont be 180 degree off on distributor. or cam

[datzenmike]

i don't even have an l16 and im eating this info up. This is great info for baseline timing and to make sure hes not 180 out. I was asking for information like this on a jeep forum a few weeks ago for another project i have going on and nobody was sharing. Just more proof that ratsun is awesome.

 

good luck with the build. If you have gas, have spark, have compression, its pumping air, and not running i'd wager your timing is off and these fellows are pointing you in the right direction. Being 180 degrees off isn't hard to do when its all apart and even a timing light will tell you your all set, but it won't run.

 

180 out isn't even a problem. Just set to TDC and where ever the rotor points now becomes the #1 plug wire. Move all the others around the cap to match.

[housew]

yea, just has to be TDC on the compression stoke, not TDC on the exhaust stroke (360 on the crank, 180 on the dizzy) swapping the wires isn't an option in jeep world due to length, but seeing most L's come over the top of the valve cover i don't see that being an issue. Still need to make sure your on the right stroke when your picking which wire will be #1, and the valves closed tip for verifying that was great. :)

[banzai510(hainz)]

Still need to make sure your on the right stroke when your picking which wire will be #1,??????????????

 

simple.

take the oil cap off and intake lobe that is right there is on the 9 o clock position your getting ready for the valve to close. then look at the timming mark as dialing motor crank to Zero. then go to distributor set up for #1. move plug wires loose the adjustment plate ect.....

[Canadian510]

Went back and checked my distributor timing which was off by a bit but after fixing still wouldnt start. Decided to pull off the webers for my stock intake/carb incase something was wrong there but still had no change. Then decided as a last ditch effort to try and use one of my other heads. First touch of the key she half fires up then...

 

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad318/DeathByGoat142/th_good.mp4

 

 

Pretty happy to put it lightly haha. Pretty sure my valve lash is the culprit in the other head, going to run it as is for awhile to work out the bugs then swap carbs and maybe the head after i sort it out some winter. Now i'm just finishing up a few small things before i can get this thing on the road hopefully before winter. Still need to drop my driveshaft off to get shortened but after that it's just nit picking really.

[banzai510(hainz)]

valve lash ck should be one of the 1st things to ck when not fireing.

 

my basic ck is just to wiggle the rockers with cam lobe up to know your valve is closing otherwise your mixture wont fire off

[banzai510(hainz)]

watch this again again again