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Mighty Mouse Engine Rebuild & Upgrades


difrangia

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Got the head assembled and tourqued down this afternoon. Valve gear all assembled, clearences set, and christened with Rotella-T.

 

Kinda see something that just might be a light down there at the end of the tunnel.

 

Valve%20Gear%20Installed%20amp%20Oiled%2

 

Valve%20Gear%20Installed%20amp%20Oiled%2

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's been a couple weeks since the last post but things progress has been accomplished. I've been getting the induction system worked out planning on using 32/35 Weber and keeping the original air cleaner. Started out using the 32/36 that's been on the shelf waiting for install on the 620 pickup as a model. the two-piece adapter for the L-Series would work with a little modification. Ended up making a one-piece adapter patterned after the one-piece for the L-Series engine.

 

Got out the die grinder yesterday and using several carbide burrs and then sanding discs and sandpaper pencils removed the casting flash, did a fair amount of blending and surface improvements. Next came hand wet-sanding through a progression of 220, 320, 400, & 600 papers. Here's the manifold after the 220 grit sanding:

 

Intake%20Manifold%20-%20Sanded%20220-Gri

 

Care was taken to preserve the little Hitachi logo on the front intake runner just in front of the carb pad. After 30-40 minutes on the buffing wheel and hand buffing in areas the wheel couldn't reach, I ended up with this:

 

Intake%20Manifold%20-%20Polished_zpsny97

 

Here it is mounted up with the exhaust manifold and the adapter plate in place:

 

Intake-Exhaust%20Manifolds%20Fit-Up_zpsb

 

Next up is fabbing a block to bolt on to the two holes on the side of the intake manifold that will mount the PCV valve and come up with an adapter for the original air filter. More later.

 

steve

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A couple of tips.

 

For the air cleaner, I cut the middle of the lower portion of the stock air cleaner out and then fab a plate to fit the DGV, weld that in place and maintain a low profile air cleaner.

 

For the intake and adapter, you can gain some performance by cutting out the "splitter" in the plenum and blending the adapter to the manifold. This gives you more plenum area and removes the turbulence caused by the splitter. You don't have to go overboard. It should only take 10 minutes of cutting and grinding and a slight finish with a sanding cartridge.

 

Also, are you using the DGV "5A"? If yours is older, you may consider getting a 5A. They have an improved design that eliminates the bog between primary and secondary transition. Most newer DGV's are 5A's.

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Stoffregen,

 

The carb that I'm using is a new DGAV. Supposed to be jetted for 1200 (A-Series). I haven't gotten around to taking the top off to see what is actually in there yet. Got it from carb people in the NW. I've an idea that I'll be acquiring a jetting kit and tinkering a bit when I get her breathing on her own again.

 

Is that an A-Series engine in your old truk? And an A-series air cleaner housing? That green 320 was one nice old pickup.

 

Steve.

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Steve,

 

If it's a new carb you should be OK. The jetting I had problems with were the idle jets. I could not get them small enough for my teeny motor. I ended up soldering them closed and drilling them with wire drills to get the tune correct.

 

Yes, that's an A12. It was in the truck when I bought it, but I completely went through it and modded the hell out of it, redid the motor mounts and built a good trans mount and tunnel. It made 100hp and revved to 8k with a DGV. It would have made about 130 and gone to 9K with dual 44 Solex's.

 

The truck still exists. I sold it about 4 years ago to Eric ('ol 320). He loved it, but then ran across a nice Fiat or something that he had to have. Last I heard it was for sale but I can't remember if he sold it or not.

 

- Matt

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  • 4 weeks later...

OK, it's been nearly a month since the last update on this little project. Lots of stuff has been going on under the radar. Been doing some gardening, moving one of the grand daughters stuff back to home base from college ( doing a summer internship in NYC), and of course, hammering the final stuff needed to ger some fire out of the little E1.
 
Spent Sunday & Monday finishing up wiring and plumbing on the engine mounted on the
 
roll-around cart and rolled it over. It was firing and making an attempt to run but belching flames out of the carb and exhaust manifold. I knew something was amiss with the timing. Fumbled around till I got tired and ready to check it in for the nite and give it some thought. Woke up in the middle of the nite wondering which direction the distributor rotated. Dumb-arse me had plugged the wires in for clockwise rotate. Went out to the shop bout half hour early and switched two wires. The little four-holer busted off at 3AM on the first rev:

 

 

It's a bouncin' baby boy!!

 

'It's a Boy, Missus Walker, It's a Boy'

From rock opera 'Tommy' - The WHO

 

Here is ten or fifteen minutes later with coolant added. No exhaust system except the ex manifold. 60pounds oil pressure at idle.

 

 

And the next day with lead-out pipe & muffler added.

 

 

I've been boring you folks for six months with this rebuild/upgrade.

 

Life is good !!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Been a while since last post but been doing a lot of yard/garden work and sewing up loose ends on the E1. Got about 1 1/2 hours of run-in on it and cleared up several minor coolant/oil leaks. Can't find any unwanted noises. It sure is a lot easier to tend to the little stuff on the stand instead of in the pickup. Got the rocker cover finished up this weekend and the upper PCV hose finished. Here's a couple of Oics:

 

Rocker%20With%20PCV%20Hookup%201_zpszojy

 

Rocker%20With%20PCV%20Hookup%202_zpsobcc

 

I got the raw measurements between the air filter housing and the port in the rocker cover and went to the parts store and rummaged through the moulded heater hoses and found something with enough of the right bends to cut up and make the hose. I did the same on the lower hose that connects the rear tappet cover port and the hole that I tapped in the intake manifold under the carb that the PCV valve screws into. Here's the two elbows that I cut out of the moulded hose that will make the upper hose and the little connector that I lathed up to connect them:

 

Rocker%20With%20PCV%20Hookup%203_zpsjjqc

 

Assembled it all and zip tied the hoses and heat shrunk it all together:

 

Rocker%20With%20PCV%20Hookup%204_zpsra06

 

Getting ready to attack the engine room and get it ready for the new engine. Gathering up the stuff to change to disc brakes while he's in major surgery. Stay tuned.

 

Steve

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The lower PCV hose.

 

PCV%20Lower%20Hose_zpsi77nzlhk.jpg

 

& another run-in video. Have approximately 2 hours running time on now. Smooth as silk & good grunt for 74 cubic inches. Life is bloody good, Yea !!!

 

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Not to worry, I've ordered a couple af sheets of 3/4" Lexan.

 

I believe that I'll build a nice Lexan coffee table for the living room with the E1 in it and just crush the truck !!!

 

I can fire it up every once in a while & circulate the air in the house.

 

NOT !!!

 

The rest of the car toys will probably be jealous when the 'Sport Truck' is back in operation.

 

Steve

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  • 4 weeks later...

Kinda lookin like this thread has bout died on the vine. So, here's an update. I have been collecting more stuff and doin' grunt work toward getting ready to put the E1 back in. A number of other projects have passed under the bridge in the meantime also. So, lots of hours, skinned knuckles, scotch-brite, scraping, cuss-words, etc. and now the past three days can be summed up in these photos:

 

Before sand blast.

Before%20Blast%20Right%20Side_zpsr5fgsnm

 

Before%20Blast%20Left%20Side_zpspvefereu

 

Before%20Blast%20From%20Front_zpsvquraqw

 

After Sand Blast:

 

After%20Blast%20Right%20Side_zpsf47u69y4

 

After%20Blast%20Left%20Side_zpsbhtznv5l.

 

Primed:

 

Primed%20Left%20Side_zpsdcuxnnsu.jpg

 

Primed%20Right%20Side_zpsmafe9icn.jpg

 

Primed%20From%20Front_zpslywv09sa.jpg

 

And painted:

 

Painted%20Right%20Side_zpsvvhllmni.jpg

 

Painted%20Left%20Side_zpsgb0qaxk0.jpg

 

Painted%20Head-On_zpsjene4is1.jpg

 

The black was painted first. The grey spots on the black paint are from water sanding to get ready for the red. Areas in the red appear to have scratched and abraded spots after the paint. That's intentional. I don't want a restored appearance under the hood. Some of these spots will be airbrushed and some left. The glaze will be broken on the new paint and the new paint will be fogged with a little grey in areas. I'm looking for a nice survivor look to it. Except the engine, of course.

 

While I was spraying the engine room, I decided to grab the horns and give them a coat of the original red ( I had the transmission tunnel spectragraphed and paint mixed to match). Allowing for normal wear & tear and half a century of cooking in the engine room, I think the paint guy did fairly well in match-up.

 

Can't get the horns to attach. They'll be in next post in a minute.

 

 

Hornz%20Painted_zpsjtpdjacj.jpg

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OK. The horn photo attached to last post. I need to dig out the brass tags and rivet them back on to the horn covers. The covers were coated with the hi-temp alum-ceramic silver that a good amount of the engine parts got. All the hood latching parts also were coated. More photos later. Now the Mouse is going back indoors to get the outer front suspension cleaned and painted and a disc-brake upgrade. Stay tuned.

 

Steve

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Mike, your build on the little Sport Truck had a big influence on a lot of the stuff that I have done and will do on this one. I have several of your build threads saved and still refer to them from time to time. The front discs are getting ready to happen (express thanks on this one) and a rear gear ratio change is on the agenda.

 

Forge on ahead.

 

Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...

Awright,

 Over the last week I've Gunk-Gelled and scraped a couple of times, and pressure washed the front suspension on the little Sport Truck.  I got industrious today and broke out the blaster again. Puffed off the front suspension, blew it off, did a little masking, and primed it up.

 

Front%20Suspension%20Re-Do%201_zpsfxngsf

 

Mighty Mouse is doing a freeze-frame wheelie.

 

Front%20Suspension%20Re-Do%202_zpspyhqn6

 

Closer-up of the left front suspension blasted.

 

Front%20Suspension%20Re-Do%203_zpsjjmwaz

 

And primed with Dupli-Color rattle-can etching primer.

 

Tomorrow it all gets a coat of chassis black. Then it's back in the shop for brake build with a MK front disc convert.

 

Steve

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I busted butt yesterday am and got the front suspension and frame forward of the trany painted with chassis black.

 

Front%20Suspension%20Painted%201_zpsvl1m

 

Front%20Suspension%20Painted%202_zpspfzf

 

Another couple hours today with the torch and the old front inner seal sleeves were off and the bearing/seal adapters for the Blue Hands front disc-brake conversion. Got the 84'ish front hubs on (they'll get blasted, painted, & new bearings/seals) and the wheels back on. Today is a milestone for me & the Mouse. He's got his four tiny paws back on good ol' Earth again.

 

Steve

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