Engine Rebuild

So this means you have a 231 oddfire from 1975-76. Do you have the heavy flywheel for the manual transmission? I don't consider this a bad thing other than its not original. The motor should have a 3.800" bore and the same stroke as the 225.

 

actually, i have the '75 odd fire in mine. summit makes pistons for it that are 9.5 or so :1 compression. nice cams are available and whatnot. there isnt much different other than the mention "its not stock" before, but itll still run great. if you go with stock pistons, they are 7.8:1 which is really low (in my opinion) and dont produce much power...but you can run 87 octain gas. if you go with the summit pistons ($38 each), you will need to run super unleaded (but you can get more power and used less gas)...i have the summit ones. i dont have it all the way together yet, but soon..=)
comp makes a 240H, 252H and 260H for the odd fire depending on the power level you want. some of the guys here run the 252 in their 225's, and love em.
so, dont fret about the 231...just another stock looking engine thatll run the same (with a tad more power if you build it up).

 

I have seven new pictures loaded into my web page of more of my 231 removal. I took off the driver side head and saw a lot of things that dont look good. one cylinder wasnt firing at all and the others had really bad rings. Im going to talk to NAPA within the next couple of days and get some answers to my questions. It really a miracle that this engine even ran as well as it did, I have been driving it over a hundred miles or more like this... enjoy!

 

Jason, that motor while it looks crappy isn't all that bad, I've seen alot worse. Clean it all up and have stuff (heads and block) magnafluxed (checks for cracks) and rebuild it. The autozone kit is still the cheapest and is still quality parts, around $375 for the complete kit. Have fun on your rebuild and keep us posted, oh and how old are you? Your pictures make you look like your about 12-13, 14 tops.

 

LOL! Thanks for the advice. I have never seen the inside of an engine like that before, and I guess I just expected it to be cleaner. I can tell for the most part what is supposed to be there and what is not supposed to be there, but like I said... I have nothing to compare it to. This is a learning experience for me and I love ever moment of it. I am 18 BTW. Only one of the pictures on the link is of me. I was getting my younger cousin to help me pull the engine, and he is 14. He is pretty good around vehicles and he listens carefully whenever I try to explain something to him or show him how to do something.

 

the 231 has better top end lubrication,just my $.02

 

I just got some more pictures put on my link... They show the engine in the truck. It's off to see the doctor at the NAPA store for an inspection.

 

Okay, I got the report from Dr. Napa today. He said that by al rights my eninge shouldn't have been running and he was surprised to fin out that i have been driving it around on a daily basis without too much fuss for the past six months. I still think he is scratching his head on that one. R) Since I told him that I was new to all of this, he passed me his wrench and showed me how to finish where I had left off as far as taking the engine apart. I thought it was really neat for him to be taking the time aside from his other customers and letting me use his tools to work on my engine in his shop where he would usually be working on it from this point on. He explained some things to me as I asked and walked me through what I was supposed to do. He commented on the following; One of the seats for the push rods was gone, one ring #5 piston was gone and every other piston ring besides #1 was shattered and in the process of being blown out the exhaust. The crank shaft was badly worn and it wouldn't hurt to get a new cam shaft. Five of the pistons just compltely fell out once they were unbolted (he had grabbed a hammer thinking he was going to have to tap them out). It was apparent that two cylinders were seldom firing, and water in #5 certainly wasn't supposed to be there. I wonder how that got there...:twisted: There were also some serious tapers to every cylinder. .

I priced some master kits at NAPA... $481 and $501. He said he would start his thing as soon as i provided him with a kit and that he would also show me how to bore and reassemble the engine if i was interested and had time.

My main question to the forum though is this. How do i know what size rings and pistons to get when I order the kit? Is there a set size or what? How does that work. I know boring makes things larger, and that he wont bore until he has parts to measure.

 

Jason he will need to measure the bores and determine how much its going to take to clean them up. He will also need to do the same to the crank. You then need to check and see if the rod bearings are stock size or oversize. You will then order your kit with these sized pistons & rings, main and rod bearings. In other words if he says that it will take .015-.020 to clean the bores up you will probably need +.030" oversize pistons and rings. Main bearings come in .010-.015" oversize (I think) rods are about the same.
He is right, you should have the piston when you bore the engine to get the clearance right.
Most rebuild kits will include, all bearings, (cam, main, rod) pistons, rings, freeze plugs, cam, lifters, timing chain and gears, all gaskets and seals and in the case of a Buick v6 an oil pump rebuild kit. There will also be cam and assembly lube.

 

I thought it was really neat for him to be taking the time aside from his other customers and letting me use his tools to work on my engine in his shop where he would usually be working on it from this point on. He explained some things to me as I asked and walked me through what I was supposed to do.

Having grown up in Lake Charles LA, not too far from where you are, this courtesy does not surprise me. People in general and NAPA in particular are very helpful in that part of the world. Being a gearhead teenager in the 70s, I found lots of help from guys at machine shops and parts depots, from guys who didn't know me, but thought it cool to help out a young guy. I am glad to see that still exists down there. You live amongst, IMHO, some of the most friendly folk in the world.

makes me homesick...............

 

I don't know what I was thinking, but I decided to start this today. I figured since the whole front end was out, I might as well see what it was like with the rest of the body off. Tomorrow I am going to recuit some of my school friends to get the body off.



Engine Update: still with Dr. Napa, and I should have it back by the end of this week.

 

I still havn't figured out why I removed the tub. I wasn't going to do that until later in the summer, but I have more stuff that I can work on right now because of it. I have many cracks to weld and I am thinking about painting it while the tub is off too.




Engine Update: waiting very patiently for Dr. Napa to finish measuring parts so that I can order my master kit...

I have also added some more pictures to my link below.

 

I know it has been a little while since I have added anything to this thread, but with some crossed fingers, I should have my engine back this week. I have been reading here and there in the forum on how to go about putting my engine back in. There appears to be quite a few different opinions on this matter... mainly in the way of mating the tranny and engine back together. Where can I get an alignment tool and how do I use it? Also, could someone please take a few minutes out to explain the process of putting my engine back in? Thanks!

 

Got the engine back from NAPA just the other day. Today I am in the process of putting it all back together. So far, All that is left is to put the timing cover, starter, and carb back on. Then I will try to stick it back on the tranny. Wish me luck!