Powerplants > 301

My 301 NA Refresh Build

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Nexus:
So I have decided to to freshen up my 301, and not do a full rebuild...at least for now. I will be making some well researched decisions that will definitely not be the best decision to make if you are doing a proper rebuild but it is the direction I'm going in. Also, I am experimenting with a few things that may turn out to be a poor decision but we shall see when I do a proper rebuild in a few years after I get it on the road. This will not make everyone happy but I'm not too concerned and if my decisions backfire (pun intended), I will have learned a lesson.

still with me?

So, I started out by pulling the engine that Ruby came with

20191114_120637 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

pulled it apart

20191126_155139 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20191126_153616 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20191126_154255 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

As you can see, there was a tremendous amount of rust everywhere.

I decided to pickle this engine and find a replacement

20200930_144036 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20200930_151538 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Bring in the replacement

2020-11-30_10-55-20 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Got it running

20201215_202638_1 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Yanked it out

20201223_103518 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

and pulled it apart

2021-02-03_11-32-40 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-01-13_11-15-01 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Nexus:
Since the last pic, I have cleaned, sandblasted and painted parts while I made decisions on the block.

20210318_155837 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210318_155900 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210316_211240 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210316_211254 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Nexus:
The JB weld experiment:

So in an event to keep things low cost, the aluminum on my 301 has seen better days as you can see in the photo all the pitting the coolant neck has.

20210311_083308 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

20210311_083319 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

So, pull out the JB weld I had on hand and fill in the pitting.

20210316_191911 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

the final result is this

20210316_211254 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

The experiment comes in when the aluminum and the JB weld get heated up and being too different types of material. We shall see how it does when I pull the engine apart in a few years and give it a proper rebuild!!


funny thing is, the bare metal pics are of a different housing and the one I used looked very similar in condition but I forgot to take pics.

Nexus:
Well, since the last post, I am still working on restoring the water pump housing as the aluminum was really pitted on both units I had and I'm thinking it's from people using non aluminum friendly coolant.

I have also cleaned up all the casting flash and wire brushed all the surfaces on the block, and soon I'll notch the top of the cylinders to aid in exhaust gas removal. Everything was coated in WD40 to keep the rust at bay until I can get it cleaned and painted.

2021-04-29_10-11-11 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-04-29_10-11-01 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

DISCLAIMER!!

What I have decided to do with this build is not the most popular way to refresh an engine, and I'm sure others will shutter but with that said, too bad, get over it...lol

Also, I am not building this for maximum power, or racing of any kind. I won't be thrashing the engine so for now, this will suffice and will likely work well unitil I can do it up right.

This is a super budget refresh build so I saved money where I could (like machine shop work) and purchased parts that I could find at the cheapest possible price. Also I am not replacing the rings, crank bearings, lifters and anything else that was working just fine before I pulled it apart.

So with that said, I purchased new connecting rod bearings, to install which will wear prematurely because of the scratches in the crank/bearing surface but It should hold out ok until I can rebuild this properly and at that point, I will purchase some better quality parts that were recommended to me.

Due to rusty push rods, I replaced those and also picked up a new, budget friendly timing chain set. A new pickup screen for the oil pump, frost plugs, temperature sensor, exhaust manifold studs, fresh fuel tank pickup screen, indirectly related to the engine and some shiny rocker cover tabs to spread out the tension from the bolts were also purchased.

2021-05-12_08-25-16 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Also something that excites me the most is that we decided to go ahead to to install the Atomic EFI I got for Christmas sooner than later.

2020-11-30_08-17-19 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Didn't seem to make sense to spend money on things that weren't staying with the car so with that in mind, I purchased a 7 pin electronic distributor from an 81 301, and a fuel pump and fuel filters.

2021-05-11_04-53-25 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

2021-05-11_04-53-07 by Charles Marson, on Flickr

Jur5664:
Hi,
good job and your feeling with the project :cool:
I'am from France and I may have to get out my 400 with headers on my Formula 1977.
I need to change the exhaust gaskets, and may have/need to remove the engine from the car.

Question, you seem to have remove both the trans and the engine at the same time, right ?
What is the minimum height to ceiling to work on  the removing the engine usiingng your workshop crane ?
Headers render the removing more complicated ?
Thank's and carry on your project on your way
Sorry for my English writing.

Cheers  :lol:

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