Canadian 1984 244 DL B21A/B6304 project log.

D.E said:

Gonna need some DCOE45?s or 50?s for that.

Maybe try some chinese knockoffs?

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Never again, I didn't have any luck with mine .

I don't have any 45 or 50's, but I've got some 42's

Jordan

EVIL! Away with your temptations! lol!

I spent the day stripping the engines down to see what the conditions are inside. Turns out, I got lucky . The seller said they were seized, and after a bit of light 'convincing'...they're not stuck anymore. It was only one or two cylinders per block, and it is mostly just rust buildup around the crowns or where some water got in and sat for a while. A bit of honing will actually make them completely useable (for my needs) again.

Engine #1:


Engine #2:


They're both rear-thrust too, which is apparently great, although makes no difference in this situation IMO. The bores look worse than they are, this was after I smeared rusty oil around the bad cylinders to feel how bad the ridges are.

Head #1:


Head #2:


The heads look rough, but they're actually great. No bent valves, but there is some rusty smush in the int/exh ports that needs to be cleaned out. These are freshwater engines so there's no corrosion around #4 . Head #2 has plugged ports on the exh side, which I'm not sure about. Maybe one of the heads was from a car and that was a pulseair setup? I should check the cams to be sure they're marine ones.

The REAL reason I love Penta engines...absolutely immaculate, nearly-new, oil pans. They're both practically perfect.



I plan to redo at least one head and sell the other full 16v swap (including penta tensioner), so if anyone is interested.... I'll probably keep the second block, in case I need parts at some point.


Now carb stuff! If anyone here has heard of Keith Franck, you may have an idea of what these are . These are his latest emulsion tube design, the 'VP' version. It stands for 'Venturi Pump', which is supposedly how they work. The science is beyond me, but they get some pretty good reviews on the new home of 'Sidedraft Central' https://vintagetechnologygarage.groups.io/g/cars. Can't wait to try them out...next spring .

Sweet score on the 16v's! Also got the PZ cams in those heads for optimal performance?

Swedbrick said:

Sweet score on the 16v's! Also got the PZ cams in those heads for optimal performance?

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Thanks! I just checked and yep...both heads have PZ cams .

One of the blocks is rotating freely now, and there's no pitting from the rust in the cylinders. The other block is going to need a bit more soaking, but it's almost free and clear too. There are NO ridges at the top of the bores, so both of these engines are pretty fresh. My only goal is to be able to get the pistons out so I can give the cylinders a quick hone. I don't think they'll need new bearings, there's NO play at all, but I'll see when I undo the rods. My current AQ140 actually had rust in the cylinders when I put it in the car, and it runs fine, so I'm definitely swapping one of these 2.5s in next year .

Score, those are also great if you decide to add some spool later!

The 'return to service-ing' of one of the AQs has started. I got a BRM flex hone in 240 grit (natch...and it's also the same size for any 4.8 or 5.3 LS...just in case), stripped out the pistons and rods, crank, IM shaft, etc, and went to work.

Then my drill died. Ran to the local hardware store and bought the ONLY corded drill they had (4 amp...$35 CAD)...and it died pretty quickly, although I was able to get the honing 'done'. Before I start on the second engine, I'm going to get a big effin 1/2" drive hammer drill of many amps.

The top two rings on three of the pistons were seized, so they spent a few hours soaking. All the bearings looked great...and were date-stamped 1987. Everything is back together so that I can start on the second engine at some point. I think I'm going to tackle one of the heads first, so I can build one complete engine first. Then I'll start on the other block...and sell the second 16v swap .

Started stripping one of the heads...and it's all good . No bent valves, no damage at all. The only thing I found was that there were no valve stem seals at all. Is that normal for the 16v head? These were Penta engines, so all the blue exhaust smoke would have gone straight into the water and nobody would have seen it. I may not upgrade to the Ford springs, since I'm not into the game that involves RPMs higher than 6500 anymore, and it would probably never see that more than once a year. Haven't decided yet.



Stripped this block down, honed it, and built it back up. It's ready to go.

All stripped, except for the cam cradle studs, valve guides, and various plugs. Next stop is a car wash for some high-pressure cleaning.

I've also been contemplating a fairly extreme modification to allow me to use my current block-mounted centrifugal distributor. I have a spare points dizzy that I've been shortening but it's still not short enough to work...I think. I have a Peugeot crab cap coming that I'll test fit and see. If it's still not enough...there's one more step I can take: Lowering the mounting surface.

Why would I do this? Well...I prefer to work with what I have and I'm really effing tired of constantly ordering parts from specialized vendors with absolutely terrible communication. I don't want a laptop anywhere near this car, and I have enough stuff here to try a few stupid ideas before I cave.

Ugh, it looks like there's no way to safely use a centrifugal distributor. I'd have to shorten one a LOT (which I've done already) AND cut down the distributor boss on the block just to squeeze it in. Then there'd be no way to adjust the dizzy at all. I don't want a computer anywhere near this car, by preference not by dislike. If I have some sort of tuneable interface then I'd be constantly playing with it, which is not what I want. I've really enjoyed not stressing constantly about sensor data and the like and would like to keep it that way.

hmm.

Possibly some sort of bracket connecting it to the front side of the cam gears is an option? The only problem would be the reversed rotation

I was thinking about that, like the 850 dizzy relocation kit for RWD conversion...but I'm going to take a break from worrying about stuff like that for a bit. I still have to finish the headwork, and put everything back together. I've decided to stress about it later, lol.

I hate the tediousness of disassembling and reassembling cylinder heads. All the valves are clean and have been lapped in for a good seal, and the sealing surface is spotless. As soon as I get some loctite 510 it'll all go back together.



I also was finally able to place an order with KL Racing for a 16v DCOE manifold, which hopefully arrives eventually. I have no idea what they're like as a company so I hope I haven't just pissed money down the drain.

KL racing is a decent company in my experience, I had a faulty brakeline I bought from them and I got a free replacement a few weeks after reminding them they hadn't shipped it yet. Their customer service is really friendly, so if you don't hear anything don't hesitate to send them a message for tracking.

So far they seem cool. I already have the tracking number, although it has not left their warehouse yet. Their site says 1-3 days for that, so it looks like I'm not gonna have any self-inflicted issues with impatience based around communication, because they're on point . I'm pretty sure it'll be 2-4 weeks before it arrives, because Canada Post will probably **** it up once it reaches their jurisdiction. It wasn't even that expensive, in total, so I'm pretty stoked so far.

Wait, so whatever happened to the Whiteblock idea?

The whiteblock was installed for a couple summers...then got removed when I got bored, lol.

Started assembling one of the AQ171Cs for swapping next year. If that cam carrier (eff the stupid two-piece head design) leaks I'm going to snap. Everything was surgically clean, with acetone and isopropyl.



I'll be shortening a spare LH2.2 dizzy and probably running speeduino or megasquirt for ignition control. I don't want to, but there's no other easy option .

Can't just run something with a GM HEI module? Shouldn't need an ECU to trigger it.