G'day all,
Alas yes, she isn’t a Supra, though those of you aware of the Z20 Soarers will most likely know that they in fact share the same chassis as the mighty A70's and as such also share the same mighty engine and gearbox combinations,
Just a little bit of background on the car, I picked it up October last year for $6,000aud, after a good few months waiting for the previous owner to complete the A340E to r154 conversion. The car went for a roadworthy (required for sale), had a service and general inspection at a local mechanic before I picked it up to ensure all work done in the manual conversion was ok, and along with the usual fluids/filters just made sure the car was in good general health.
Well, the car drove fantastically (for a few hundred kays) I was really impressed with the 7m's ability to pull even at higher speed and seemingly regardless of which gear you were in. But I guess I underestimated the good ol' BHG syndrome, which at 12:30am 120km from home took effect on an unlit windy corner of the Great Ocean Road :3d_frown: So after much swearing and pacing I gave my mates whom had arrived at the holiday spot earlier in the day a call to come and give me a lift, alas (logically) they were all already thoroughly drunk :biglaugh: So I buzzed a Taxi and figured I'd join them and drink away my troubles.
3 days after getting the keys my z21 was sitting by itself on a corner of the GOR. But ahh well, I had always planned on getting a MHG and studs to ensure my 7m would stay BHG free. I just figured I'd get a few months of driving in before the occasion arose hehe.
Once the weekend was over my mates and I headed back home to Geelong stopping enroute to further investigate the damage done, radiator hose had blown off, coolant and a gritty metallic substance had sprayed out over everything. And it was clear the poor 7m had thoroughly cooked.
Once back in Geelong my mate’s old man got us a trailer and we went up and retrieved her. Unfortunately I was heading up to Queensland for a few weeks later that week and would have to wait until after that to crack it open and actually see what needed to be done.
Soooo now that’s out of the way..
Here’s what I found:
Expecting to see coffee I was thankful all the coolant had sunk to the bottom of the sump and as such most of the bottom appeared to be pretty much fine. There were a couple of small rust patches, but that orange colour was mainly due to the camera flash, and all in all it looked pretty good.
Gasket went on cylinders 1 and 6 (surprise surprise)
As you can see the Cylinder head had some surface rust due to being left for the month or so before I got to opening it up. However surface rust on the valves was the least of my problems, It was clear when undoing the head bolts that the torque on each bolt was noticeably different and a good sign the head was warped.. Well warped would be an understatement. It was severely bent. The cam covers could audibly rock back and forth on top of it :S
Rust on the top of the block was again pretty superficial and wouldn’t have been a problem if I was going to be getting it decked.
Scoring is pretty clear on the piston and was much the same on the cylinder wall, running your finger nail along the scuffing it actually didn’t feel all that bad, but none the less, the cylinders were going to require boring and honing and as such the pistons would have to be replaced. The piston rings, which actually in better condition than I expected them to be in, however obviously they too would be replaced.
So that sums up the condition the engine was in. At this stage I was all for rebuilding it, I’d wanted to build an engine for a long time and now had the opportunity, given it wasn’t going to be anything special (I’m a part time working student, living with mates which = poor
) But I figured I could still learn a lot from the experience.
That will do for now, I’ll continue tomorrow. Right now it’s time for some sleepage.
Cheers Everyone,
Ashlin.
Alas yes, she isn’t a Supra, though those of you aware of the Z20 Soarers will most likely know that they in fact share the same chassis as the mighty A70's and as such also share the same mighty engine and gearbox combinations,
Just a little bit of background on the car, I picked it up October last year for $6,000aud, after a good few months waiting for the previous owner to complete the A340E to r154 conversion. The car went for a roadworthy (required for sale), had a service and general inspection at a local mechanic before I picked it up to ensure all work done in the manual conversion was ok, and along with the usual fluids/filters just made sure the car was in good general health.
Well, the car drove fantastically (for a few hundred kays) I was really impressed with the 7m's ability to pull even at higher speed and seemingly regardless of which gear you were in. But I guess I underestimated the good ol' BHG syndrome, which at 12:30am 120km from home took effect on an unlit windy corner of the Great Ocean Road :3d_frown: So after much swearing and pacing I gave my mates whom had arrived at the holiday spot earlier in the day a call to come and give me a lift, alas (logically) they were all already thoroughly drunk :biglaugh: So I buzzed a Taxi and figured I'd join them and drink away my troubles.
3 days after getting the keys my z21 was sitting by itself on a corner of the GOR. But ahh well, I had always planned on getting a MHG and studs to ensure my 7m would stay BHG free. I just figured I'd get a few months of driving in before the occasion arose hehe.
Once the weekend was over my mates and I headed back home to Geelong stopping enroute to further investigate the damage done, radiator hose had blown off, coolant and a gritty metallic substance had sprayed out over everything. And it was clear the poor 7m had thoroughly cooked.
Once back in Geelong my mate’s old man got us a trailer and we went up and retrieved her. Unfortunately I was heading up to Queensland for a few weeks later that week and would have to wait until after that to crack it open and actually see what needed to be done.
Soooo now that’s out of the way..
Here’s what I found:
Expecting to see coffee I was thankful all the coolant had sunk to the bottom of the sump and as such most of the bottom appeared to be pretty much fine. There were a couple of small rust patches, but that orange colour was mainly due to the camera flash, and all in all it looked pretty good.
Gasket went on cylinders 1 and 6 (surprise surprise)
As you can see the Cylinder head had some surface rust due to being left for the month or so before I got to opening it up. However surface rust on the valves was the least of my problems, It was clear when undoing the head bolts that the torque on each bolt was noticeably different and a good sign the head was warped.. Well warped would be an understatement. It was severely bent. The cam covers could audibly rock back and forth on top of it :S
Rust on the top of the block was again pretty superficial and wouldn’t have been a problem if I was going to be getting it decked.
Scoring is pretty clear on the piston and was much the same on the cylinder wall, running your finger nail along the scuffing it actually didn’t feel all that bad, but none the less, the cylinders were going to require boring and honing and as such the pistons would have to be replaced. The piston rings, which actually in better condition than I expected them to be in, however obviously they too would be replaced.
So that sums up the condition the engine was in. At this stage I was all for rebuilding it, I’d wanted to build an engine for a long time and now had the opportunity, given it wasn’t going to be anything special (I’m a part time working student, living with mates which = poor
) But I figured I could still learn a lot from the experience. That will do for now, I’ll continue tomorrow. Right now it’s time for some sleepage.
Cheers Everyone,
Ashlin.
