Has anyone ever built a race car?

[Mike Tries]

Hey, so, let me preface this by saying hi.

Great.

OK, so I am about to take the plunge and move forward with building the A4 Avant into an SCCA racer. I think. It is a big decision, but I literally bought the car for this. My question is about where I am going to start: by removing obvious dead weight. The interior first. I've done this once before, but on a significantly older car with fewer interior bits of value. Is there any value in trying to sell all of the interior bits like the seats, airbags, door trim, etc? Has anyone here done that?

I will, of course, document the whole thing on YouTube. I kind of took a break from YT as I decided what to do. I can't see a reason not to do this. Even if I give up after tearing it apart, I feel like, conservatively, I could get back enough value from the parts I sell to not worry about losing almost all of the car's value. In fact, if I had to scrap it all, I think I'd be OK since it was a very inexpensive car bought in the-before-times when used cars were cheaper than new ones.

Anyway, I am open to thoughts on this. Or just fun discussion.

Thanks!

[EuroxS4]

There has been a few member on there that built their a4's into dedicated tracks cars. However their usernames escape me. I know one was a blue s4 sedan that had massive front lip and cannards for down force at the front. It can be done. Obviously getting rid of things you don't need is a must. That includes noise insulation.

This is the car:

https://www.034motorsport.com/blog/j...4-2l-race-car/

IIRC he was or possibly still is an active member on here.

[Mike Tries]

There has been a few member on there that built their a4's into dedicated tracks cars. However their usernames escape me. I know one was a blue s4 sedan that had massive front lip and cannards for down force at the front. It can be done. Obviously getting rid of things you don't need is a must. That includes noise insulation.

This is the car:

https://www.034motorsport.com/blog/j...4-2l-race-car/

IIRC he was or possibly still is an active member on here.

That's a neat car. Mine will be nothing like that. More like a tired old wagon with a roll cage and an engine that seems ready to die, but just won't quite do it yet. Oh! And stickers. Eventually.

I am glad you responded. Your thumbnail always stood out to me. Do you race yours?

[EuroxS4]

That's a neat car. Mine will be nothing like that. More like a tired old wagon with a roll cage and an engine that seems ready to die, but just won't quite do it yet. Oh! And stickers. Eventually.

I am glad you responded. Your thumbnail always stood out to me. Do you race yours?

I do not race my personal cars currently, I have a few clients that track various cars some audi vehicles included. I personally have 2 a4 avant's 1 of which is a part car I need to strip and send to the junkyard so I can finish building the other. That being said If there was a decent track by me I would gladly do that however due to the fact everything is rather far this is currently not an option at this time so I am stuck with building some nasty street cars. On that subject I am swapping a built 07K turbo 5 banger into my b6 avant over this winter. She's gonna be a handful for the street and would probably be a great track car but for the time being it will be a legal street car. I have 2600cc injectors as well as some other goodies for her along with a decent turbo setup and some other goodies.

in regards to tracking the car 2 most important things I would start with would be weight reduction and anything your not going to use: airbags,abs,esp,sound system, comfort module/central locking system, heating and ac, power seats, rear seats, any and all interior panels, sunroof.

After that a good suspension setup and tires are the 2 most important things along with good brake setup.

[Mike Tries]

in regards to tracking the car 2 most important things I would start with would be weight reduction and anything your not going to use: airbags,abs,esp,sound system, comfort module/central locking system, heating and ac, power seats, rear seats, any and all interior panels, sunroof.

Is there a market for that stuff?

Also, it sounds like the Avant is going to be fun!

Tires will be take-off slicks wherever I can find them for now. Just have to get focused on getting through SCCA race school. Again. And not in a Miata this time... which will be weird. Suspension is after-market, but the few times I've had the car on the track, it seemed stable and I wasn't slamming on the bump stops or rubbing the fender liners. We'll see if any of that changes with the added grip of not-4-year-old-all-seasons.

Also... wait a minute... are you in Paramus New Jersey? I used to live in Edgewater. You're pretty much right in the middle of the most race-track-dense region in the country! You've got Millville, NJ right down the proverbial street; and if you're up to a nice drive through the best roads in the country, Lakeville CT is right up the street too. :)

[old guy]

Search for posts by Jet Jockey. He started with a leased B6 and turned it into a full out 500hp track beast.

[Mike Tries]

Search for posts by Jet Jockey. He started with a leased B6 and turned it into a full out 500hp track beast.

Cool beans. Looking now.

[old guy]

Cool beans. Looking now.

He also posted a lot on Audiworld.

[EuroxS4]

Is there a market for that stuff?

Also, it sounds like the Avant is going to be fun!

Tires will be take-off slicks wherever I can find them for now. Just have to get focused on getting through SCCA race school. Again. And not in a Miata this time... which will be weird. Suspension is after-market, but the few times I've had the car on the track, it seemed stable and I wasn't slamming on the bump stops or rubbing the fender liners. We'll see if any of that changes with the added grip of not-4-year-old-all-seasons.

Also... wait a minute... are you in Paramus New Jersey? I used to live in Edgewater. You're pretty much right in the middle of the most race-track-dense region in the country! You've got Millville, NJ right down the proverbial street; and if you're up to a nice drive through the best roads in the country, Lakeville CT is right up the street too. :)

Millville is not exactly close about a 2.5hours ride one way. Which isn't horrible per say. However being that I have a business to run among other personal projects right now is not the right time. Can't take my foot of the pedal now just gotta keep going.

[Mike Tries]

I've got the engine out of the car now. It looks... engine-like. Maybe a bit worn. Definitely dirty. Cams... tiny bit of wear at the tips of the lobes. They might need a good polish. Or... just send it? Anyway, I found some of the paint that the rebuilt head came with had flaked off of the lead cam cap. Why it was painted, I'll never really understand--it's not like the thing was on a store shelf waiting to be bought. I'm wondering if the paint rinsed down into the pan and clogged the pickup tube? I'll find out when I pull the pan off--maybe tomorrow. Ugh.

Anyway. Hey, is that a new shirt? It's nice. It fits you well. It's slimming--not that you need that.

Oh. Clutches. Since I'm in there, and since the old clutch is sitting on my work bench, I guess I might as well replace the one the car came with. It looks a bit worn, and I'm about to beat the piss out of the car for the rest of its life, so it's the least I can do. And... speaking of least I can do, I'm out to minimize weight while I'm at it. What are your thoughts on single-mass flywheels? I can pick up the Valeo kit for a reasonable cost. It's organic, but the car will never make much more than 200-220 horsepower, and since we're talking road racing instead of drag, I'm not going to be launching the thing. Or, should I stick a captain insane-o puck clutch on there and go digital? My previous race cars were all running stock clutches because they were Miatas and they never needed maintenance for almost any reason ever, so I never took the transmissions off. If I went single-mass (for weight savings), shifting wouldn't take all day, it would reduce the car's weight, and parasitic losses would diminish a bit. If I went digital puck clutch, I could do AWD burnouts. Combine both for pure awesome? Seriously, though, since horsepower will never be that high, I'm not looking at spending $900 on some ECS Tuning Happy Meal Race/Street/Drag/Space-Launch kit.

Really. I do like your shirt. The colors are vibrant. Do you wash with Oxy Clean?

So yeah. Let's talk clutches. Single-mass vs Dual-mass, and organic/kevlar/puck. We're going racing, boys, so ride quality and harshness won't be an issue. Neither will ridiculous engagement. In fact, if you've been around race tracks very much, you'd know that it's almost a given that both be as bad as possible.

[Mike Tries]

OK, so, I have the top and bottom of the engine exposed. The oil pickup tube screen has some stuff stuck to it. I wonder if that caused the low oil pressure light? Maybe not. Maybe it was just the sensor. Everything looks great so far. The oil pan looked great. Super clean and no sludge or metal debris. Maybe a tiny amount of junk, but that could have fallen in the oil fill cap over the years. No sparkles though, and no metal.

I ran out of tools. I need the star drive thingy to get the rods out. Anybody know what that is? I'll swing by Advance Auto tomorrow and see if they have it.

I also need a good way to get the crank nose bolt out. I am sure there is a tool. I could make one, but it would take all day. I need to keep the crank from rotating while I apply 1 bajillion point 6 pounds of force to it.

Uhh... what else... this has been super fun so far, but man, I wish I had a buddy helping me out. It is just so darn late by the time I get to it, all my friends go to sleep. Confidence ebbs and flows, but right now, I feel like I could put it back together if I had to as it is, so I feel pretty good.

[kwilson]

I think you need a Polydrive tool. Something like this.

https://www.amazon.com/Assenmacher-A.../dp/B008AX9AJG

[Mike Tries]

I have that tool, but the connecting rod bolts require some sort of a socket connection. They're similar to a regular hex bolt, but instead of a hexagon, it's a star shape. It's probably a standard socket, but I've never used one, so I just don't know.

[kwilson]

I have that tool, but the connecting rod bolts require some sort of a socket connection. They're similar to a regular hex bolt, but instead of a hexagon, it's a star shape. It's probably a standard socket, but I've never used one, so I just don't know.

Sorry. I thought you were looking to remove head bolts. Read this before my coffee this morning.

[Mike Tries]

No problem! Here's a Haiku describing my current status:

Need to get some tools,
Not sure what I need to buy,
I think it's star drive.

[Nirvana09]

The connecting rod bolt is an E-torx. If I remember it was a 10 mm. In a pinch you can run to harbor fright and I believe the ICON line of tools has the E-torx socket set you need.

[Mike Tries]

Awesome! Thanks! I'll stop by on my way home today and get a set.

[Mike Tries]

I picked up some e-torx sockets at HF today. Popped out the #4 piston. The bearing looks really nice. So does the crank. The rings look horrible, but the appearance may just be due to the fact that the engine is apart. I am still convinced that they need to be replaced, but I am encouraged by what I see. Note that cylinder 4 is the one with the leaky valve guide seal, so TONS of oil was in there. Enjoy the pictures, as well as that cup of coffee you're drinking.

[Mike Tries]

All the pistons are out. Most of the block is stripped. It is greasy and gross. The pistons were also quite gross around the rings. I might get the block stopped down the rest of the way and have a machine shop look at it, but I really don't see anything that warrants that. I'm thinking I'll just ball hone it to deglaze it, put fresh bits in it, and put it together. I'm also thinking it's about time for my own coffee now that I saw your cup there. Is that Eight O'Clock Columbian blend? That's good stuff. I think I've got some Death Wish Coffee downstairs... might get that ground up so I can make it on the morning. Let me know if you want some.

[Mike Tries]

Oh, hey, you're back! Welcome. Glad you're here. I'm good, thanks for asking--just enjoying a cup of Dunkin's finest. I hope you had a nice weekend--Happy Monday!

Status update: the engine looks fine, just dirty. Waiting on parts from the Rock Auto. That's right--we're doing this with Rock Auto bits. All of their quality suppliers, though--no junk. Do it twice or do it thrice, right?

I think I want to straight pipe the car. I wonder if there is any wisdom in eliminating the Y and just going with single exhaust? That seems lighter. Remember--off-road use only here. My last race car was a Spec Miata with a completely stock exhaust system on it. I couldn't hear my own car over all the others around me!

I think once the engine is back together and installed in the car, I'll start on the interior. Just bite the bullet (figuratively), strip it down, and commit (literally). If I don't, I'll just have a second car that is slower, uses more fuel, and holds less cargo than my daily driver. Right? Race car is the only path that makes sense! (If you can't detect the slight hesitation, there is always some nerve required to take a perfectly-good car and ruin it forever, irreversibly. I've done this before successfully, but it's always the same going in. Though, it's fun once you're in there!)

[grayjay]

I eliminated the exhaust Y resonator and dual mufflers in place of a single magnaflow clone muffler at the rear location and a glasspack bullet as a resonator in the tunnel. The stock exhaust system is ridiculously heavy, I think I dropped something like 40 pounds of weight with my DIY high-flow replacement. The stock piping behind the Y to the mufflers is also fairly restrictive looking. The stock dual exhaust on a 4-cylinder is just silly, might have been done for easier compatability with the 3.0 V6 engine of just for style. With single functional exhaust, you could put a matching dummy non-functinal exhaust tip on opposite side or perform plastic surgery on the bumper to cover over the extra cutout.

[Mike Tries]

Thanks, grayjay. I'm looking to drop nearly 800 pounds out of this thing, so that will help a lot!

Edited: removed a too-focused question which will be the next post.

[Mike Tries]

One-time use bolt question time!

Connecting rod bolts
Main bearing bolts
Flywheel bolts
Cylinder head bolts
Timing belt sprocket bolt

These are all of the one-time use bolts that I can think of off the top of my head (or even to the side of my head--I'm really reaching right now). I've already got cylinder head bolts coming in the mail--thanks, Rock Auto! What about the others? I've found them on ECS, and I don't mind buying them. Can we discuss the possibilities here? Options will be ARP, OEM (either VW or some equivalent), or reuse the ones I pulled out.

I am not willing to reuse flywheel or cylinder head bolts, and I'm just going stock for those (not ARP). So I guess we're focusing on the crank stuff and anything you think I missed on that list. I've heard that using ARP fasteners on rods can be great, but will require regrinding to compensate for the different clamp loading on the rods. Maybe that's the same for the mains? Remember, folks, we're building to make like 220-ish horsepower. More would be great. Less would probably be realistic. But we're not doing some captain insane-o 400 whp gem.

I'm not looking to cut corners. My default here is to replace everything because of that old adage: anything worth doing is worth doing twice. Or... if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing? Something like that. But if 100% of you say "Hey, how are you doing? We're good, too. Hope your family's well. Oh, and hey, why would you replace bolt xyz? We never do." then that might sway me a bit. Hey, maybe I've got a bolt on the list that isn't a torque-to-yield bolt.

What did I miss on that list?

[Mike Tries]

OK. $130 gone. I just bought new fasteners. I bought con rod bolts, main bearing cap bolts, flywheel bolts, timing belt sprocket bolt, and turbocharger-to-manifold bolts. Everything is VW/Audi brand where it was possible and not completely stupidly-expensive. Cylinder head bolts are coming in the mail separately--I ordered those last week. Hopefully, this time next week, I'll be getting ready to put the engine back together.

[Mike Tries]

The crank nose bolt is a bear! Pardon the harsh language, but holy smokes, that big ol' thing won't budge! I used an impact, turned up to max. Nope. Tried a 3 foot breaker bar with an angle iron hunk bolted to to the sprocket. Nope, bent the angle iron and broke it (the tool, not the engine).

Any tips? Fire? More penetrant? Magical encantations?

[Kevin C]

When you put the front pulley back on use the diamond washer from the 2.0TFSI motor. You can find the part number on ECS.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ch/06c105193b/

[Mike Tries]

When you put the front pulley back on use the diamond washer from the 2.0TFSI motor. You can find the part number on ECS.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ch/06c105193b/

I'll burn that bridge when I get there. haha. What is the objective of that washer? The ECS site doesn't explain what it's for. I imagine the diamond coating provides a bunch of friction so that the bolt doesn't back out all by itself?

[Mike Tries]

Hah. I am not defeated so easily! I turned the impact up to the proverbial "11", turned the compressor regulator to beyond what is safe for the air lines and tool, and let 'er rip. Edit: (For anyone, like me, who cannot see pictures on some browsers, the message, here, is that I got the bolt out.)

[Mike Tries]

Did these engines use an oil pan gasket? When I took my oil pan off, I was surprised that there wasn't a gasket there, but instead, a thin bead of silicone around it. I bought a gasket for it, so I know they exist. Is this evidence that the engine was opened up, or is that a factory detail?

Answering my own question. It looks like they used sealant instead of a gasket from the factory.

The question now is: what would you guys use? Apparently the manual recommends glue, not a gasket, but I don't know why. Should I just discard the gasket?

[Nirvana09]

I used permatex avation form-a-gasket. I use it for all of my air-cooled cases and have never had a problem. Just a light coating over both surfaces and it's the last time you'll need to think about it.




EDIT - https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...-liquid-16-oz/

[Gin+]

How do the cylinder bores look? My engine (260k) has some wear and light vertical scratching in the bores pointed at the turbo. That being said, doesn't burn a drop of oil and no noticeable issues.

[Kevin C]

I'll burn that bridge when I get there. haha. What is the objective of that washer? The ECS site doesn't explain what it's for. I imagine the diamond coating provides a bunch of friction so that the bolt doesn't back out all by itself?

It prevents the key on the timing belt pulley from shearing off. If your going to be running high RPM its a bit of insurance. Also, you can upgrade to the six bolt pulley system from the 2.0T. A factor is if the bolt does not get tightened correctly, but its a known weak point. Kind of like the rods and extra boost are another know issue.

[Mike Tries]

I used permatex avation form-a-gasket. I use it for all of my air-cooled cases and have never had a problem. Just a light coating over both surfaces and it's the last time you'll need to think about it.




EDIT - https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...-liquid-16-oz/

Thanks, Nirvana! I'll take a look at that. When you put RTV onto a surface, you're supposed to gently snug it down and let it firm up before you torque it. Do you have to do the same with this stuff, or just coat the surfaces and have at it?

How do the cylinder bores look? My engine (260k) has some wear and light vertical scratching in the bores pointed at the turbo. That being said, doesn't burn a drop of oil and no noticeable issues.

The bores look good. No scratching that I can find. The hone marks are still there, but the bore is slightly shiny, so I suspect it should be honed. I am trying to check them for roundness, but I don't have the right equipment. I have a telescoping gauge set (the little T-handle thingies that you lock down inside the bore, then measure with a micrometer), but I don't have a micrometer that large. I do have a caliper, but I keep getting different measurements by a few thou, even when I try to repeat the same measurement, so I think I'm not getting the gauge perfectly perpendicular when I lock it. It's probably a job for a dial bore gauge thingy--which is why I'm going to send the thing to a machine shop and let professionals look at it. I suspect that a few strokes with a flex hone would clean it up just fine, and that the engine will run just fine if I throw it together now, but I might as well get it checked while it's apart. I think the oil leak I had was coming from a valve on the remanufactured head I bought last year, and that the low compression was just worn rings. Quite sure, actually, since it didn't burn any oil at all until I put the new head on--it preferred the taste of coolant until that point.

On the other hand, the piston ring lands were filthy... like there was junk accumulating in them. I didn't expect to find that, but then again, I've never torn an engine apart. I wonder if this accumulates when rings start to go bad? Or maybe it interferes with the sealing of the rings against the bores?

[Mike Tries]

It prevents the key on the timing belt pulley from shearing off. If your going to be running high RPM its a bit of insurance. Also, you can upgrade to the six bolt pulley system from the 2.0T. A factor is if the bolt does not get tightened correctly, but its a known weak point. Kind of like the rods and extra boost are another know issue.

Interesting, that makes sense. Does it change how I have to torque the big bolt, or is it thin enough not to matter in that regard?

[Kevin C]

The bolt torque stays the same and it's thin enough to not matter. The pistons and rings looked normal to me.

Measuring the bore is best done with a dial bore gauge and a micrometer. Calipers and snap gauges are not very accurate

[Mike Tries]

The bolt torque stays the same and it's thin enough to not matter. The pistons and rings looked normal to me.

Measuring the bore is best done with a dial bore gauge and a micrometer. Calipers and snap gauges are not very accurate

Oh neat, were the pictures good enough to get an idea of how they looked? In person, the oil rings looked like they were kind of clogged with what looked like oily carbon, but that could have been picked up on their way out of the bores, or it might just be what they look like in there. My only clue to the rings' health was that compression was quite low (120-ish psi in all four bores), and that dribbling a bit of oil into the cylinders raised it substantially (180-ish psi). But yeah, upon close inspection, I couldn't find anything that was obviously wrong except the oil rings (they looked weird to me--like the spring had worn or was mangled up somehow). I might not have captured that in the pictures. Maybe I messed them up removing them though. (Thank you for weighing in though--this is really helpful to a first-timer! )

[Mike Tries]

It's quiet here, today.

OK, so I painted the block. It's white now. I only chose white because I thought it would be fun, but I like the way it looks. I spent a couple of hours on Sunday pressure washing the thing and then even more time drying it. The wash took off a bunch of flaking paint, as I hoped it would have, and so the white filled in the bare spots, protecting them, and gave the block what we in the business call "pizazz" (complete with jazz fingers hand gestures).

By the way, if you've never pressure washed an engine before... don't. It's awful. You get the most disgusting backblast of water no matter where you stand, and the trash bag you so cleverly decided to wear to protect your clothing doesn't protect your face at all, and you end up soaked and dirty. Also, your driveway area will smell like ancient, burned oil and grease for a week. Just do what I guess I didn't feel like doing and take it to a shop to have it hot tanked. I will say, though, it really cleaned up nicely this way!

Oh, and now that I've spent all that time and energy cleaning it, that's when I realized I forgot to hone it. D'oh!

Anyway. Where were we?

Oh. So the engine is ready to go back together I think. It doesn't look like I got paint where I shouldn't have, except a tiny bit got where the J-plug thingy goes. I'll clean that off. New J-plug is in the mail too. Why do those things disintegrate like they do? I was shocked that mine was holding together until I touched it--I'm glad bits of it didn't make their way into my water pump impeller. So yeah. Hone, clean again (maybe not to the same extent that I did on Sunday), then assemble.

I have a new clutch coming in the mail this week, along with a couple last parts that I'll need. I decided to try out the M-Pact puck clutch from Rock Auto. I have never driven a puck clutch before, so I'm kind of excited to see how this does. I give it 30% odds that I have to remove it sometime next winter. But that means I think there's a 70% chance that it won't be terrible! Plus, it comes with a free clutch alignment tool (that's a value of more than $1.75!). Does anybody have experience with M-Pact clutches, or their moderate-street puck clutch?

I don't anticipate any issues putting things back together--the next hurdle is solving the exhaust valve oil leak problem, but I have the seals--hopefully, it's just a bad seal. I think that's all there is to it. Once that's fixed, I can put the car back together and drive it. All-in-all (all-and-all? What does that even mean?), if it goes like I think it will, it won't have taken way too long to do this whole thing, and it doesn't seem like it's as difficult as I feared it would be.

[Mike Tries]

Instead of going to bed, like a sane person, I decided to test the oil pump to make sure it was working. The screen is nice and clean now, so I put it together, stuck it in the sink with some soapy water, and spun it with my drill for a few seconds. Water gushed out of the outlet almost immediately. Very encouraging. So, I immediately went and related the experiment with some motor oil to flush out all of the water. Also great success. I feel way more confident about the pump now.

[Mike Tries]

Oh, hi. Good morning! Welcome back. Glad you're here. Would you like a cup of coffee? I'm about to go make some now. Let me know if you'd like some.

Oh, and while you're here, mind if I fill you in and ask you a few questions?

I got the crankshaft installed yesterday. Smooth as butter. Well, it's smooth as butter that somebody smeared assembly lube all over, but that seems fine. I checked the piston rings, and they all seem to be ready to go now too. Before I got to installing those, I decided to do the connecting rod bearings first, so that I didn't doink the rings on my workbench and ruin them. That's when I ran into the bearing issue. I ordered the wrong connecting rod bearings. D'oh!

OK, so what did I do? I ordered a set of Mahle bearings from Rock Auto that had the tangs on them. The listing didn't mention the tangs, but looking at it again, the picture sure showed them! My fault, totally. Hopefully Rock Auto has mercy on me, but I don't expect it of them. I'll have to order new ones anyway, so let's do it right this time.

How did I order the wrong set, slash how can you learn from my mistake? Good question. Most of their listings mention whether they've got tangs or not. Sometimes, they will say "not for sintered/cracked rods" if they have tangs. Because my listing said nothing, I assumed it was for a stock application, versus some aftermarket application. Wrong. Or partially wrong--they could have been for stock 20mm wrist pin rods, but I didn't think that was available on my car, so I thought the listing would have been filtered. Is it a USP thing? Anyway, learn from my mistake--verify whether you have tangs, and then make sure you order the right bearings. You can go to the manufacturer's website to double check if you're not sure.

OK, so my question for you, dear readers--oh, and are you sure you don't want coffee? I have plenty here--it's the Starbucks dark roast, which I understand many people think tastes burnt, and I totally get that. If you'd like some, feel free. Chobani creamer is in the refrigerator.

Where were we? Oh yes. What bearings should I put on here? I can go right back to Rock Auto and buy the right set for like $30. No problem. It's just a standard, run-of-the-mill connecting rod bearing, and remember--I'm not going for 400 horsepower here. But I will probably be spending a lot of time at full power and high RPM, so the stress might be almost as high, but for different cause. Should I go over to the ECS Tuning spot and get a set of Calico coated bearings?

If I do go with performance bearings, should I get the ones with the extra oil clearance? I don't understand what extra oil clearance means in terms of bearing performance--does that mean oil pressure will be impacted? Does it mean I need to run a different weight oil? Or is it just better somehow?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all of the help you've all provided so far! This has been a fun experience, and I hope you all take some enjoyment from it.

[Mike Tries]

Progress!

I went ahead and ordered stock bearings. If I get this right, then I can find ways to do it better next time. Mission creep is a real thing, and I've done a good job of avoiding it so far, I think. For now, the job is to refresh the engine, make it reliable, and fix the annoying oil leak that's coming from the valve guide seal.

Here's a poem about the car's current status.

The bearings were bought,
And the parts all came in,
I started and fought,
But I just couldn't win.

I checked and I measured,
I saw my mistake,
I ordered bad parts,
A break I would take.

I went to Rock Auto,
And, what should I do,
I ordered some new parts,
Rock Auto came through.

Now the bearings are in,
The caps are on tight,
Now I need a main seal,
So, I stopped for the night.

I went to bed late,
So the coffee I made,
A good day at work,
Kind of late that I stayed.

I'll finish this weekend,
A promise I make,
Or I'll do it some other,
If leave I must take.

I hope that brings you all up to speed. Engine building is fun. You should try it sometime.