I had some time today, so I did a little work on what I’m now officially calling Slow Racecar, since that’s what my 4 year old calls it and it’s honestly an accurate description of the J2000. If it makes 140hp when it’s all done it’ll be a miracle, and it’ll be slow regardless.
A couple of weeks ago I got the engine block back from being machined. They took .025 off it to get through the fire rings and some damage that was there...it came out great so it was time to proceed to reassembly.
I had honed the cylinder bores, they cleaned up great, so when my new bearings arrived I cleaned everything up and stuffed the crankshaft in. I had a little time left to work, so I installed the new rings on the #4 piston and installed that too.
Tomorrow I’ll have time to get the other three pistons in there, then I have to check my piston-to-head clearance. I don’t think .025 is going to be a big difference, but I do have a .020 copper shim gasket I could use if I really needed to...I’d rather have the compression, so hopefully I don’t need it.
Last thing tomorrow might just be a morale booster, not that I need it. I think I may bring the head and carbs to the garage and mock it all up to see how the finished engine will look. Oh I’m also going to prep the oil pan and block for paint; I didn’t come this far to only come this far, so I’m absolutely painting the block and making it look nice before it goes back in the car.