JohnKoaWood

2 full revolutions of the crank is a full revolution of the cams... if anything was going to hit, it would have durring the 2 turns of the crank, and doing it by hand will prevent massive damage!

Scott at Team Harco

Yes - it is apparent that something bad happened at one time with this engine. My guess is that the tensioner pads wore out and the chain caught the metal portion of the tensioner and snapped the whole thing right out. The repair was done with JB Weld and a circular plate that was pinned to the top of the #2 plug hole.

The JB weld was piled up a bit so I had my engine shop machine it down a bit. That's when we found the circular plate. Obviously there is some risk that this could let go again - but I'm going to go with it as it is, for now.

JoKa - no worries on the cranking. I will be doing the first go-round by hand.

JohnKoaWood

I figured you would, but also figured for the interest of the un-inititated among us it might be a good idea to record that bit!

Good on ya for saving yet another one.. BTW did you see the books I got, a few of them are S2 specific, TONS of good data there...

Scott at Team Harco

I did see the books. Nice haul.

Scott at Team Harco

Making progress. Double checked the timing of the belts and the cams. All is good. Installed the exhaust manifolds. Made the mistake of putting the 2-3 pipe on first. You have to put the 1-4 pipe on first or it doesn't work.

Over this past weekend I started at the rear of the engine and worked my way forward with coolant parts, vacuum lines and electrical connections. The big prize was getting the intake manifold installed. Did that and a little more.

Need to clean the injectors and then fit the fuel rail and lines. After that all I need to do is wrap up the coolant lines at the front, the ignition system, the valve cover and a few other minor items.

Hope to fire Stu up within the next two weeks.

JohnKoaWood

Nice progress Scott..

Scott at Team Harco

It's alive!

Stu is alive! I fired him up a couple of hours ago. After running with a god awful clatter from the lifters, it finally settled into a reasonably good sounding lump.

Needs a lot of little things before it will be ready for the road - but the biggest issue looks to be resolved.

sca037

Right on, Scott!
That S2 motor is a true work of art, lots of torque down low and rev-happy at the other end..........real magic

Brian

Scott at Team Harco

That was a big part of the allure. It's sort of right in between the turbo and the N/A. Solves a lot of the lack of power feeling you get from the N/A without the (minor) inconveniences of the boosted engine.

A couple shots with the engine running - though you can't tell, as the flash freezes the belt/pulley motion...

Scott at Team Harco

Drove Stu last night for a couple of short trips.

Drove to work today. Still have a lot of little things that need to be fixed. We're getting there...

Scott at Team Harco

Drove Stu to work last Thursday for the first time out of the nest. The flight to work was relatively uneventful. There are plenty of flaws. The shocks are a bit iffy, the tires are fair but the brakes are good. The tach is napping 90% of the time and the motor mounts are shot.

It's always an adventure taking an unknown quantity out on the road. The drive from work to the Doc's place was more of that. At start-up, the crack that existed where the exhaust tube enters the muffler decided to go full circle. The noise was not pleasing. The cat was removed at some point, making this even more so.

Then to add to the adventure, the engine started overheating when I got within 5 miles of my destination.

Stay tuned - follow the wacky, zanny adventures of Stu....

Scott at Team Harco

So I got within about 5 miles of Goodwench's place as the temp gauge was getting in the hot range. I turned up the heat all the way, hit the A/C switch to get the fan on and slowed down a little. The temp kept going up until the achtung! light came on. I pulled off the road and took a look under the hood. There was steam pouring out and coolant all over the inlet side of the engine.

That's when I see one of the coolant pipes going into the throttle body has popped out! I push it back in and start considering my options. There was a little pond right by the side of the road and some litter strewn about. A cup is used to deliver small quantities of water to the coolant tank. After several trips, I decide to wade through the heavy brush to get a discarded plastic milk jug. Only two trips with a half-filled jug fills the tank.

I get turned around and head on to Goodwench's place. After messing with a strut assembly on her Subaru, I am able to get away and visit a friend who can weld anything. In the meantime, I flush away the sprayed coolant in the engine compartment, fill the system fully and carry an extra gallon of water in case something like this happens again. And since she doesn't have any J-B Weld (or similar) I have to tape the pipe in place with duct tape.

Off I go to my friend's place to get the muffler welded up. About 5 miles from his place - the coolant pipe lets go again! Fortunately I have the water jug and top off the system again and soldier on.

While my friend is welding up the muffler - I use a little of his epoxy to stick the coolant pipe into the throttle body. No problems since - and the exhaust system is much better (if only temporary).

Oh - and on the way back to Goodwench's, I loose the power steering. The next day I learn that my temporary fix was not robust in the least. Not only is the belt gone, but the rear pivot bolt, large spacer and tensioner are also AWOL. DOH!

Next adventure was to fix the driver's seat....

Scott at Team Harco

So every time I accelerated hard the seat would lean rearward. The right front seat bolt was not threaded into its hole.

I removed the other three bolts so I could confirm the threads were good for the right front. Plus it gave me a chance to clean under the seat and be sure there were no other unknown issues.

There were no other issues and the bolts all went back in just fine. Amazing how much better it is to have a seat firmly attached.

Also took the time to find out why the key doesn't work to open the hatch. Fortunately the electric release works - but you need two people. One to operate the switch and one to lift the hatch. So the release lever is broken. Just ordered one from Pelican (along with motor mounts and another P/S belt).

Scott at Team Harco

A quick update:

New motor mounts have helped significantly. The car runs a lot smoother. Got rid of some of the buzzing shields. Still have an exhuast that sounds like a Honda with a fart-can.

Painted the wheels since I have always envisioned this car with the proper look.