At long last assembly of the engine begins...

With any engine build there's a lot of preparation to be done before one can start putting things together. Mine was no different. Cleaning, measuring, machining, coating, purchasing replacement parts, supplies, new tools... the list goes on. To give some idea of the work involved, here's the list of the major things I did to the engine before I began assembly:

• Ultrasonic block cleaning
• Hone and lap cylinders (to remove taper)
• Clean and coat pistons (ceramic on the tops; anti-friction on the skirts)
• New main and rod bearings (all with anti-friction coating)
• New rod bushings
• Clean and check crank and rods for cracks
• Micropolish main and rod journals
• Cross drill #2 and #3 rod journals (for better oiling)
• Install new head studs (APR)
• Install new valve guides and springs
• Resurface and lighten flywheel
• New racing pressure plate (KEP stage 1)
• Drill and tap block oil galleys
• Install oil pan baffle and pickup shroud
• Drill and tap head for steam vent
• Balance rotating assembly (crank, rods, pistons, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, pulleys)
• Ceramic coat headers, cross-over pipe, turbo down pipe

I also decided to have a number of the original parts acid washed and re-plated in yellow zinc. All-in-all its a fairly cheap process—$130 for all the parts in the picture, plus a huge number of nuts and bolts. Plus it beats having to clean them all myself!