[T3] News on The Baroness

Fiesta Cranberry fiestacranberry at gmail.com
Sat Sep 20 14:17:56 PDT 2014


Just heard from the guy looking at The B.  Just like you guys said, he
thinks it's the camshaft and/or lifters.  Here's what he said:


I have some news… unfortunately it isn’t very good.   I checked the valve
heights and performed a leak down test.  They looked pretty good.  Fairly
consistent and were sealing very well.  There is a bit of height difference
between the valve stems but that is pretty normal.  Some valve seats need
to be cut more than others which makes the valves sit a bit deeper or
shallower in the head.  What is apparent is that the lifters for the #1 and
#3 exhaust valves sit closer to the center line of the case than the other
lifters.  This means there is definitely an issue with the cam or lifters
which requires a full tear down of the engine.  I am not exactly sure why
this is, but I have seen new and reground cams with poor grind quality that
results in damage to either the lobe or the lifter or both.

You do have a couple options regarding a possible rebuild though.  It will
be less expensive to buy a long block from a reasonable builder and install
it rather than have me tear down your block and re-build.  Of course an
inexpensive engine uses cheap parts that may lack in quality, but they do
build a lot of them and they seem to run just fine.  I am friends with the
machinist at Tassi Inc. and he would be sure to pay close attention to
anything he built for me.  When I build an engine, even if re-using your
pistons, cylinders and heads, I check everything..  Many hours of just
measuring bore diameters, taper and round, checking deck heights, lapping
cylinders, back cutting valves, crank and rod journal condition and size
both in the case and on the forgings.  Regardless of which re-build option
you choose, there will be some additional costs either way.  The rocker
assemblies and push rods will need to be replaced with stock units, there
may be some hoses, bolts, caps or seals that also need to be replaced.

Purchased Long Block  around $1000.00
Additional material, gaskets, oil, tune up budget $200.00
R&R labor allow 12-16 hours if things go smoothly $800.00

If I tear down your engine and rebuild you are looking at around 32-40
hours of time $2000.00 plus materials
Materials TBD, assume new bearings, crank, cam, rods.  New cam and lifters,
reuse rods, crank and case (if they measure out), gasket kit.  Hone and
re-ring cylinders, re-cut valves and seats..

​I think his prices are very reasonable.  I just need to think about all
this.  Even if I go with a new longblock, it's still around $2000.  Being
disabled, that's a lot of money for me.  OTOH, I've had The B. for 20
years; the only car I've ever owned.  And probably the only one I ever will
own, given my finances.  My only other option is to sell her, as is.  I
still have the complete fuel injection system, along with a lot of other
extra parts, even a spare door!  What do you think I could get for her in a
non-working condition?

What do you guys think?  I could really use some advice, taking in to
consideration my economic condition.

Lori & The Baroness, 71' SB, AT

​


-- 
"I wrestled with reality for 36 years, and I'm happy to say I've finally
won out over it."
                                                  ---Elwood P. Dowd
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