1967/1969 Bonnie Rebuild Desert Sled Project - Any Advice

Now to find the old followers and check this out. Either way I think I will need to do a bit of reaming on the blocks.

 

So I found my old tappets and they do not fit my new tappet blocks. I guess the issue then is with the blocks. I’m not having much luck honing them out. I tried 1500, then 800, then 600 grit emery paper wrapped around an aluminum dowel in my drill. Even with the 600 it hasn’t made much of a difference. I appreciate any suggestions about what to use, perhaps coarser paper - or is there some sort of reamer that can be purchased for this activity. Thanks.

 

Timing chest question. So, I did not mark these cam gears when disassembling. Which gear is for the intake and which is for the exhaust cam. They seem the same except for some different markings. Thanks for any help!

 

Thanks Darkman. I did a thorough review of my disassembly photos and was able to determine which gear went where and installed them as they were before.

 

Head Bolt Puzzler - so I am installing the head back on the engine using the same head bolts I removed. The 4 outer bolts are fine, however the 5th, center bolt isn’t long enough. My parts book says this is part E4771, 3 inch UH. My bolt is 3 inches, but does not make contact with the cylinder. What am I missing here? Thanks.

 

good question and pretty sure i did! It may be I have the wrong bolt, because is fits all the way in to the bolt hole and the head is on the case - so perhaps it is a bolt too small and is just dropping into the cylinder bolt hole, even though it is the correct length.

 

Plus, I'm sure the gasket is correct as the bolt is supposed top be 3 inches long and the bolt fills the hole up to its head - so if the gasket was backwards the bolt would stop short even if it was the wrong size. Unfortunately I can't find another bolt that seems correct in my part so may have to order a new piece.

 

So I replaced my old cylinder with an AERCO 750 kit. So I am now wondering if the threads on the AERCO are different from my old (Routt) cylinder?

 

Regarding my Kibblewhite tappet blocks - well I did have to spend some time on them. After consulting with FAGENGINE, from whence I purchased the blocks, I was informed they are intentionally made on the small side so that folks might be able to use their older tappets with them, I suppose assuming they’d be worn. So they suggested I purchase this 8mm flex-hone tool from them to do the job. Apparently this can be used to hone valve guides also. So I used the hone in my hand held drill using some light oil and honed each of the 4 tappet block holes. It took longer than I expected to get them to the spec’s in the book - about 70 ins and outs with the hone on each hole - just to get to minimum specs and of course along the way I checked them every 10 to 15 hones to make sure the tappets fit/did not fit. They fit very nicely now I must say. I also had to do some honing work on the tappet heads, as a couple of the tappets would not clear the wings of the tappet blocks. So using some 600 to 800 to 1500 grit emery paper I honed them until they fit properly. I also polished the inside of the tappet block wings a bit for smoothness as well as the shafts of the tappets with 1500 grit for good measure. Then of course I washed the heck out of everything again to get rid of all the honed material. I didn’t expect to have to do this with new parts - but this is all about learning new stuff!

 

Any advice on spark plugs for my build? It is a 1969 T120R with an Aerco 750 kit and NO hot cams. It is being built as a scrambler/sled and will be driven moderately - I suppose. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the quick input!

 

Making some progress. However I found that the studs for my stators were mixed as well as the nuts - seems one of the studs was from an earlier engine and the threads were incorrect for this case. So I will need to replace as well as find the correct nuts. One or more may have been a bit bent too since I couldn’t get the right clearance for the stator/rotor and hope new studs will help with this.