Engine Rebuild - New Pistons

Decided to play it safe and replace the pistons.  I dropped one during the disassembly and dinged it pretty good.  Thought I had a source lined up for a single matching Mahle +.040", but turns out his inventory was incorrect and he didn't have it on the shelf.  So, I ended up just buying a new set of 4.  Dropped them off at the machine shop to have new wrist pin bushings installed and reamed to the proper size for the new pins, and they were able to turn them around by lunch time.

Over the next week or two I'll drop them in the block with the crank to measure the piston height at TDC, so I can run some numbers and determine how much to have the block shaved.

Engine Rebuild - Head Halfway There

Swung by the machine shop (Dover Cylinder Head, here in Atlanta) and picked up the head during lunch.  I opted not to have them rebuild it at this time since I'll likely need to have it shaved a bit more for compression and have some port work done first.  Should have had the ports done first, but, live and learn I suppose.

Summary of the work done:

• Shot blasted
• 3 angle valve job
• New bronze valve guides
• New exhaust valves
• Hardened exhaust seats installed

Clutch Cylinders

I ended up snagging a clutch master and slave cylinder when I got the engine, hoping they were good rebuild candidates since new parts are not cheap at all.  The pistons in both move freely, which is a good sign.  The clutch slave seems to be pretty new (as is the hose I got with it, also not cheap).  The cylinder bore looks pretty good.  Couple minor scratches but I think it'll hone nicely.

I can't even get the master cylinder apart to inspect the bore.  Seems like there should be a snap ring or circlip to remove in order to withdraw the piston, but there isn't one immediately obvious.
 

Updated Fuse Box

I got fed up with the old ceramic style fuses, particularly the little 25 amp one, so I reworked the fuse block to accept newer 1/4" x 1-1/4" (AGC) glass fuses that are easy to find.  This is certainly not a new idea, as Row Kwas has been offering the service for some time.

I took everything apart, sandblasted all the copper terminals, and soldered everything back together.  It was actually a frustratingly tedious job.  Took way longer than I would have expected to get the placement of the fuse holders sorted, and get everything soldered together.  But, it works great and the stock cover fits back on.

Break-Away Steering System

Figured I'd go ahead and post this, since I never did when the parts were actually installed.  I managed to get my hands on the break-away style steering shaft setup that Volvo switched to towards 1968.  Basic concept is to not impale your chest in the event of a front end collision.  The steering box got new bronze bushings and oil seals, and the shaft bushings were replaced with IPD polyurethane.  The shaft setup is painted with Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black, which I used on most of the suspension and have been pretty pleased with. Still need to finish up the horn wiring.

Engine Rebuild - New Exhaust Valves

Got word from the head shop that the exhaust valves need replacing as part of overhauling the head.  Sourced these from Eric at Hi Performance Auto out in California.  Great guy to do business with.  Will be installing new bronze guides for both the intake and exhaust valves at the same time.  The exhaust valves will get back cuts, and all 8 valves will get a three-angle valve job.  The head will also be skimmed in search of compression.