1971 PL521

[The Birdman]

Looks like you will need a L20b head pipe for the exhaust, and quite likely a carb, and it also was likely it had a EI distributor, so they sold that, or at least took it off to sell, so now you will need to find one of them also, remember to get the EI distributor and coil together with the wires that go between them.

 

Did they take the L16 with them when they left?

I hope it is a good one, these are supposed to be rebuilt?

 

I have a Weber 32/36 set up on the L16 intake, was hoping to use them together.

I have both types of distributors, the points dizzy that came off the L16, and I have this I believe EL dizzy # D4F6-05, but only have the coil that came with the truck.

As for a Head pipe, are you referring to the typically "foil" heat tube that sends exhaust heat to the air cleaner? I'm taking the exhaust manifold from the new engine off and looking to either use the L16 manifold or go with headers. here is the manifold I have.

 

After I verified the engine was correct, I asked the driver if he had a pickup order, he said no. So I called the company and told them the right engine had arrived, and asked what they planned to do about the L16, they said they would send a truck for it next week. I also asked if they were rebuilt or just used, and was told the block and the head were both rebuilt and they have the guarantee tags on both, but they were taken from complete or close to complete engines and reassembled afterwards. The tags just say "Guarantee-Void if removed"

[The Birdman]

Thats a pretty dirty engine to be "rebuilt". It looks like they didnt even steam clean the head!

 

Actually, the Block looks pretty good, almost good enough for paint, but I'll clean it much better before I do. The head does have more crud on it, but I want it much cleaner before it goes in the truck. All the rest of the parts are basically "Extras" that i really didn't need and will go thru them for the best parts to use. I really thought I was getting a block - head longblock, but will look at it as extras for later use.

[The Birdman]

It does seem to have a rebuild tag, or something that looks like one on the front of the head, but who knows when that was put there.

As long as it runs good, it just doesn't matter, well maybe it does, but not to me, as I have been putting fresh heads onto low mileage/tight engines for a long time, my LZ23 is my first fresh L block, the last used block lasted me 15 years of very hard use.

 

When I get a chance, I'll put my camera scope in each cylinder if the scope head will go in and look at the piston tops and anything else i can see to find out how well the rebuild job went.

[The Birdman]

the "tag" could just be an inentory number

 

It's a Guarantee tag and they both look very newly attached.

I'm not too worried.

[wayno]

You can use that exhaust manifold on your round port head, but how long the exhaust gasket will hold up is undetermined, it may last a week, or it may last 7 years, just impossible to tell.

Them tags are heat tags I think, I beleave the center will melt if the block overheats, warranty thing.

I beleave that distributor needs a brain to work, you have the brain/box?

not sure if you need a EI coil with that setup, maybe someone else will chime in on that.

[The Birdman]

No box to go with it, just the dist. Is that something I can get at a local AP store?

 

I started looking over the whole engine and was pretty disappointed at how it looks overall. The intake and exhaust look like they were never removed, just painted over in places. Pulled the 2 manifolds off and sure enough, old paint and dirty areas under them. I put a flashlight into the ports and there was a lot of crap sitting on the back side of the valves in # 1&2, signs of rust around the seat of # 3, but # 4 intake looked just ok. The carbon built up thick in all 4 exhaust ports, and was only able to look past one valve but couldn't get the boroscope head in deep enough to see any area of cylinder wall. I think you might be right Wayne, it's just a used engine, and nothing was rebuilt. It did have traces of coolant in the front cover when I removed the water pump and it looked fairly clean in there. Lots of crud and dirt was painted over on the block. I could maybe complain, but what the hell! I'm going to get the head off and get a better assessment of the overall condition, maybe I'll get lucky and be able to hand lap the seats, clean off the valves, and not have to dump too much money into the whole thing! But one thing is for sure, I'm not putting it in the truck till I'm done going thru it, and it's cleaned up! What a day!

[wayno]

I have bought used engines before and had no issues with them, I generally had a better idea of the history though, as one was in a running truck and I was able to hear it before I bought it, I used this block for 15 years with my first W53 super head, and the other was a very nice straight looking truck that didn't run as it had no carb, but I only used the block on that one, as the head was what you have on your engine, and I have no need for a W58 cast head.

When I removed the head off of that engine, the pistons were tight, so I put a fresh rebuilt W53 head on that block, and used it for a while in the work truck till i built the LZ23 engine and installed it in the work truck, the engine I removed is now in the 1966 520 project.

Can you get in a spark plug hole far enough to see if there is any rust in the cylinders without removing the head?

Does the crank turn easily?

[The Birdman]

I have bought used engines before and had no issues with them, I generally had a better idea of the history though, as one was in a running truck and I was able to hear it before I bought it, I used this block for 15 years with my first W53 super head, and the other was a very nice straight looking truck that didn't run as it had no carb, but I only used the block on that one, as the head was what you have on your engine, and I have no need for a W58 cast head.

When I removed the head off of that engine, the pistons were tight, so I put a fresh rebuilt W53 head on that block, and used it for a while in the work truck till i built the LZ23 engine and installed it in the work truck, the engine I removed is now in the 1966 520 project.

Can you get in a spark plug hole far enough to see if there is any rust in the cylinders without removing the head?

Does the crank turn easily?

 

The crank turns easily enough, but no I can't see into the cylinder itself well enough to make any call on the condition without removing the head, and I can't get a good picture of the valves with my cam. What do you think I should do?

[wayno]

The crank turns easily enough, but no I can't see into the cylinder itself well enough to make any call on the condition without removing the head, and I can't get a good picture of the valves with my cam. What do you think I should do?

 

 

I don't have any idea what your capable of, I would try to start it, but I am in the position of being able to do just that, I have made engine/transmission stands that I can bolt the engine into with the tranny connected which allows me to bolt up the starter, I would mount a points distributor, wire a battery into the starter and ground, I would connect power to the coil and separate the points with a screwdriver checking for spark, if there was spark, I would put the cap back on the dist, I would fill the carb bowl full of gas/fuel by using an electric fuel pump from a can of gas, I would pour a little gas down the carb and then hit the starter with a remote trigger and see if it hits, I have actually started an engine and didn't even know it was running, I thought the starter was stuck on, but in reality it was running, as I grabbed the exhaust manifold to check if it was getting warm.

This is how I do it when I want to know if it will run.

This is one of the stands, the metal uprights allow the mounting of a radiator to cycle the thermostat(warm it up), I like this one, as I can roll it around.

This is a solid mount setup as I recall.

 

 

[The Birdman]

I've considered building a test setup for several years but just never got around to it. I may do just that considering that I now have this engine, the L16 i took out of the truck, and the J1300 from my old 520. My problem is I have a wife that gives me grief for having all my STUFF, but doesn't mind that at a moments notice I have at my fingertips the resources to fix or build just about anything she needs! Damned if I do, you know the rest! I don't have a huge yard or an uncrowded garage to work with so when I start a project here at home, I have to see it through or face the music!

 

I don't have too much time to fart around before that music starts playing, and need to get this truck street-able in a relative time frame so it doesn't go the way of my 520. I'm more than likely going to pull the head and get the lowdown on what needs attention and try to get the package as complete and ready to put in. If I can get away with a low budget quick fix on the head and block that's how I would prefer, but if I have to do more, it's better than putting in something i'll have to take back out later.

[wayno]

As I said, I am in the position to do what I want, most don't have that luxury.

I would never try to start a gas engine on a floor, so I guess you will have to pull the head, have you ever pulled a L head before?

There is a way to jam the timing chain so you don't loose the timing chain tensioner, do you know how to do that?

What exhaust manifold are you planning on using?

[The Birdman]

As I said, I am in the position to do what I want, most don't have that luxury.

I would never try to start a gas engine on a floor, so I guess you will have to pull the head, have you ever pulled a L head before?

There is a way to jam the timing chain so you don't loose the timing chain tensioner, do you know how to do that?

What exhaust manifold are you planning on using?

 

I thought i saw something on that, but I would have to look for it, you know I'll take any good advice i can get! Right now I'm ready to be a sponge!! The head is round port so I may opt to go with the manifold that was on it after I get it and other parts sandblasted.

[wayno]

This is what my wedge looks like.

This is what it looks like in position.

This is the best I can do for photos, I really never thought about documenting this type of thing.

It has to go in deep enough to wedge the timing chain tensioner in position and not let the spring in it push it out.

You need to put the wedge in before you take the cam gear off the cam.

[The Birdman]

What is the thickness of this piece? I also heard there are marks to look for on the cam gear and that there are more than one to use. Wouldn't you simply line up at TDC and say clamp the chain from moving? The wedge you're using is to keep the tensioner from allowing the chain to slip out of place?

[wayno]

If the tensioner comes out of it's hole, then you have to pull the front cover off to put it back in, and since there is a spring trying to push it out, that is why you need the block/stick of wood jammed in there, it keeps the chain on the lower sprocket, and the tensioner in place.

You need to mark the chain and cam gear/sprocket so you put it back how it came out, you should also check what hole the dowel is in on the cam gear, and put it back the same way, it is likely #2 on the gear.

Whatever you use, it should be about as wide as the chain, or just a little narrower.

The timing chain(discolored links) and cam gear have marks(1-2-3), #2 is what is used on the L20b, the problem is that the marks only line up every twelve revolutions as I recall, so it is difficult to turn the engine over and get everything to line up, as if you pass the marks and don't know it, you have to turn it 12 more times again, I just turn it to TDC, and check the rotor to make sure it's correct, then I mark the chain and gear with a felt pen, and after the head is off, I zip tie the gear on to the chain so if my marks fade, I can redo the mark when I install the head.

If you mess it up, I can likely get you back to where it is supposed to be, but lets not go there.

When you pull it apart, make sure that it's at TDC, and the rotor is pointed at number 1 spark plug wire, this is very important, because I can get the cam timing where it's suppose to be if it is.

The #1 cylinder cam lobes should look like this when it is at TDC.

[The Birdman]

I gotcha. I've got some work the next couple of days, I'm going to get my hands on some scrap steel and fab some leg-stands for the L20B with some wheels after work so I can roll it into my garage-office and work on it. Has anyone made the style of legs on this site that has the angle already figured for the motor mounts? Sort of like the ones used for chevy V-8 like this style?

[The Birdman]

Late in the day I was able to put the engine on my regular engine stand after finding enough M10 1.5 4" bolts. I do have one question that is from observing various pics of others vehicles and that is the angle the engine sits on the mounts in the engine bay, I'm guessing it's because the intake manny is mounted at an angle and it needs to be level for the carb. Is that correct?

[wayno]

They actually mount the engine at an angle so the intake will clear the brake master, the Z20/22 is basicly the same block, but angled the other way because the intake is on the otherside of the head, it's just to make room for the intakes, not to make them level, although I am sure that's why the intakes were made at that angle, so they would be level.

[The Birdman]

Makes sense, thanks Wayne!

[The Birdman]

Had to take the bench seat in to get re-done, the wife didn't like where I had it sitting in the yard! It looked pretty ratty!

My guy Joe did a sweet job!!

 

Can't tell it was the same seat! I'll be cutting the 1/8 plywood panels for the doors and headliner so he can match them up later.

[wayno]

That seat looks nice. :thumbup:

[The Birdman]

So I got the L20B on the engine stand, and lined everything up to TDC, but the cam sprocket is lacking the little "v" marks like on the L16 sprocket.

L16 cam sprocket with v marks.

 

I suspect the v marks simply line up with the dowel holes, correct?

 

I lined up the crank pully with 0' TDC...

 

Checked the #1 cam lobes at 10 & 2, looked ok....

 

But the Dizzy gear didn't look like it was at 11 oClock?

 

 

But when I put the dizzy back on it lined up

 

But don't see where the "v" marks are supposed to line up with. I was thinking that with all the holes in the sprocket, I could zip tie the chain and the sprocket in 2-3 holes to keep the timing lined up, any suggestions?

[The Birdman]

That seat looks nice. :thumbup:

 

Thanks! The same guy did my chevy truck buckets and I go to no one else!

[Tristin]

Nice seat! How much did that set you back?

[The Birdman]

I didn't think about whether the sprocket will go thru the bottom opening in the head, it won't fit will it?