ok this may take a while so stay with me. I have decided to have a go at a 1600 rebuild top end, on a Brazilian motor I have got.
I have stripped it down to pistons and there is a lot of carbon but they look ok (no marks)

q1 is it worth buying new pistons and cylinders or just a set of ring remember 1st attempt (and where from)?

q2 the heads look ok again no cracks but again carbon, do I get these polished cleaned and is it worth new valves (again supplier((sunny coast)) and is it easy to seat the valves...)?

q3 one of the studs has been patched badly and will need an insert any type? due to pressure on it?

q4 good quality gasket set I take is a must (remember this from Mr Berry ((awesome bloke)) again supplier suggestions

I know this is simple stuff to most of you and I thank you for your help in advance
is it worth getting the how to keep your legend alive book also?

If it's a brazlian engine it wont be to old ????
if the pistons and cylinders cheak out ok and you can see the hone marks then just new set of ring should be ok or light re hone
i would cheak out the valve guides to make sure there not worn and if there all good a vale lap should be ok to how many k's on the engine ?
and are you talking about the end of the studs or where the studs go into the case ???
and it's there is a lot of carbon then f/r was to rich ?

not sure what age ....,where the stud goes into the crank case , whats the hone mark? valve lap?(polish?) any idea to get the carbon off? thanks

Hey Clyve, good on ya giving it a go. What about posting some pics. Feel free to stick it the boot and bring it up for some advice on wear and tear.
New rings only if the cylinders get a hone which has to be done with a honing tool. Heads are best stripped and beadblasted, but cleaning can be done at home (piston tops to) by scraping off the carbon and then cleaning with (in order of preference/performance) carby cleaner, thinners, petrol. Keep everything in order so things can go back exactly where they came from, remove the rings carefully as the break easily, and clean the carbon from the bottom of the ring grooves, this is totally necessary if new rings are needed. Always be careful not to damage the important sealing area's such as where the barrel sits in the head recess and valve seats. Condition of heads really needs the valves removed to sus the valve guide wear. An idea can be had by how much movement there is at the valve spring area by feeling for play in a sideways motion (up-down as installed)

Hope this helps

oh ok it sounds older then what i was thinking yeah the head studs go into the case (16 of them ) and if so of the threads are stripped in the case you will have to split the case and have inserts put in or case saver threads which means drilling them out and tapping new other size threads to the inserts can go in and if your going that far new crank/rod and cam bearing should be donse as well and most need line borning so it can turn into a lot of work !!!

The head stud may be repairable without splitting the bottom end but care is required. What engine block is it, engine # or under the pushrods AS21 or AS41 in big raised letters???

see

see

see

ok am I buggered
finally cleaned und small cracks so am I buggered before I get going ?
are there options on this
cheers
frustrated clyve

Not cracks Clive, just casting flash.

thanks mat the rings are on there way and will keep on trying.
one small question two of the heads had rings in are they shims? and do I need to plain the heads ?
cheers
happy clyve

ok i have piston rings.... so I need some info on where to get a valve spring tool from and are those SCA bead blaster worth it for my heads and piston tops?
also honing tools two or three prong?
will keep the photos coming to help new blokes having a go, hey if I can you can.......

3 arm honing tool but the ball hones are better but they cost a lot more
and you can build a valve spring tool i will find some pic's

not hard to make and very handy

fantastic idea building as we speak cheers

Yep, good advice.....

I made my in-car valve spring tool by welding an arm to a modified rocker arm.

ok thanks so far for the help.... now the fun stuff
pistons have new rings and cleaned
heads cleaned and valves lapped and cleaned.
so ready to build, Mat remember you said about the cylinders seals but cant for the life of me remember what.
So I have kit and do I silicon the bottom of the cylinders or not?
torque settings on the heads?
con rod tubes seal how to? are the rubbers good enough?
Shims in one side of the head? why and how?
finally on a lighter not paint? any good ones you know of and would affect the heat produced by the engine?
once again I thank you

Clyve, "ready to build".....mmmmm there's a lot to it. Not just torque settings but also sequence, stages of torquing, thread preparation, lubricant etc. All of which need to be addressed, I think even the best workshop manual misses some important tips.. The pushrod tubes require new quality (Elring) seals and expanding or replacing fitted with no sealant but prepared receiving locations. Shims in the head are all about setting compression ratio, so more information is required. Even the rings require checking the end gap clearance, air coolers require .0045/inch of bore and need to be indexed correctly on the piston. Cylinder base should use no gasket as per VW bulletin 1972 (approx) and sealed with a quality RTV silicon sealant.

ok I have all the threads clean and looking good I have the silicon and ready , so can I install the pistons and cylinders or is there anything else I need to check? P>
.s Mat where do you get your oil pumps from and if not have you one at the wonder shed?
cheers
clyve

I have to thank mat berry for the help today, the information was amazing and stuff you just don't get in a book. so mat thanks mate clyve

anytime Clyve, thanks for the mention, Good to see your engine, nice to see it appeared in quite good nick, a good project.