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[johnmi]

i've had an S2 parked in my garage for 6 months while i finished another project, but now i am ready to start. i have bought a Renault crossflow 843 engine for it that has allegedly been rebuilt, it turns over by hand but i am not sure how far the previous owner went on on the rebuild so i am looking for someone who can do a full engine rebuild, or do i just put it in and hope for the best. By the way when i bought the car it had already been started i.e. engine and gearbox removed, pretty much everything was there though, so i now have 2 non crossflow engines, 1 auto gearbox if anyone is interested, not sure if one of the engines is salvageable, i can post some pics if it helps. by the way i have spoken to Richard he is a busy man and on the verge of retiring.

thanks for the replies

john
 

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Welcome

Did he tell you he's retiring then? Any dates mentioned?

[buzzer]

Welcome on board!
Good to have another UK Europa rebuild on the way. Good luck with it. on the engine I don't know anyone up in your neck of the woods to recommend. but Richard might.
Richard must be getting fed up as i spoke to him a few weeks ago and he had no plans to retire, but he was still getting problems with his leg.

Dave

[johnmi]

That's what he told me, i wanted him to do the Renault engine for me, but he said he has 3 twin cams he still has to do and with his leg he didn't know when he was going to get round to doing them. He mentioned retirement a couple of times, saying he should have done it a couple of years ago. Don't know if i just caught him on a bad day, we all have them. Do not worry about the area as i travel up and down the country most weeks mainly to London. I am going up to see him in a couple of weeks so will see how he is then. While i am rattling on do you have to have the shafts pressed out of the rear bearing carriers, or is there a special puller for it?

Thanks

[BDA]

 

WRT your motor: having your motor be a known quantity is a real comfort, but you could pull the pan and take a look around and at the bearing shells. Assuming the builder had any skill at all, it's probably all right.

When you see Richard, tell him "Hello" from all of us and wish him well!

Good luck with your car and let us know if we can help!

[johnmi]

Well known quantity might be going a bit to far as there is no plate on the engine, I've got a Haynes manual from ebay on a Renault Feugo, which is where i was told the engine came from. so i think you may be right about taking the shells off the crank and see if they have been renewed, going to get one of those spin round things that i can bolt the engine too. i don't want to go to far on my own with it as i have never had any dealings with piston sleeves, the carb is a weber down draught and that looks quite new, got a new rocker cover and exhaust manifold from Richard. i will post some pics at the weekend of the car and engine and see if the more knowledgeable have an opinion on whether i have been sold a pup. From what i have read some of these came fitted with a turbo, don't know if they had different internals.

thanks for the replies

[BDA]

Sorry, I can't help you with specifics. It does surprise me a bit that you have a Fuego motor as that would be much later than what came in the car originally - but then, it might work out just fine.

When putting he bearing caps back on after you inspected the bearing shells, you only need to ensure they are seated properly in the cap, give them a little oil making sure none gets on the mating surfaces of the cap, and torque them properly. They should be a dull grey color with no scratches. You shouldn't see any scratches on the journals either. They should be very shiny. While you're in there, you could check the gap on the thrust bearing on the crank, but much beyond that is trust that they guy assembled it properly.

The Weber is a common carb that is used on lots of engines. The only question I would have is if it were jetted properly for your engine. I'd bet that the choice of jets is probably known for your engine so it would be a matter of verifying that you have the right ones.

Can the previous owner give any information about the engine build?

[StrawberryCheesecake]

If the engine was mine I'd pull the sump pan off and see if it looks nice and clean inside, and doesn't have sealant smeared everywhere.

If all looks well I'd mate it to a gearbox and either turn it over on the starter strapped to a pallet, or drop it in the chassis, bolt it to the mounts and do it.... no fuel system or ignition system needed.

I'd be looking to connect up and oil pressure gauge and check that it was building oil pressure on the starter. If that was OK I'd do a compression test and see how that comes out.

If you've got oil pressure and good compression then I'd go ahead, connect the rest of the bits up, and start it for real before I throw a load of money at rebuilding it.

[johnmi]

The previous owner got it in the same condition, he was planing a restoration but following an illness had to give it up, he sold the chassis and body shell separately and it had sat in his garage foe 2 years,
I checked with Richard before I bought it. I think that is sound advice about taking the sump off checking the shells and then turning it over on the starter, all the bits have been painted, engine, gearbox, starter motor surely you would not go to all that bother if it hadn't been restored, would you?

[BDA]

I agree. It seems unlikely that the motor is screwed up. There just isn't that difficult to competently put an engine together (hell, even I've done it!). IMHO, it's the tuning that really takes the skill. You should be able to turn the motor by hand if you take the spark plugs out so I wouldn't worry about hooking up the starter, etc. to test it.

Before you fire it up for the first time, you should disconnect the ignition and take out the plugs and then turn it over with the starter till you get some oil pressure. Then you can hook everything back up and try to light it up.

[EuropatcSPECIAL]

  Welcome John