Engine full of fuel and seized up

[Greg65]

A light deglaze with one of those glaze busters or a very light touch with a 600 grit honing tool should suffice. Seeing as the engine is split have you had the bores measured to check their in spec and don’t need a rebore and oversize piston? Hope I’m not creating more expense,

Cheers,
Greg

[PJM47]

Can I measure the bores myself with the right equipment? I prefer to invest in tools and learning rather than get someone else to do things where possible. Visually the cylinders look in good shape though.

[Bryanj]

To do that you need a bore gauge and a 50 to 75 outside micrometer both can be got on ebay for about £30 each for chinese made ones, better ones, starret/mercer/moore and wright cost more

[PJM47]

Ta, the bores are in good condition no sign of scoring or lips where the pistons end so should be ok but I will check anyway.

On to the main bearings, please could people advise on whether they think these should be replaced, I know not easy to tell from the pictures. Any help appreciated as always.

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[Bryanj]

Worrying one to me is the near centre one in the top case which looks very scuffed, others look slightly scuffed but usable, personally although its not cheap i would replace them all you jest need to read the codes on the crank and crankcases.
Considering the marks on the mains i think its worth splitting the big ends and inspecting.

Its all work and more expense but these motors need doing right

[PJM47]

yes what I thought. That centre one is the worst case and I will replace the pair. I was hoping to avoid having to replace them all though as they are so expensive, but maybe it's worth doing now. What seems like a no brainer job on this bike is always a hesitation as everything is so expensive. 
If anyone has a source of bearings cheaper than £15 a shell that would be good
I think I have worked out the codes, BABBB on the case and AAAAA on the crank so I make that 4 greens and a yellow.

Big end bearings all look pretty good, much better than the mains.

[paul G]

I got mine from Yamiya, Cheaper than Silvers even with post and capture duties😉

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

yes what I thought. That centre one is the worst case and I will replace the pair. I was hoping to avoid having to replace them all though as they are so expensive, but maybe it's worth doing now. What seems like a no brainer job on this bike is always a hesitation as everything is so expensive. 
If anyone has a source of bearings cheaper than £15 a shell that would be good
I think I have worked out the codes, BABBB on the case and AAAAA on the crank so I make that 4 greens and a yellow.

Big end bearings all look pretty good, much better than the mains.

When I worked on petrol engines (mainy on cars admittedly)  it was pretty much routine that a crank removal led to replacing the crank & main shells. Even when the bearings didn't look that bad it was a case of well my labour is free so why skimp on the material costs bearing in mind the amount of effort involved in dismantling the engine again.

I also found that replacing piston rings under the same argument was not as effective unless there was a very good reason such as poor compression, visible damage such as a broken ring or piston lands plus of course bore scoring / excessive oil consumption.

Likewise I have never been a fan of glazebreakers after over doing it once resulting in needing a rebore. I would prefer to have a rebore if the aforementioned issues were found. I also learnt to my cost that there was a wide range of competency in machine shops that did rebores. In the 1970's there were something like 8 or 9 firms in the Derby area that carried out engine machine work. Some firms seemed to live on reputations that were not maintained over time.

If I have to have a rebore on my bike I would struggle to know anywhere locally as I am now out of the circle of local knowledge - I haven't had an engine rebore since 1979. Irrespective of the distance from me I would in all honesty place my trust in someone such as Trigger as he has what I perceive as that rare combination of reputation, skill, pride in his work with a love of what he does.

[Bryanj]

You are correct in that getting a decent rebore nowadays is difficult, probably due to the eliability of modern car engines compared to the old Vauxhaul and Ford units, hate to think how may Kent and Essex lumps i have rebuilt in my life and yes with cars not changing shells was a stupid idea but then a full set of Kent shells cost the same as 1 journal for a sohc 4, having said that i would not even consider replacing just one journal, it has to be a full set

[philward]

Had a 1200 Anglia that had a 'rubber crank' - 3 main bearings - centre bearing always knackered (was that a Kent or Essex or none at all?)

[taysidedragon]

Had a 1200 Anglia that had a 'rubber crank' - 3 main bearings - centre bearing always knackered (was that a Kent or Essex or none at all?)

Same engine as a Ford Model T! 😁
I t-boned a Ford Anglia with my Bonneville in the seventies and the car came off worse. The paint was holding the bodywork together.

[cliff7]

Had a 1200 Anglia that had a 'rubber crank' - 3 main bearings - centre bearing always knackered (was that a Kent or Essex or none at all?)
Kent engine. 1340 fitted to Consul Classic was even worse.

[Bryanj]

Early Kent, later they went 5 main brg. Essex was the big cast V4 and 6, now the V6 was one i could build blindfolded, would last forever if you changed the oil pump and drive shaft every 80,000

[PJM47]

Bottom end ready to close up?

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Just waiting new chain tensioner and an o ring for that front tube.

[PJM47]

Not so keen on this. Looks like it has been hacked with a screwdriver by someone trying to open it. The top end has been off before. It was covered in sealant as well. Do we think this will seal ok with new gasket?

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