Motor rebuilding ?

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PacoLoco

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I'm working on rebuilding a 3.2 that has been sitting for a while. Looking at the cylinder walls, I debating whether I should just get another 3.2 block and scrap this one. Would a light hone clean up these walls? I'm planning to use stock pistons and standard rings. I'm no expert when it comes to rebuilding motors so anyone with expertise in this area...please advise. Thanks

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zuup_2000

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First off, its hard to tell anything about those cylinder walls by looking at pictures.
I have rebuilt many engines in my lifetime, from good old pushrod V8's to golf cart engines, to 200HP EFI outboards.
You really need to decide how much money you want/can afford to spend, and what your overall goal is.
There is a right way to rebuild an engine, and a wrong way to rebuild an engine, but there is also a gray area in between the two. I have done alot of "shadetree" style rebuilds symply due to the customers circumstances.
feel free to PM or email me and I can give you some pointers to get you on your way.
 

delta448

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Hard to say from a picture on the internet, but it appears that the cylinders may have a little rust pocking in a couple places. If there is considerable depth of oxidation to those rusted spots, you should at least consider buying a set of larger diameter pistons and having the cylinders bored/honed to match them. However, from my seat several states away, it doesn't appear to be much more than a superficial cancer that could be simply honed out by a light glaze breaking with a drill attachment hone and a very steady hand connected to a focused and intelligent brain.

It really depends more on what you want from the car and your budget. I'll focus on the shortblock since that seems to be your concern. If this is going to be a budget shit-beater, very lightly hone it, check the ring gaps, check the decks, check the bearings, only replace what's out-of-spec and slap it together with mostly new gaskets and seals, knowing that it may not run well for long if something's a little off. If its a performance build, or going in a car you really care about and don't want to pull the engine from again anytime soon, I'd recommend having the block professionally checked and hot tanked by a machine shop. Then have them bore to match a set of oversize pistons you supply to them and get the new rotating assembly balanced.
 
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http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0111_build_your_engine/index.html

Some info that you won't use or need, but it covers some good basics.

http://www.enginehones.com/?gclid=CPSV7IP9w5wCFRFMagodLhmMmw

This place has some pretty good deals on bottle brush hones, cleaning brushes, etc.


Like everyone else said, it's hard to tell exactly from internet pics, but the cylinders look to be in good shape. Factory cross hatch marks are still there, no scoring, etc.

IMO, I think you'd be fine running a bottle brush hone through it to clean things up and assemble as normal. WD40 the heck out of the cylinders if it's going to sit for any length of time, so you don't get the surface rust again. Bottle brush hones are much easier to use, and don't have the potential to do as much damage as a regular hone does. With the way the cylinders appear in the pics, I'd bet you could get away with just a nylon cylinder cleaning brush...
 

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