3.0 SC rebuild questions

[fallonmi]

I have bought a copy of Wayne's rebuild book to add to the "101 Projects..." book. Both have been invaluable in the rebuild of my 1982 SC engine. That said, I have some questions I was hoping I could get some opinions on.
First, is a standard ported and polished head look like the on page 90 of Wayne's book? More specifically, is the polishing of the dome and the exhaust port part of a "standard" port and polish?
Second, Bruce Anderson's book states that valve springs should last the life of the car and that new springs are generally inferior to factory ones. Yet, Wayne's book says that current aftermarket springs now are just as good as the original factory ones. Mine tested out fine and I have 120k miles on my SC engine. What are the thoughts on replacing these? I am more concerned with having the better spring in the engine (without going to the titanium, platinum-coated, tungsten-core special edition racing springs).
Third, how do you tell if you have the euro pistons (mine have the dimple in the middle)?
Fourth, my one of my crank edges was damaged so that the rod will no longer turn freely on the journal. It is a dent about the size of a half dime and goes down maybe 1mm on the backside, impeding the motion of the rod. Can this be fixed? By the size and shape of the dent, it looks like it could have only come while being micropolished at the shop (as in it was clamped incorrectly). What should I ask of the shop who did the polishing? I have access to (and experience with) lathes, bridgeports, grinders, etc, if that makes a difference. What is the procedure for this and could I do it myself without throwing off any of the balance in the engine?
Fifth, I was measuring the diameter of my crank rod journals and all are about 1mm larger than what is specified in your book (all are 52.97). The clearances with the plastigage are fine, however. Is there a typo or has my crank somehow grown over the last 120k miles?
Sorry to be long winded. Just want to make sure everything is right before I attempt to bolt it together. Thanks in advance for the help.
-Mike

[Doug Zielke]

"Bruce Anderson's book states that valve springs should last the life of the car and that new springs are generally inferior to factory ones. "

That was also the opinion of the very experienced machinist who re & re'd my 3.0's cylinder heads. He said there were some bad springs before 1980, but after that they seem to last longer than anything else in the aftermarket.

[Wayne 962]

Hi again. Okay, let's go down the list here:

1- Alex Wong of Precision Tech did this one. I don't think that this level of detail is normal for a standard job. I think you'd have to do it yourself to get to this point. Pretty cool lookin' though!

2- Springs are a wear part. Plain and simple. With age and cycles, they will begin to break down. Eventually they become weak and/or break. Trouble is, a spring may test fine and then break the next day due to some unforeseen flaw. I suppose you could x-ray them to find the flaws, but I think that it's easier to just replace them with new ones. Just about everyone I spoke with (didn't ask Bruce) said to replace the springs.

3- Post a pic of the pistons, I can't recall off the top of my head, and I don't have a euro one here.

4- I'm confused by your explanation. Where is the dent? On the side wall, or on the actual bearing surface?

5- RATS! That is a typo. I went through this section so many times. Darn. I'll have to post that to the website and correct in the next printing...

-Wayne

[fallonmi]

Thank you for the replies
The damage is not on the bearing surface itself, but on the sidewall. It looks as if someone clamped it wrong as the indent on one side is well defined. This dent caused the material on the other side to move into the path of the rod. Does this help? I have pictures that I will post this evening of the crank damage and I will grab one of the pistons.
-Mike

[fallonmi]

Unfortunately, the board won't let me attach a picture of the pistons, due to its size. Wayne, I will email it to you. Maybe you will have more luck. The number on the side of the Mahle piston is 95ZN1W5.

Update on the crank damage:
I talked to the shop who did the micropolish of my crank after sending them the pictures. They said they have "never" had a problem with damaging a crank. They basically told me first, that it was UPS's fault, then told me, in not so many words, that I was trying to get a free crank. While I feel like I should go after them and make them fix it, I don't want to wait on them for another 2 months before I can start putting my car back together. Rather than send it to them and risk having the same incompetent "machinists" hack it together, I am going to take it to a local shop that specializes in racing crankshafts to see if they can do anything about it.

[Wayne 962]

I saw the pics - looks like someone hit it with a hammer. These things are basically indestructible. If you grind that section off, then the balance of the crank will be all off, and you will have to get it rebalanced.

Your piston pic is too fuzzy for me to tell anything from it?



-Wayne