How much to do-'71T
 

After poking a stick at this car for the past ten years, I finally find myself with the time and resources to put it back on the road. It is a 1971T with 80,000miles on it. We took it off the road because it would lay down a cover of smoke worthy of an elite commando unit. This was mainly on start-up but it smoked a fair amount during driving as well. It also has the usual leaks here and there.

I have been reading as much as possible and my head is spinning with the number of suggestions I have received.

1. Do I really need to replace the long studs in the case if they are not damaged?

2. Do the tensioners have to be upgraded to carrera tensioners? The ones in there worked fine for many years; I was hoping I could just rebuild them.

3. Does the case need to be "line bored"? Someone told me it is probably warped because of the age.

4. Is it necessary to split the case if it's not leaking and the rod bearings check out ok? Would it be silly not to?

I'm planning on new pistons, rebored cylinders, head refurbish, and new seals. I just want to build a reliable engine for my modest, yet occassionally spirited driving style.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

When you're down to the short block, it's really not that much additional effort to split the case and renew the bearing, have the crank checked etc. IMHO, it would be false economy to not split, check, refurb/renew & seal again. Probably adds 30% to the rebuild effort and 100% to reliability & piece of mind.

After you've split the case, have a mechanic check the case for straightness, then you know if it needs to be line bored.

Hydraulic tensioners = must do. Again a false economy not to.

On the studs: not sure if you need to actually replace if they are OK. Probably installing time-serts or helicoils is another piece of mind thing.

If you use Wayne's book, it'll guide you pretty well through all the questions etc.

Good luck

Between keeping the engine as it is , and building an engine by buying everything new ( part by part ) , the options are infinite.

Use Wayne's book and your guts.

I have a close friend that has a 2.2 T long block that has 3K miles and its way less than the build.
Bruce

Thanks guys, I am starting to narrow down the scope. I will split the case and have it checked for flatness, and check/replace bearings.

The tensioners are the big question right now. From what I understand one should upgrade the idler sprocket support at the same time as the tensioners. Would it make sense to just upgrade the idler sprocket support and then go with a collar on the original tensioners? I'm not trying to go cheap; I will get the carrera tensioners if they will give me a more reliable engine. I'm just thinking that if they are just a "nice to have" I could probably find many other places to spend the money on this car.

Bruce, do you know what your friend is asking for the long block? Its probably out of my price range but I should consider it.

Thanks again guys, I'll be dropping the engine as soon as I arrange a spot to work on it in my basement.

I think the tensioners are a must have. Unless you consider having a reliable engine a nice to have :p

Sorry I missed the post, you have an e mail and a PM to cover the question.
Bruce