Valve Cover Complete..

I finally finished the valve cover. I dusted it with clear coat, which covered my car in overspray, to give it a nice clean matte finish. Overall I am happy with the results, and achieved the color I was going for.

Matte green..


Smoooooooth..


Also received my APC spark plug cover today. It definitely needs some work to make it look good/right. I am gonna attempt to use aircraft stripper to remove the blue finish. If that does not work, then I will bring it to the local shop to get it bead/sand blasted. I plan to give it a nice brushed aluminum finish, and top it off by riveting on an ARC badge. It will be an APC converted to ARC spark plug cover. :P

Packaging..


APC..


MADE IN TAIWAN..


Test fit..


Hella NOT flush..

Engine Rebuild..

The motor that came out of the EK was consuming oil, and had low compression in one of the cylinders (#2). Since the motor was out, I decided to return it back to stock and refresh it with new rings and bearings (main and rod). This motor will make it's way into the Del Sol, and the current motor in the Del Sol will make it's way into the EK.

This is my first time ever building a motor, so I hope everything goes OK. I have made a few costly mistakes already (ordered all the wrong bearings), but that is being solved. Other than that, everything is going along pretty well, and just waiting for my bearings to come in. Then I have to plastigage them and make sure the clearances are within spec.

Tearing apart the engine block was very straight forward. It was actually quite fun.


I then dropped off the head and block to the machine shop (Bill). I gave him the head, along with all the stock valvetrain and valves. I had him check the deck, hot tank, perform a valve job, and assemble everything. I also had him rehone the block, so that the new rings will have a fresh surface to mate to.

Fresh head..


Today I disassembled and prepped the pistons for re installation. I removed the oil rings, the rod bearings, and the rod bolts. I then used a brush and cleaned all the oil and carbon buildup from the pistons with paint thinner. I then rinsed the pistons with hot water and dried them using an compressed air. I then pressed in new Honda rod bolts and fitted the pistons with new rings. I made a costly error by accidentally spreading one of the rings too far, causing it to crack and break in half, there goes $30. So now I'm just waiting for the new set of rings and rod bearings to arrive so I can start the assembly of the block.

Disassembling the pistons..


Cleaning the pistons..


Clean pistons..



Broken ring :thumbdown:..

More Valve Cover..

I'm tired of working on this valve cover!! I kept spraying and sanding and spraying and sanding, until finally the bottom half of the valve cover was smooth, flat and wavefree. After I got it all smooothened out, I washed it, air dried it, and then began the paint process. I sprayed it with adhesion promoter, followed by a coat of black. The metallic green paint is kind of candyish, so I wanted a dark undercoat for a darker green finish. I am now waiting for the green finish to completely dry, so I can dust it with clear coat to get a matte finish.

Sanding and sanding and sanding..


Ready to be sprayed. I used quarters to mask off the holes, it was a perfect fit..


Black undercoat..


Metallic green finish. Looks teal in the picture, but it's due to the lighting. It looks forest green in person..