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Just put my engine (EA81, dual port, custom cam, etc) back together and tryed to start it again and bang... it hits something and you can't even hand crank it past. (read big bar on crank nut, put moves the other way until it hit the same spot), so i went through and checked the timing (dissie not cam) and valve clearances. Anything else anyone can suggest before i pull it out again and check the cam timing. It come apart for some new rings. I also checked the ring gaps and they seem right however i will double check if i have to pull it apart..... Any Ideas? I was thinking cam has to be out and hitting valve? put i am sure it can't be that far out?

Back off all the valves , then you'll know if the valves are kissing the pistons.
Did you check for valve to piston clearance and also valve retainer to top of guide clearance and valve spring coil bind?

Yeah already backed off all the valves. Valve to piston clearance should be fine as i only did the rings, i wil strip it down again and have a look. I think it is cam timing.

if it is cam timing, the back plate only needs to come off to check it

don't you remember lining up the dot in the chamfered hole?

My silly mistake was to fit one rod with logo facing backwards and I couldn't work out why the rod would stick thn let go on the crank - then the obvious was staring at me

Just stopped pulling it down then, by what i can see, i have smashed the small end of the conrod and smashed a piston and possible scared the bore. Hopefully the bore is untouched... and the piston and the conrod the only things stuffed. (Thankfully i have a spare engine in the back yard which i can hopefully steal the piston and conrod out of, thanks ian!) The old piston doesn't want to come out easily so my hope of the bore been fine are slowly running out. What i think has happened, is either the conrod hasn't lined up with guedon pin or the conrod has been damaged some how.... Guess i will never know... Either way it will turn out to be an expensive excerise... Thanks for all your idea's

So was it that you didn't put the guedon pin through the con rod or did the piston head collapse?

Let us know how it goes, I know how particular you can be during your own re-build. My MPFI only lasted 9 months til the radiator killed it Seriously looking at an EJ now - and i've got a new radiator

Hope there's no scaring of the bore.

Bennie

Turns out i smashed the conrod, piston and scored the bore... looks like i am going to be putting some oversized pistons maybe forged... evil laugh.....

Ouch, thats never good.

Good luck with it, maybe you could oversize the bores to make it a 2L

Just got the word from the machine shop 30 thou oversized pistons and rings. So it is going to be an expensive but good venture... i will have a new engine basically...
Suparoo thats my thoughts exactly just an excuse to but some bigger pistons in it... (Insert Evil laugh here!!)

Make that 40 thou or 1mm oversized pistons. Finally got it running this arvo, sounds and runs real good.... What are peoples believes on running it in?

Lots of varied driving, like country roads, not highways.
Change oil after 500km
Dont over rev it, nor sit with it idling for extended periods

find a good hill or mountain and i drive up it just short of labouring and not revving it, then off down the highway when things are quiet for a 60 then 100 then 80 kph cruise, then floor it for a while and back slow again, then up the mountain again - is my method


so, how is your torque wrench ?

as the haynes manual says:

Load the rings to bed them in initially. Change of oil and filter at 500km. Drive no faster than 80km/h, keep revs below 3 grand. After 800km normal driving with an oil change at 1000 km at which point normal driving from there.

That's what I did and the car drove great.

Cheers

Bennie

My torque wrench has had more use in the last 2 weeks then the rest of its life.
I was planning on changing the oil in 500km and i basically haven't taken it above 80km, don't have any real good hills to go up and down close, which are safe to do it on. But i will just keep cruising around under 3000 not loading it up to much... and then wait until 1000 km or so are up and open the throttle right up.
It seems like it will have some real go to when i finish tuning it. Now at about 25 degrees of advance and possible going to have some more.... Evil Laugh