BUSH MECHANIC

AFTER ACCIDENTALLY DAMAGING HIS VB’S ENGINE, GLENN TORRENS FINDS A FAST, FEASIBLE FIX

EMBARRASSINGLY, I’d damaged one pot in my 1979 V B Holden Commodore wagon’s 3.3-litre engine. Bugger! I hoped I could simply f i x the damage in No 1 cylinder by removing the cylinder head and sump and replace the damaged piston wit hout t he hassle of a complete strip-down.

I asked around my Holden-lov ing mates for an old engine I could strip for a piston and rod. Luke The Towie put me in touch with his mate Blake who had an old motor that I could – hopefully – use one piston from. We did each other a favour; Bla ke got rid of an old engine he didn’t need, and I got t he engine parts I did !

To remove the sump, the engine needed to be lifted within the engine bay so after I removed t he cylinder head, I used a borrowed engine lif ting bar (t hanks Juddy!) to ra ise t he engine. The sway-bar was dropped, too, a llow ing me easy

access to t he con-rod bolts before the damaged piston/ rod was slid out.

The ‘new’ second-hand piston was removed from its donor and checked for size (t hankfully both engines were factor y standard so the dimensions matched – neither had been bored over-size) and t he rings from my engine swapped to t he ’new’ piston.

Then – to cut a long stor y short – it was simply a matter of reassembly: Piston and con-rod insta lled (a lso using t he same con-rod bearing); sump on; engine block lowered back into t he car; head re-insta lled wit h a fresh gasket; manifolds re-insta l led; f luids re-f i l led, and t he electrics connected.

I checked my work and t hankfully t he engine f ired instant ly. At last, severa l weeks af ter disaster struck during what began as a rela x ing af ternoon f i x ing a few simple t hings, I was once again able to go cr uising !

“BLAKE GOT RID OF AN OLD ENGINE HE DIDN’T NEED, AND I GOT THE ENGINE PARTS I DID!”

01 Classic cars are a great, relaxing way to cruise to the local pub. Or frustrating enough to drive a person to the demon drink! 02 First task for my engine fix was to drain the fluids and remove the cylinder head 03 Removing the sump requires lifting the engine within the engine bay – hence the engine lifting bar 04 With the sump off, and the big-end cap removed, the bruised No 1 piston and its rod are finally on their way up and out. 05 Thankfully the spare piston I’d sourced was identical to the damaged one from my engine 06 Test-fitting the second-hand piston confirmed it wasn’t wobbly

01 Replacement piston slides home – hose offcuts on con-rod bolts guard the journal against abrasions. 02 My ‘new’ piston - dressed in a ring compressor – ready for installation 03 The sump is clean as a whistle and ready to be reinstalled.