Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

[terryrscott]

hi all,
first of all thanks to all of you that kept me going through my investigation of why my car wont start, the very last point made, to do a compression test finally nailed it, but why did the engine go stiff at tdc without plugs in ?
so i put the car back together and decided to leave it and get on with another car that need attention sort of ASAP.

after sleeping on it, the next morning i thought how can i leave it there not knowing what was really wrong with it ??? it will bother me every day until i know what is causing the low compression.
so its overalls on tools out again and off comes the rocker cover, (about the tenth time) took the rockers out and suddenly the engine turned very freely , so the problem is in the valve train, hmmm the other interesting point is the number one rocker came out as soon as the spring was off.
off comes the head and the picture in this thread shows the problem , all 4 exhaust valves were hitting all 4 pistons
IMG-4238.jpg
so i dont know much about tuning engines, but somebody may have fitted a high lift cam, maybe had the head skimmed to increase the compression ratio and not fitted dished pistons, or am i talking total garbage ? is it just the cam belt timing was not correct at some time?
where i am now is the exhaust valve at least in number 1 is so bent it wont seat properly, nearly get my finger nail under one side of it. and guess the other exhaust valves are the same.
my thoughts at the moment is get 4 new exhaust valves and blend out the damage on the piston heads, plus a bit more to give the valves clearance and put the engine back together with the old head gasket, old head bolts, time the cam belt and the ignition correctly try to get it going (if i now have good compression )
if it starts ok and seems to run fine than take the head back off, put a new gasket and new head bolts and job done.

does anybody have a better plan, or have i missed something ? or another idea before i jump into my plan ??
i do appreciate any help...or comment, i really am fishing in the dark to a degree.

[A_Hogg]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

Seems I was on the right lines . Could be someone completely missed timed the cam or as I mentioned in previous post that head has been skimmed too far , and maybe they've 'decked ' the block as well.
Time I think to get out the calipers and measure the depth of the head {figures should no doubt be on line for standard depth], as well as valve lift etc, Are pistons below deck height and if so how much, gasket thickness and so on. Once you have all the facts you should be able to determine what if any clearance you have.
Don't lose faith , it's all fixable!

[terryrscott]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

hi, no i wont loose faith, it will be fixed i have been especially determined as the last two owners couldnt fix it.
good plan i shall measure the distance between the top of the piston and the top of the block, then the "thickness" or depth of the head, gasket thickness used etc, put the info on here and see what the feedback is
terry

[agent leman]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

Terry, hats off to you for persevering, and at least you now have all the answers. When you reassembe unless you have the specification, then setting up cam timing with adjustable pulley will a guess. Your idea mentioned earlier to use a standard cam puley is a good one - it will safely get you going with ball park timing. Might be a good moment to fit hardened valve seats if not already present.

[terryrscott]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

thanks, yes i have just picked up a standard cam pulley, which should take some of the guesswork out of it, my only worry is did the person who built the engine fit an adjustable cam to stop hitting the pistons but set it up wrong, ? i need to find some "fitting adjustable cam instructions" just to check. noted about the hardened valve seats , but my agenda is to get it going first..thanks again

[greyV8pete]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

Well sort of good news in that you now know for sure why it won’t start! My next suggestion of how I would proceed may not make good reading but here goes. STOP any work on the head and don’t even think of dressing out the piston damage! At the very least you will lower the compression ratio.


You need to think about the bottom of the engine before spending any money on the top. That engine has been turned many times, including by previous owners, with a severe mechanical interference at TDC, and zero oil pressure. I would want to drop the sump and look at the condition of the con rod and main bearing shells. I would be surprised if there isn’t severe wear and scoring of the crankshaft.


The piston is stamped 1.0 so if that’s 1.0 mm it’s .040” in old money so from memory is probably maximum for a Pinto? Look at the number stamped on the back of the shell bearings. If they are at max then the crank, if scored, is unsalvageable.


Sorry if this is is not good news but years of playing about with engines and also making many mistakes myself, I am trying to prevent you from being sucked into an endless spiral of well intended enthusiasm! Peter.

P.S. If you want a tip about how to easily remove a half main bearing shell from the block, with the crank still in place, just ask. 😉

[terryrscott]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

hi pete
thanks for your response, yes there is tons to consider, i need to do some fact finding of other stuff first before i rebuild anything, like what cam does it have etc, but i am on the case and will update the forum with info as and when i have some, thanks again , terry

[HairyDave]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

To echo V8pete, now is the time and opportunity to do the whole job right possibly buying another/cheap engine for the Summer while doing a full job with no time constraints. Anyway good luck and I look forward to your updates.

[terryrscott]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

hi folks, here is an update on starting the Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta,
well after replacing the 4 bent exhaust valves, removing and fixing the starter which suddenly decided not to work, re wiring the fuel pump correctly, and treating the car to a new battery, fitting a standard top cam belt pulley, replacing the adjustable one, draining out all the stale fuel, including the carburettor bowls and putting fresh fuel in there and the tank, 2 squirts of the easy start stuff, one click of the starter and the car started straight away and ran ok, first time for three years, very pleased with my efforts and all the forum members that offered me advice and assistance with supporting phone calls etc, thanks to you all.
tons still to do on the car including some new tyres, then its the MOT and thats another Berlinetta fixed up and back on the road.

so why didn't it start ? all 4 valves bent with a resulting no compression was the reason, which probably happened because somebody fitted an adjustable to cam belt pulley without setting it up correctly causing the valves to hit the piston tops.

thanks again everybody...

[jon_wilkinson]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

Congratulations and well done on persevering. Hopefully back on the road soon.

[A_Hogg]

Re: Q219 BAL Red Berlinetta Part 2 the rebuild

Congratulations, your efforts to not be defeated paid off.