1300 resto

Fading away

Thanks Rachael,

BOO I just spent all afternoon cleaning the pistons up :shock: :roll: :roll:

Am I right in that 1500 engine has 86.4mm bore and therefor if I can rebore to 86.4 then 1500cc pistons should be good to use on 1300 rods. Or is that too simple??

I thought that the bore sizes where the same on the 13 & 1500 blocks. The difference being that the 1500 block is taller and the crank stroke is longer to allow the bigger capacity.

Dose that make sence??

Guy

the 1300 pistons are 86mm and the 1500 are 86.4mm

Fading away

Hi Rachael, Thats before I cleaned them :!:

Well I am reserecting this post in the hope that it will give Greame some encoragment to realy get stuck into his 1300. hes going to have a great car once done.

I would like everyone to spur him on with our support.

I would like to offer whatever time I can spare to help in anyway I can. I would also like to ask club members in the North East of Scotland or anywhere else for that matter to offer the same.

Lets help Graeme empty his bank account and get the thing on the road.

Nearly all the hard work has been done so lets get cracking.

cheers

Guy

Hi
i was speaking to x1/9ed at our last italian day out as ive got exact same problem with the block in my 1300 SS Im sure he said he said he had fitted 1500 pistons to his 1300 might be worth a pm to see of any pitfalls
let me know how you get on
Grahame

Got my rings from midwest today £12 duty + £8 fee from parcel force :evil: Still represented good vaule for money all in all. Test fitted the compression ring in the bore and the ring gap looks quite tight (B&Q till receipt fits in the gap just. Will need to get some new feeler gauges and check against the spec. Any tips for fitting them as I don't want to brake one :roll:

Carefuly :lol: :lol:

Piston rings are always made to be on the tight side. This allows you scope to file them down to get the correct gap. (Careful when filing as they are very brittle. Small, fine hand file and lots of time and patients) they do this to compensate for different engines and machining tolerances. There is a how to in the Haynes book but cross reference the gap sizes from elsewhere just in case. (Haynes aren’t right all the time)

There is enough give in the rings to gently flex them and "walk" them down the piston little by little. Plenty WD40 helps.

Hope this helps


Cheers

Guy

Well, compared them with used rings that were good and although the gap was marginaly smaller I went for it and fitted them. All went well with the ring compressor. Tapped them in with the but of a hammer. All 4 feel the same in the bore (Smooth but tight) is that what I should expect? I'll leave it for tonight and think about the shells and seals tomorrow.

Cheers Graeme

Hi Grahame,
Just to clarify, are you using new rings on original pistons on this rebuild.
If you have a lip on the top of the cylinder bores a stepped compression ring should be used on the pistons.
If you are going the rebore -new piston route, then genuine 1500 original pistons is the way to go. They have a bore of 86.4mm compared to
the original 1300 items which are 86mm.
The only difference is that the 1500 pistons have slightly bigger valve reliefs which results in a minute reduction of compression ratio.
When I rebuilt my orange 1300 back in the day I sourced these 1500 pistons from Alternative Autos all in £100.

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the info. It's good to here from someone who has done it. I have rebored to 86.4 and am using V.G.C 1500 cc pistons. Today I put the head on and torqued it up. Without the cam there seems to be no issues clearance wise. I used rings from Midwest. The compression ring is cast and have been told that it is the best option for bedding in. I'll post some pics soon.

Cheers Graeme.

Well the engine has run and appears ok. I gave it a few thermal cycles then retorqued. I was surprised that the middle bolts/nuts didn't need any change while the end bolts required about a quarter turn to get to tourque.







I made a retorque tool that is essential if you want to do it with out taking the cam box off