Engine Refresh, Step Five: Reassembly

Those of you who’ve been following this series on engine reconditioning know that we’re on the home stretch. By now, you should begin seeing the fruits of your labor and noticing a real difference under the hood.

Each car is different and will require varying amounts of time for reassembly. Back at step one, your research and documentation should have given you an idea of what will require being torqued to spec or synced up for proper timing. For the Buick, I pulled the distributor out and removed the intake, so it took me a little extra time to make sure everything went back together right. This is the time to reference those pictures you took and to double check anything you’re not sure about. Try not to end up with any extra parts! I wound up with two small brackets and I have no idea where they came from—I couldn’t even find them in my pictures. This isn’t a situation you want to find yourself in.

Things should start coming together nicely at this point but there are those things that can be discouraging after all that work. If you chip off paint on bolt heads or even something you spent a good few hours prepping and painting, don’t worry—it happens. In my case it was the intake I meticulously painted with several coats to get just the right shine, only to drop a wrench on it and chip the paint. The fix I have for these blunders is simple. Take a spray can top and spray the color paint you need into the cap until the paint starts to pool up. Using a soft, short-bristled paint brush, carefully dot the paint into the chip mark. The paint should be thin enough to self level, but thick enough to fix the chip. Bolt heads will require several coats, and should be touched up after they’ve been torqued down so you don’t mar them again. Apply a thin coat with the brush to start and allow it time to tack up. Give it a second and possibly a third coat if you really want it to look good.

After a few loose ends are tied up and a once-over to make sure everything’s set, you should be ready to fire it up (don’t forget to refill any oil or coolant you’ve drained during disassembly!). The Buick revealed a few nasty surprises, like a fuel line fitting that required a little more tightening and a thermostat housing that wouldn’t stop dripping coolant. These kinds of problems are all to be expected when touching anything on a car as anyone with experience would tell you. Take it in stride and just work at it until it’s right.

That concludes the basics of reconditioning your engine. The only thing left now is to sit back and admire your work. Take some time to look back at those before shots to get an idea of just how much you’ve improved your engine. To all of those who take on this task, good luck, and don’t forget to post the pictures on your ride page!