Ooo, lot's of progress. Thanks for the pics of the inlet mani. This gives me a much clearer idea of what to expect when I EVENTUALLY get the bastard off. I need to replace the seals at the same time. It's not even that tight to the head! :fcuk: !!! The problem is, taking the bastard off! Even having the car up on a ramp, I couldn't get to the 2 screws holding the top of the manifold on. What a nightmare. I can't see no easy way of doing this job at all!!!

looking forward to see what this goes like~!

love this car tbh

good progress so far mate.

Getting there Matt. Looks great. Only thing I think needs more work is the rockers as they look scratched to bits. Need a good polish imo or some fine wet and drying first.

Yeah rockers arent sealed and torqued up yet. Ive got the wet and dry paper and some auto glym metal polish at hand so ill be tackling these at some point this week when time allows :y:

love it buddy :)

love it m8, where did the carbon coil cover come from??

Saw this last night and have to say its just awesome! Matt's there with his pages of diagrams and doing as much as he can himself! Fair play to the man!

Might have to take you up on the offer of having a blast round zee ring in that matt!

looks the sex that does :y:

matt you really did unleash a mammoth update.
but my god have you made some progress and that engine looks awesome with everything fitted i cant wait to see this in the car now even more sooo it just looks so nice mate and the rockers and coilpack look alot better fitted to the engine :) im kinda happy with the outcome now im seeing a nearly finished project once youve attacked them with wet and dry and metal polish they will be surely gleaming and it will really finish everything off.

Just a quick one Matt, you did put some sealent round the water thermostat didnt you? (the block that bolts onto the side of the engine)

Just making sure as i couldnt see any thats all, on mine you can just about see it seeping out the top :)

Fair point JP. Not long after I had my cylinder head replaced, I noticed white stuff forming on the top of my gearbox. I soon realised it was coolant leaking from that block, as the chaps who attached it to the new head, didn't use any sealant. Was mildy annoyed to be honest...

Well spotted Josh :) Cam covers arent finished yet with wet and dry hence not torqued up and sealed. Ill be doing the thermostat housing at the same time.

Any recommendations on a particular type of sealent to use or is it just anything from Halfords will do the trick?

A quality sealant should be fine mate :)

Thursday 6th December

Not a massive update this one, but im pleased with the results :)

Firstly the engine hasnt really been touched since the last update, just saving up for another big session after xmas day has passed and of course getting presents sorted.

A main priority has been to sort out the rear suspension, there had been a bit of a ping (arb) and it felt a bit rattly.

Decided that this was down to wear and tear on ARB/end plates etc.

So ive not bought a new 24mm Pug 106 ARB and bought some new end plates as mine were a bit shoddy and in a poor state on the back giving a looser fit than it should be.

Ive also applied some more grease into the bearings etc as precaution, i know theyre fine, but may aswel add some more for good measure while the ARB was off, also changed the seals.

.................................................. ....................................

Engine wise some of you picked up on the Rocker/cam covers not being polished to perfection.

After machine polishing there were plenty of pitted bits and a fairly scratched surface although they looked cleaner.

Time to do some hard work and polish by hand.

The process:

Started off at 80 grade wet and dry, although it scratched the surface more, it was needed to get an even surface and remove all the pitted spots.

This followed with:
120 grade
400 grade
600 grade
800 grade
1200 grade
1500 grade

With the sanding done i got a few polishes out for the surface to shine it up.

Started off with Blackfire Heavy cut metal polish, and then went on to the Blackfire fine cut metal polish.

This removed any residue and the heavy stuff cut the metal back a little more.

I finished with Auto Glym metal polish which was much better for actual polishing off the surface.

1 Cover done, heres the pics:





My favourite one..

they look wicked matt i bet your really happy with them now :)

you forgot to add i got stabbed by the ARB removing it from the car :panic:
that was such a hard task glad we sorted it out though.

have you fitted the new end plates now mate???

Nice one pal, keep the progress slowely moving ahead over christmas,

Its all the little bits and bobs that take up the most time - you have a completion date to look forward to now as well (rolling road day)

They're looking much better. Good job mate.

cam covers look ace mate:y: progress is coming on really well.