well now that i have the engine on the floor of my garage (i'll have pics soon don't worry[8D]) i'm wondering what i should start with. the thing's got a lott of rust on it so i think i'm gonna go buy a small spot sandblaster tomorrow (on sale for like $20!) and pick up some high heat paint later down the road and get the thing cleaned up. i'm borrowing a friend's engine stand, so i'll actually be able to start working on it soon.i'm gonna buy a full gasket set (i just got a job delivering car parts today so now i get every part imaginable at cost pricewhich is awesome!). anyways...what parts aretransferrable from the NA 2.3? the turbo engine i bought didn't come with a flywheel, so i hope i can use the NA's (i think i can...right?). well what order should i do everything in? i'm thinking about just taking a million pics and starting ripping the thing apart and bag + tag everything along the way. then replace gaskets and paint. i think the engine has the valve cover blown - the yard i bought it from said it was a head gasket but on the exhaust side right under the valve cover you can see oil - and it would only smoke when it heated up (so hopefully that means no cracks!). we'll see if it's the head gasket when i rip the head off. how much woulda roller cam help? there are some pretty cheap ones on ebay. i'm planning on taking a million pics along the way to show u guys too. so what order should i do things in and what should i avoid? this is my first time ripping apart an engine so i need to know the do's and dont's. thanks alot guys - i'm reallly excited!

 

Good plan! If you've never torn an engine down before, you need LOTS of 'in focus' pictures! A factory shop manual would be great, but barring that a Chilton's or Haynes would help. Buy 2 boxes of freezer baggies (they'restronger). 1 box of regular size and 1 box of the larger size. Get a good black felt tip marker to mark the bags. A bench grinder with a wire wheel attachment is mandatory for cleaning up small and big parts and bolts. Almost everything on your N/A 2.3 is interchangeable to the turbo motor. The N/A flywheel will work although if you notice any checkingor cracks, get a new one. Around $60 at NAPA. A parts washer is worth it's weight in gold, however I remember on the first motor I ever built, I cut an old gas tank in half and filled it with a couple of gallons of kerosene. All I can say is, it worked!

Don't just rip things off and throw them in a pile, carefully remove each piece, clean the piece and accompanying bolts and hardware and place them in appropriate bags that are CLEARLY marked so that when you look at them again in a couple of months (and believe me, it will be a couple of months) you'll know exactly what they're for and where they go! I can't stress this enough for a first time enginebuilder, CLEANLINESS, ORGANIZATION and DOCUMENTATION! Inspect each piece and it's gaskets looking for cracks or anything out of the ordinary. Replace all gaskets, hoses, sensors, etc. Follow all torque recommendations. You'll have a good time and learn alot while your doing it! Good luck!

 

I'm the only person who doesn't lable his ****, I get it right most of the time, but lable EVERYTHING!!!! not everyone is like me

 

Sounds like fun! get some pics up and follow the methods listed.

 

Don't forget to seal every single hole in the engine before you sandblast.Bolt holes and all!Sand will get
in anywhere it can and just mess things up if you don't/can't get it out. Dragging it down to a Hot HOT
power wash will get a lot of the gunk off and mean less wasted sand and time.
Follow all the tips you've got and it will be fun. If you don't you may have problems that will turn
you off to engine building. Enjoy the sound of your "New" motor and break it in properly, and
you can point with pride and say "I built that!".

 

+1 for the lable and keep everything seperate method, im doing my 302 right now and it has come in handy so far for the little extra time it takes.

 

are the 2.3 n/a and 2.3t flywheels the same?

 

Yes

 

Listen to evinto Label and bag bolts etc separate sound extreme. Also do like me get a ring binder and diagram sketch the parts as they come off or take pictures. Later on when you got several differant length bolts and can't remember it will help. When I redone the Midget for repaint. doors, interior, fenders etc all off. Repainted apart. Bodyman didn't believe how quick went to together. Plus I redone small assemblies in bags while he painted car. So when he was done it all looked good.

 

Im building a 5.0 from parts, no labels, no bags...im just that good