I will start keeping my eye out for a disc setup for the front. I may hold off on the engine going in until I can scrape the coin together to get the brakes done at the same time. Between the motor, carb, exhaust, head work, and now brakes...this is the most expensive $500 engine I have found yet! I'm stoked, but need to pace myself or the wife will kill me. 

Anyone have a used disc brake setup they are offing? Or an HIF44?

Quite a bit more!  Definitely a nice score!

Seriously consider disk brakes!  I forgot you have drums.... fine for a 998, but you're not "just" upgrading to a 1275....  You'll have to pull that thing down from serious speed!

The Titan 1.5 full roller rockers sell for more than what you paid.

Terry

I have seen too many people with 286 cams and the whole set up is not well timed. They sit at stop sign revving the crap out of the motor only to sputter away,when the motor clears there off like a rocket. IMHO a lesser cam will make your day a lot more fun.  Good on ya!!

Affordable Engine should be easy to get going - Add Carb and manifold/

Personally i would Choose single -simple carb and intake. 1 3/4 SU. 

Might want to consider disk brake upgrade with the leftover funds!

Hey guys, I got a reply from MED and got the build specs. It was done in 1997, 1380 ST3 head (which is very similar to a GT7 Longman), 286 Cam, Lightened Flywheel, 3.1 CWP Gearbox rebuilt. 

Bottom line, I bought a damn Acme rocket. This thing is going to be stupid fast. 

After kicking ideas back and forth with Jamal and going through photos. It has been recommended that I get the valves checked by a machine shop, and then put this thing back together with new valve seals (guides if needed) and give it hell. The cylinder walls look new still, and everything turns freely. I was hoping to learn more about getting down into the engine, but unless it's needed, I don't see the point. 

The water pump has been brought up a couple times, is that a  common fail point? 

It will be on the floor of my garage for awhile, since I don't have a carb or exhaust yet. I will get the head down to the machine shop this weekend and report back with their findings. 

So far...I agree, I stole this thing. 

Wow, you STOLE that thing! 

When you get to the crank, post up pics!  If it's a MED crank too, those alone are super wonderful.  Personally, I would bolt it back together and flog it.  The pistons, cross hatch and valves look like the motor was very low time.

Nice Find - !! 1380 Potential with only small ammount refurb needed. Ill give ya 800$ Plus have a shipper pick it up!

 Wonder if MED Engineering can tell you anything about the build based on that number??

  Since you have gone in - a light rebuild and you can come away hopefully without much major re work.

Since its bored to the max - you're there no changing that.

I would plan on Cam and Crank  and rod bearings - new.

 Depending on  crank condition - might need an oversize bearing or a just a polish and same size. When you get the bearings out of the bottom end youll know if they are oversize or not. i would bet with re bore- the crank cut and bearings were oversized too.

going from there- machine shop also check the bores for round ness - and if they need a re hone- Perfectly smooth bores arent great allowing   -  re hone with new piston rings -

Rock and roll.

add a new oil pump and water pump - Short Block Ready!

Top end - let the machine shop check head for flatness and sealing... perhaps pop in some new valve stem seals .

Go roll!  If it doesnt have a cam in it you want ( might consider as time to upgrade to match the 1380 + 1.5 rockers..).  I would be willing to be it has a fast road cam.  If it can be identified - ( usually stamped in the oil pump end)

Gearbox - 3:44 Common -  3:10 ratio is my prefrence     2.9 / 2.76  Highway eater - slower acceleration lower RPM's all around. highway cruzer.

I am curious about "a bit of smoke".

I would ask: Was it putting out a bit of smoke constantly (suggesting a ring problem) or duing decelleration of the engine (suggesting a valve seal problem).

As for checking the valves and for needing a valve job, start by inspecting each valve rim and seat to see of they have an appropriate lap (angle and width) and see if there is any discolouration or pitting. Then check to see that the guides are not getting sloppy, seals are in good contition etc.

You could test the seal of the valve seats by putting something like coal oil in the combustion chambers and leaving it to see if any leaks through.

I got a lot more info via a chat session with Lance on FaceBook. There is a stamp in the block MEDENG509M, so it was built by MED Engineering at some point. That would explain the stamp on the piston I found next, 73.5 BORE. It has Hepalite 1380 Pistons. So it's bored out .120 for a 1380...yikes. There is ZERO ridge in the cylinder, so it's good for a rering and running. I am now really curious as to what else is hidden in this little monster! I am going to get to the cam and bearing and see what's up. i am also curious about the clutch and gears ratios. This thing might be a gold mine of high end bits. Sounds like I landed a pretty sweet $500 lump. I'm excited. 

Seller knew nothing about it, except that it ran great but was smoking 4 years ago when he paid big money for a vtech swap. This engine has been sitting in the corner of his office since.  It is full of oil, and the oil looks good to me. 

I bought this motor as an educational experience. So I am not wanting to just button it up and drop it in. I want to know more, and learn more. I also don't really want a red engine in my car. So my motivation is to get it stripped down enough that I can repaint it Mowag green. 

I had a buddy over this evening, and he noticed that the #1 piston was nearly carbon free and had some oil sitting in the dish. The others had some carbon buildup, and #4 also had oil (but these were the two low pistons at time of disassemble). He said the one being clean, may be a sign that the rings on that piston had leaked causing some blow by, which would also explain smoke. 

I don't feel the need to unnecessarily bore this motor any further. Can I just do the rings and reseal that using the same pistons? The pistons also seem very deep dished. My other engine has flat top pistons. Is it weird that these are so dished? 

I believe you've got a .060 bore with the 73 mm pistons and the head looks worked with larger valves.  What did the seller tell you about it? You might want to put a new head gasket on it, change the water pump and drop it into your car.

What does/did the oil look like? or was it drained?

I don't know how excited I should be...but I am DAMN excited!!

I popped the head off this thing tonight, and it looks terrific. The best news started when I took off the rocker cover, to unveil a full set of Titan 1.5 Roller Rockers (left and right all the way across)!!!! 

Once I got down to the head, I found a pristine copper washer, and the cylinder heads had a little carbon on them, but not horrible. The cylinder walls feel smooth as silk, and I didn't feel any wear at all. I measured across with a micrometer and found 73mm to be the distance across, with 3mm between cylinders 2 and 3. What does that mean for bore? 

I am not sure how to assert if piston rings and seals are in order, so advice there is welcome. I also am not sure how to assert if a valve job is due, but I figure that's an easy enough task for the local machine shop. Thoughts?  I have attached a few photos. 

I am anxious for input, and observations you may have! I am really new at this, but so far, the $500 seems a VERY good deal!

Thanks Blue. My goal at this point is to not spend more than necessary to get a reliable engine. I am not racing this car, and to be honest, I have never been that disappointed in my 998 (which has a 40 over bore, and flat top pistons). I am more interested in learning more about the A-Series...and a few extra horse power never hurt anyone

I would like to reuse as many parts as I can without cutting any corners. The previous owner has maintained his story consistantly, that the engine was running just fine, but was smoking a little. I know he very seldomly drove the car, so I am not sure it actually needs anything done at all. But, I do want to tear into it and see what I can learn, and make sure everything is in order.

ve9aa-Rebuild the 1098 drive the 998.    Dirt-To start build a plan. What do you want and what do you need. After that,we can help.

dirt4 -

Good luck w/ your rebuild.  I keep thinking I want to do that with my spare engine (an old 1098) and take the 998 out of my car and rebuild that, to have one good engine and one good spare.....but I am a procrastinator.

Still, I like to learn, so will be watching this thread.

Howdy gents, it's been awhile since I've launched into a massive Carlton project, but here we are. Summer is approaching, and since I live in Phoenix, I need something to keep me busy in my air conditioned garage. I bought a used 1275 for $500 this weekend. I don't know much about it, other than "it was running, but smoking a little" when it was removed for a VTec swap 2 years ago. It has been stored indoors, in a nice air conditioned office since then. It comes with a nice radiator, oil cooler, and when I opened the oil cap I was happy to see the $450 high lift rockers looking back up at me. So between the rockers, and the oil cooler, I don't think I'll regret this project no matter what happens.

There was no starter, so I was able to use a screw driver to turn over the engine with the ring gear, and it felt smooth and easy to turn over. I could see a little rust on the top of the cylinders through the spark plug holes. There was oil in it according to the dip stick. The tranny is a remote style like Carlton has, the same exact tranny actually. I would like to use this motor to learn how to do a rebuild. So bare with me, this is where the hardcore NEWB comes into play. The deepest I have been into an engine is the headgasket that I have done on Carlton twice. 

My plan, is to just start taking it apart, and taking photos along the way. SO, please stay tuned for LOADS of questions!!! I also am now aware that I will need to hunt down a carb (it doesn't have one), and I don't think my stock 998 exhaust will work, since this engine has a LCB header on it.  I am picking up the engine in the morning, so I will get some photos going once I get back into my garage and get a better look at it. 

Thank you right now for the help! I am going to need a lot of it. Any words of wisdom before I even lay my novice hands on it?