How to Build the Cheapest Motor Possible

Here's what a junk crankshaft looks like. Lack of regular oil changes will leave your moving parts looking like this. Our crank was too far gone to machine, so we replaced it with a different one.

Here's where a good relationship with a machine shop works to your advantage. You can take parts to them for cleaning, refinishing, and advice. Hernandez hot-tanked our block and cylinder heads, and glass-beaded and put a fresh 45-degree cut on our valves. He also inspected our cylinders for scratches and discoloration. Since everything looked good, we just needed to hone the cylinders rather than bore them out. Hernandez also Magnafluxed the block and heads for us.

As the teardown progressed, we examined the condition of the pistons and connecting rods. We thought the bearings looked terrible, but the JMS guys said this is normal wear, and not that bad considering the utter lack of regular maintenance this engine suffered. Hillemeyer told us to look for discoloration (indicative of overheating due to lack of lubrication) or deep scratches on the pistons, especially around the skirts and ring lands. Our pistons were in good shape, so we were able to reuse them and the connecting rods.

With any rebuild, expect to replace the bearings. We also replaced the cam, cam bearings, and lifters-a given when rebuilding an engine. We used a basic budget cam from Summit.