Although I am not a mechanic I have rebuilt many an engine in my 71 years. You have done a great job of explaining the process of doing the work yourself. Thank you for sharing, and motivating people to do their own work! What a feeling of accomplishment!
Great stuff Oliver, lovely to see good old fashioned workshop methods used on the 2cv. I remember doing the de coke and valve lapping in on my dads Bedford CA van, which he converted to a “ dormobile” camper, ( happy days indeed) so your video took me right back. Basic engineering principals on the 2cv are all you need and exactly what you get. Look forward to the next vid on the pistons and rings. Will you give Jolene a little cylinder skim/ cheeky overbore maybe? Let’s hope the bores aren’t scored. Good job mate👍🏻👍🏻😎
Brilliant Oliver. Loved it, now can’t wait to do my spare 602 heads. I will check with my glamorous assistant (John) to see if he is fine with your father being ‘glamorous’ as well. 😎
Congratulations! I was actually a bit surprised to see that you hadn't done this job already, but then I smacked my head. With a daily driver, it must be very difficult to find time to do the things like this that need to be done, because of course, your car is out of action while you do! SO! Perhaps this happy thought will inspire you when you're frustrated with Pandora: Someday, you'll have both Jolene and Pandora up and going, and if you need to do something involved with one, like this, you can do so, while still zipping about the countryside, in style and speed, in your other beauty! - (re: style and speed, sure, both car has got buckets of both style and speed, it's just that Jolene, well, the balance might've fallen heavily on the style side of speed/style equation.) - And I liked your gentle nod to the folks who might've, you know, happened to clean up a few casting bits in their ports. Just. You know, might've.
I always tap the valve top prior to using a compressor just to break the seal with the collets and when finished I give the valve a tap just to make sure it is all fully seated! Those suction things are rubbish, I have had many over the years, really slow & frustrating, I like the valves with a slot machined into them so a screwdriver can be used - much easier! A job well done, thanks for sharing.
My technique too clean carbon build up: put valve stem into a rubber tube Put the lot into a drill with only the head out Put the head into a pot of water Rotate the drill at the slowest pace possbile whilst pressing fine sand paper against the head And voilà! super clean valve
Steel valves tend to work their way through alumin(i)um heads rather quickly, hence the valve seats. More engines can run without lead than people realise, although the octane rating is a different matter. Tetraethyl lead was both a lubricant and an octane booster.
It is too late for you now, but if you use a spare drill chuck clamed to the stem of the valve, you can use it as a much better handle to reciprocate the valve on the seat, you can lift the valve off the seat every few movements, that will allow more paste onto the seat, and also a very light spray of WD40 will keep the paste on the seat rather that it being pushed of of the way, I did see one youtube video of a car bodger using a pistol drill to spin the valve on the seat! History does not record how his engine ran after that butchery!, Stay safe! Chris B.
You reall do need to invest in a proper valve spring compressor, I bought a Sykes Pickavant one which compresses using a sliding handle decades ago and used on all sorts of engine, Mini to Lotus. Looking on ebay they are around £40 but it makes it an quick and easy one person job
Although I am not a mechanic I have rebuilt many an engine in my 71 years. You have done a great job of explaining the process of doing the work yourself. Thank you for sharing, and motivating people to do their own work! What a feeling of accomplishment!
Thank you guys so much!
Great stuff Oliver, lovely to see good old fashioned workshop methods used on the 2cv. I remember doing the de coke and valve lapping in on my dads Bedford CA van, which he converted to a “ dormobile” camper, ( happy days indeed) so your video took me right back. Basic engineering principals on the 2cv are all you need and exactly what you get. Look forward to the next vid on the pistons and rings. Will you give Jolene a little cylinder skim/ cheeky overbore maybe? Let’s hope the bores aren’t scored. Good job mate👍🏻👍🏻😎
Brilliant Oliver. Loved it, now can’t wait to do my spare 602 heads. I will check with my glamorous assistant (John) to see if he is fine with your father being ‘glamorous’ as well. 😎
Congratulations!
I was actually a bit surprised to see that you hadn't done this job already, but then I smacked my head.
With a daily driver, it must be very difficult to find time to do the things like this that need to be done, because of course, your car is out of action while you do!
SO!
Perhaps this happy thought will inspire you when you're frustrated with Pandora:
Someday, you'll have both Jolene and Pandora up and going, and if you need to do something involved with one, like this, you can do so, while still zipping about the countryside, in style and speed, in your other beauty!
-
(re: style and speed, sure, both car has got buckets of both style and speed, it's just that Jolene, well, the balance might've fallen heavily on the style side of speed/style equation.)
-
And I liked your gentle nod to the folks who might've, you know, happened to clean up a few casting bits in their ports.
Just.
You know, might've.
A fantastic video on such a beautifully sunny day. I look forward to the final rebuild. Thank you.
I always tap the valve top prior to using a compressor just to break the seal with the collets and when finished I give the valve a tap just to make sure it is all fully seated! Those suction things are rubbish, I have had many over the years, really slow & frustrating, I like the valves with a slot machined into them so a screwdriver can be used - much easier! A job well done, thanks for sharing.
It's good to see the process in such well explained detail. Thanks
I like your channel.
Love the 2cv's.
I have a 64 myself.
64 an excellent vintage
My technique too clean carbon build up:
put valve stem into a rubber tube
Put the lot into a drill with only the head out
Put the head into a pot of water
Rotate the drill at the slowest pace possbile whilst pressing fine sand paper against the head
And voilà! super clean valve
but the rockers aren't the same, they are mirrors of each other ,so you cant muddle them up.
Steel valves tend to work their way through alumin(i)um heads rather quickly, hence the valve seats. More engines can run without lead than people realise, although the octane rating is a different matter. Tetraethyl lead was both a lubricant and an octane booster.
It is too late for you now, but if you use a spare drill chuck clamed to the stem of the valve, you can use it as a much better handle to reciprocate the valve on the seat, you can lift the valve off the seat every few movements, that will allow more paste onto the seat, and also a very light spray of WD40 will keep the paste on the seat rather that it being pushed of of the way, I did see one youtube video of a car bodger using a pistol drill to spin the valve on the seat! History does not record how his engine ran after that butchery!, Stay safe! Chris B.
You reall do need to invest in a proper valve spring compressor, I bought a Sykes Pickavant one which compresses using a sliding handle decades ago and used on all sorts of engine, Mini to Lotus. Looking on ebay they are around £40 but it makes it an quick and easy one person job
Whats happening with the GTM project
As soon as my daily is back on the road it's engine mounts and suspension time for Pandora
Nice , it will help me restauring mine (on my channel)