My Masi engine build

[Reaper1]

I FINALLY got around to getting my Masi engine up on a stand and officially starting this project. This won't be a fast paced thread, unfortunately. However, this is due to the fact that I will NOT be fudging it together. I'm going to take my time, do it right, and enjoy the eventual outcome when I get there.

My goals are this:
-take apart and document EVERYTHING about this engine and head
-repair and upgrade any deficiencies found to make the engine reliable
-make it look really nice
-install it in my '88 Shelby Z
-have as much fun as I can!

Eventually I would like to really go for it and accomplish this:
-a redline around 8500rpm
-make enough power to push my Daytona to 200+mph and drive it there for some distance (such as the Silver State Classic) while still being reliable (meaning not needing a full teardown, overheating, ect) and also drivable (meaning being able to drive it around town as well as on road courses)

Now, in reality I know I won't be able to use the amount of power that is needed for that kind of top speed on the road or even a road course, so most of the time it would be not tuned to "kill". I honestly think that 400-450whp is more than enough for road course duty (provided the power curve is long and pretty flat in the usable rpm range), and WAY overkill for street duty. That is WELL within the bounds of what this engine is capable of.

OK, enough blabbing...here are some pictures and descriptions.

This is the engine the way I got it...untouched except being installed on the engine stand.


This was out of a northern car, so there is corrosion and rust. There is 1 bolt broken off in the crank snout. Not a HUGE deal, but that means I'm in for a treat when I go to take the pulley off.


I'm not sure the power steering belt is supposed to be exactly there. Until I get to see another engine I won't know if this is correct.


It's not pretty right now, but in time it will be!


The dipstick was broken at some point and was "repaired" by welding it back together. I intend on fixing this little thing to make it nice again.


The very interesting throttle body actuator bracket.


The rat's nest of vacuum and PCV tubing!

[135sohc]

Whats the parts commonality of those to a T3 or Sohc engine ? penetrating oil and patience will go a long way!

[Reaper1]

[/COLOR]

Whats the parts commonality of those to a T3 or Sohc engine ? penetrating oil and patience will go a long way!

Surprisingly not very much. Of course the block is the same. It uses 8V timing gears flipped around. It looks like the alternator bracket, P/S bracket, and front motor mounts can all be interchanged. The throttle body is standard Chrysler, as are the injectors as far as I know. I don't know if the fuel rail is common or unique yet as I haven't taken it off. The FPR is common from what I can tell. The accessory pulleys and belts are interchangeable.

Other than that I haven't found too much else so far. Some of the bottom end gaskets are common.

[Reaper1]

The engine less the accessories.


Looking into the engine through the water pump hole. It doesn't look too bad!


The intermediate shaft sprocket was installed backwards. On the Masi it is backwards to what the 8V is if I'm remembering my 8V correctly.


Nowhere on this side of the sprocket does it say "front" like the cam sprockets do.


The passenger side engine mount assembly. This is the later '90-up mount that is common to all the 4-cylinder cars that I know of. I've never owned a 4-cylinder car newer than '89, so I could be missing something. Please correct me if I'm wrong!


The part number for the passenger side engine mount.


The A/C bracket from the back/distributor side.


The A/C bracket from the front of the car (upside down) This is a unique part to the Masi engine and uses a GM "lightweight" compressor.


The A/C bracket from the belt side


The A/C bracket part number.


The alternator and bracket. This is the same as any other later 4-cylinder.


The water pump. I'm betting it's shot.


The BEAUTIFUL valve train of the Masi head! DRROOOOOLLLL!!!!


An up-close of a cam lobe.


The sprocket end of the exhaust cam. You can see here the alignment holes for when you need to pin the cams in place while servicing the timing belt.


This head is held on by 12-point bolts. I don't know if this is stock or not. I'll have to confirm this.


The underside of the Masi valve cover. Notice the bolt-in cam baffles.


Spark plug tube o-ring.


One of the more concerning things I've found so far. This is the underside of the bolt hole next to the oil fill hole in the valve cover. This is what happens when you either install too long a bolt, or don't get any fluid out of the hole before tightening the bolt down. I did not find any aluminum in the head, so I'm hoping that whomever did this knew enough to fish out the broken bits before going farther.

[GLHNSLHT2]

the 8v timing gears are also shaved .100" The fuel rail is unique in it's placement of the FPR but a 1 piece blowthrough fuel rail will bolt on and work. My lower timing cover looks just like yours around the tensioner/ps belt. I thought they had just cut it to ease service.

[Reaper1]

The lower timing cover. I don't know if this is the way it's supposed to look or if it's damaged. I need to see a mint one to know for sure.


The other concerning thing I've found so far. This cam lobe is showing some flaking, but the good thing is I can't really even feel it with my fingernail. From what I found out this is caused by improper lash adjustment or a bent valve. These heads are known to bend exhaust valves, and since this is on the exhaust side, that is what I'm betting on.


Just a cool shot from the flywheel side of the engine.


The block is a commonblock! (I did know that just by looking at the oil pan rail, though)


The number stamped into the driver's side of the head.


My last attempt at being artistic! LOL This one's for you Marybeth! (not bad for a 3.2mp phone camera and editing on Microsoft Picture Manager I think! LOL)


There are a few other pictures I didn't post here because I didn't think they were too relevant. They can be found on my Facebook page.

Wish me luck, everybody!!

[cordes]

How are you hosting the pics? I don't understand why I can't see some of them on here, but I have no problems anywhere else on the internet.

[Reaper1]

I finally got my cylinder leak-down tester from UPS today, so I hope that either tomorrow or Thursday I'll be doing the leak-down on the engine to see how it stands in that area. Then I'm going to pop the head off and dig into the bottom end.

Pictures and such will follow!

---------- Post added at 12:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 AM ----------

How are you hosting the pics? I don't understand why I can't see some of them on here, but I have no problems anywhere else on the internet.

Facebook. I've never had an issue doing it that way in the past, so I figured why not!

[cordes]

OK, it's facebook then. Bryan/Dave is using it to host his pics and I cant see those either.

I'll still be following your progress though.

[Reaper1]

OK, it's facebook then. Bryan/Dave is using it to host his pics and I cant see those either.

I'll still be following your progress though.

Yeah, FB can be screwy. Thanks for the support though! I appreciate it!

[2.216VTurbo]

I could tell it was a common block by the fuel lines going around the VC instead of over it. Neat tidbit when looking at a grainy FS add

[Reaper1]

I could tell it was a common block by the fuel lines going around the VC instead of over it. Neat tidbit when looking at a grainy FS add

That is interesting!

BTW, Alan, what do you make of the one cam lobe? I already talked with Rick about it, which is how I was able to post what I did.

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 AM ----------

the 8v timing gears are also shaved .100" The fuel rail is unique in it's placement of the FPR but a 1 piece blowthrough fuel rail will bolt on and work. My lower timing cover looks just like yours around the tensioner/ps belt. I thought they had just cut it to ease service.

Dunno how I missed your response, but I JUST caught it. Sorry about that. I didn't know about the shaved gears, but it makes sense. I actually wonder if these aren't because it was not easy getting the valve cover off. It took some wiggling and being VERY careful!

Good to know on the lower cover. 2 for 2 so far...

[Turbo224]

Thanks for the detailed pictures of the tear down. I think a lot of us have never really seen the Masi motor pulled apart before, so you definitely have my interest. And those head bolts looks a lot like the arp head studs in my R/T...

[turbovanman²]

Awesome pics, thanks.

I agree, love the valvetrain, looks VWish,

The passenger side bracket, I think Dodge used that for everything, very smart really,

[johnl]

Good to see another one saved and soon to be on the road.

[GLHNSLHT2]

That is interesting!

BTW, Alan, what do you make of the one cam lobe? I already talked with Rick about it, which is how I was able to post what I did.

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 AM ----------

Just have rick weld the cams up and get you some more lift

Dunno how I missed your response, but I JUST caught it. Sorry about that. I didn't know about the shaved gears, but it makes sense. I actually wonder if these aren't because it was not easy getting the valve cover off. It took some wiggling and being VERY careful!

Good to know on the lower cover. 2 for 2 so far...

yes pretty sure it was to get the VC on and off, otherwise it's very very close and you'd have to take the gears off to get the VC off.

[Ondonti]

Awesome pics, thanks.

I agree, love the valvetrain, looks VWish,

The passenger side bracket, I think Dodge used that for everything, very smart really,

Yeah, nice beetle.
I have a feeling I would not enjoy adjusting lash with shim on bucket setups.

[135sohc]

I dont like VW's at all but when I did the cylinder head on our beetle... Gotta say I really like that valvetrain setup, less moving parts and no rocker arms to come flying out. Easily see how those little vw engines can rev so high and still feel solid.

[Reaper1]

If all goes well I'm going to do the cylinder leak-down test tomorrow morning. Once I have those numbers I'm going to get into the engine even more!

I REALLY want to get VERY accurate measurements of things like the crank journals, bearings, ect., but I don't have the tools to do that quite yet. I contacted Warren Stramer about what tools to get, and now that I have a basic list and an idea of what is quality I'll build my collection and go from there.

It's not going to happen overnight, so please be patient. I'm not a rich person by any means, and most of my money is going other places right now.

[Reaper1]

Well, it's a good thing I did the cylinder leakage test! Results....ummm...not good.

#1: 60% leakage. There is cross flow between 1&2. There's air coming out the exhaust and intake. It sounds like there is some in the crankcase, but I didn't feel any.

#2: 80% leakage. Crossflow from #1 and #3. There's a LOT of air from the intake, not much from the exhaust, and not much from the crankcase.

#3: 74% leakage. Crossflow in #2 and #4, air coming out of the intake and exhaust. Nothing from the crankcase.

#4: 30% or so. Crossflow out of #3, #2, and #1, a LOT of air out of the intake, not much out of the exhaust, and a small amount in the crankcase.

Good news is that the cams lobes look good and everything was moving the way it should. The spark plugs showed the engine was running extremely rich. I didn't note any oil on them and no wash-out, so that's all good signs.

I'm suspecting a blown headgasket because of the amount of crossflow between the cylinders. The leakage into the intake has me kind of stumped. I won't know what's up with that until I get the head off. That might happen tomorrow.