cheers max, I'm still undecided on wether I'm gonna drill it out though tbh. i was gonna drill it because i wasnt convinced the M9's 30NM less torque was up to the job, but now I've found the actual problem I'm unsure wether to do it.

ill have a word with my mentor but I'm not sure. hes been building engines for trains and stuff for aa loooong long time though so hes pretty good with this stuff, and he reckons the shells look 100% reuseable.

he didnt notice the oil scraper rings being fried as he hadnt seen them, he thought id replaced the rings so he didnt ask lol

The m9 bolts are sufficent on the 125hp GTI standard. So VW obviously felt the clamping force was enough, reason I'm going m11 is for head location/centralisation.

I'd measure everything mate, things looking good doesn't mean they are unfortunately, you have to remember shells and the crank don't come into contact, there's a film of oil between them.

It's just worth measuring, people want you to rebuild a decent engine without having to do it again, measuring everything is a pain in the arse and takes time but it's well worth it.

to be honest Eric for the price of new Main shells i would replace for peace of mind

I'm replacing mine that had only done less than 1k just because I'm now building the engine for boost

you can get main bearings and thrust washers for less than £35 and then your good on this engine for at least another 60k just think of it like that

same reason i am ..

Could of just chucked new rings in myself like i was going to do orig but would be kicking myself down the line if it started knocking etc

Eric as has been said if your gonna get the head bolt holes drilled get it done properly, it cost me £100 to have mine drilled but at least I know it was done properly and by someone that knows what they are doing. Still can't believe you were thinking about doing it with a hand drill and that certain people on here that should know better seemed to be saying it would be an acceptable way of doing it.

Tbh on an N/A engine its not needed anyway, the dowels locate the head and clamping force and the flat mounting faces of the bolt/head centralize the bolt in the hole

Mcloving bit offtopic but pm system playing up ..

You got any bare afh blocks.. Mine might be past its sellby date :( lol

Nah mate only block I have now is the one I'm boosting

be cheaper on bolts too if you kept the M9 ones and they are easier to source

Anymore progress on this mate?

no mate not as yet. everythings dismantled just waiting to order new rings and conrod bolts! i want it in by the end of summer, still got an inlet to make, and exhaust mani ect to buy too on my low asss wage!

pics of stufff from today

You got bolts in the end then

not yet.just assembled it for now but not torqued anything ect untill i get some :)

Lol you won't bother

I will do, although it looks as though the onld ones haven't necked tbh! But may aswell

nearly finished paint. needs a lil touch up here and there.

Race ?

..

getting mine skimmed this weekend and then gonna finish rebuilding it up :)

nice one mate!

nice work Eric, will this be in by polo show?

nice work Eric, will this be in by polo show?

Knowing Eric it will be in tomorrow

And out again Sunday

still think mikey is worse than me lol

Hmm, let me count..

Ten engines in nine years, here.

I couldn't help noticing that someone has pinched your paint and painted the loco in the background with it!

I am sure that your honing will be OK, but it does lack cross hatching - obviously it depends on what speed the hone is rotating at, but in general, the hone should be going up and down the cylinder like a fiddler's elbow.

Regards.

Mikey i think I'm winning then. This will be the 6th engine conversion in a year. Lol

David, unfortunately they all have to have an ugly yellow frontend by law haha! But yes, its is railway yellow on the block :p

we didnt hone it as such, just deglazed the bores.

The guy that helped me do it is a pretty experienced car mechanic, used to build race engines ect and he was pretty confident itl do the job.

Cheers!!