Donor Parts

On the AK website, it lists the AK gen 2 as requiring the following donor parts:

Jaguar XJ40 1986 - 2003 (Outboard rear discs)
- Front axle - Bottom wishbones, uprights, hubs, discs and callipers
- Rear axle - complete on subframe
- Ratios - 3.54/3.58 from XJ40 3.6 Auto

AK require front bottom wishbones and uprights for modification (Exchange)
AK require rear wishbones and drive shafts for modification (Exchange)

Jaguar XJS - Handbrake assembly (or new item from Jaguar)
BMW E34 (series 5) - Adjustable steering column (including ignition key and steering wheel, although these items will not be used. Top spline has a nut fixing for wheel boss
Rover MK3 200 or Rover 25 Series (1995 - 2005) - Servo and master cylinder (AK pedal box)
Polo MK 2 - Heater

I decided that I didn't want to buy a donor car as I felt trying to remove the components from the car would be a nightmare, plus I didn't have the room. So I opted to buy the front and rear assembly only.
After posting a question on the Cobra forum to get some recommendations I decided to buy the donor parts from Jon at Simply Performance. Jon has supplied a number of other AK builders so knew exactly what I needed. I also liked the fact that if any of the parts were not up to scratch he would replace them.

I ended up going for a 1993 Jaguar XJ40 with a 3.54 non powerlock diff.

Here's the car!



And here are the parts!

So next job was to break it all down. Looking at the rusty bolts this was a job I was not looking forward to.
I started with the brake callipers. These were really easy and came off in no time.
Next job was the springs. I wasn't sure how to tackle these. A number of people recommend getting someone with a gas axe to cut through the springs. I found some local mechanics who could do it but they never turned up. In the end, a friend of mine sorted them for me. On the rear assembly he used some spring compressors to hold the springs in compression as he took of the top pan holding the spring in place. Once off he just loosened the compressor. He did the same for the front but we had to turn the assembly over and undo the bottom pan. Once the springs were off I was able to start removing the rest of the bits.

I won't go into all the details about how I removed each part, suffice to say I had to cut through a good few bolts and ended up having to buy an angle grinder with a bigger cutting disk.

I finally ended up with all the parts removed from the main assembly and a bench full of bits to sort out.











The diff I took down to Russell Ram to get it refurbished. Here's what it looked like before any work. I'll post a picture of the finished article once I get it back.

Engine Rebuild - Bottom End

Now that I had most of the parts for the engine, and it was painted a nice bright orange, it was time to start the rebuild.

Block Plugs
The first thing we did was to hammer in the freeze plugs. We smeared a thin bead of Permatex Form A number 1 gasket sealer on the edge of the plugs and then hammered them in with a socket. We couldn't get to all the plugs as the block was on the engine stand so we left these for later.

Next, we inserted the "hidden" oil galley plug. This is a plug that is located below the main cap. This website describes the correct placement of this plug:

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Oiling_system_Chevy_V8

We were unsure as to which plug to use. In the set I got from Real Steel there were two possible candidates. One plug was slightly too big and needed to be hammered in. The other was too small and dropped in. We went with the first one and hammered it in. Only to find out later it was the wrong one. The plug to use is an EPC108 - this was stamped in to the smaller plug. The plug drops down into the block and then stops on the ridge 1- 3/8" from the surface of the block - see diagram on web link. You then have to hammer it in from here.

Crank and Pistons
Next step was to fit the crank and make sure the clearances were correct. I was using the same crank that I got with the block and it had just had a polish at the machine shop so I had to buy oversized bearings main bearings +0.020" and big end bearings +0.010".
After fitting the crank we torqued down the main caps to 70 ft lbs. We got the torque settings from this site:

http://boxwrench.net/specs/chevy_sb.htm

To check the bearing clearances we used green plastigague - this showed the clearances were within tolerance.

Next came the pistons. As the cylinder bores had been honed I had to fit +0.030 piston rings. Having a piston ring tools really helped here. Once all the rings were fitted we installed the pistons into the block - using a piston ring compression tool. This proved to be more difficult that we anticipated as the pistons rings kept popping out the bottom of the tool just as they were against the block. The trick here is to get the compression tool on and sitting right up against the block. Then give the piston some short sharp hits to knock it in. After each piston was installed we put the new bearings in and then put the caps on. Torquing them down to 70 ft lbs. NOTE: Just seen on Real Steels website they sell a piston installation tool that looks a bit better then the one I used.

Cam and timing chain
Cam installation was pretty straight forward. Just slot it in. As this is a flat tappet engine it is recommended to give the cam lobes a good dollop of grease so we liberally applied Competition cam lube to all the lobes.
A new timing chain and cogs was installed. I'd lost a bolt from the large cog so had to order a new set - this also came with a locking plate that you bend over the bolts.

The timing set I bought was a Cloyes Heavy Duty Speed Set (C-3023XSP).
This uses a patented multiple keyway system on the crankshaft sprocket to allow adjustment of the camshaft timing relative the the crank shaft. Refer here for more information.
We set it to the factory specification so this meant lining up the marks on both cogs with the O mark.
We then fitted a new timing chain cover and balancer.

You can see from the picture that we have also fitted a new timing marker as well.










Oil system

The inside of the oil pump looked fine so we fitted the original pump.
We then fitted a new oil pan seal and the original oil pan. This will be changed for a new one before fitting the engine in the car.