Making head way!

We'll a lot of work has been done over the last two days. The head has been removed from the block, stripped, resurfaced, rebuilt, refitted and all the ancillaries re-attached.

Firstly everything the connects to the cylinder head was removed. I started with the air box and filter, moving down to the single point injection unit. I drained the coolant and disconnected the coolant pipes form the head. Inlet and exhaustmanifolds were removed as was the timing belt; i attempted to mark the cams and timing belt, but as i am replacing the timing belt, my marks were lost. After a bit of research I've found the manufacturers timing marks and will set the timing to these. The cylinder head was removed. Once on the bench i removed the spark plugs and the cam.

I took the head to Southern Rebore in Rowfant near Crawley. A resurface was £34.50 which is an exceptional price.

The head was then rebuilt, putting the cam and new plugs in. I attached the new thermostat and bolted on the new timing belt tensioner.

I placed the new gasket onto the block and lined up the head. Colin at Soutern Rebore informed me that there was a small crack between a water galleries and a bolt hole. This is not a major issue and he suggested putting a little instant gaskets around the bolt head just in case. So i did. All bolts were done up finger tight and all the ancillaries were reattached using new jubilee clips.

I need to check the torque settings and tighten everything up. Ill then try and start it before changing the oil and filter in case there are any debris.

Its important to note that with this type of cylinder head you must use new stretch bolts! Reusing the old bolts is a very bad idea! Buy a head gasket set with new bolts in it!

The total cost so far is:
Manual: £8.04
Head Skim: £34.50
Cam Belt: £25.45
Oil Filter: £8.49
Coolant: £9.99
Instant Gasket: £4.99
Filter wrench: £8.49
5l Oil: £21.99
Plugs: £11.95
Gasket Set: £23.50
Thermostat: £11.95
TOTAL: £169.39