Hurricane Overhaul

I'm about to enter foreign territory. Going to tear into the F-head sitting on the floor of my garage. Seems to have good compression, thinking about just doing gaskets and accessories and calling it good; will have to see once I get 'er exposed.

Never opened one of these up before. I've got the FSM on .pdf, and I've read the tech page link to the 3b page. Still, any last minute heads up, words of warning and such for a guy that's never messed around with this "strange-to-me" valve arrangement? Anyone recommend one particular quality overhaul kit over another?

 

First auto engine I ever rebuilt and I didnt have any trouble. Heck if you do have any trouble between here and the 3b page someone will get you fixed up. Good luck!

BTW- Im sorry I cant remember what gasket kit i used.

 

I'd use the Fel-Pro gasket set. Has it all. Don't forget the head bolt under the carb. Use thread sealant on the head bolts when you put it back together. No real tricky stuff to the f-head. Take the head to the parts washer and clean it up real good, rocker shaft towers have an oiler hole in them, make sure they're clean. Check the block for cracks between #2-3 cyl. Most common place to crack from getting hot. Don't cut the rear main seal dowels off, they need to compress to seal. All I can think of offhand, HTH.

 

I'd be sure to have the crank, rods and block magnafluxed to avoid any surprises with an engine that old. Dissasemble, clean and test - don't go any further till the parts are checked. You'll have to pay for the last two steps.

Reread your post - gaskets and accessories should be ok, but I'd put your engine on probation for a while. If it were mine, I'd do a complete tear-down as above. The big ticket item is the pistons - if you can reuse your pistons, the total cost will be (comparatively) low. If you want to freshen it up, you can put in new rings and bearings and call it good. That would be a good 'middle road' for a running engine. Otherwise I'd pressure wash, add new gaskets and seals, some paint, and run it.