RAWLINGS R30 REBUILD

This engine was sent to us by a client in Australia asking us to "please replace the compression"

No problem.

Her's the engine as we received it, looks brand new, only thing missing is the compression.

First step is to strip it down and clean and check everything to make sure that nothing is missed that needs our attention.

 

Having finally been able to dismantle this blessed English gem we found that there was an inherent problem with the engine. The  conrod was sitting at a very odd angle and had worn the big and little ends very very oval. The crankshaft journal had also suffered from this misalignment and looks somewhat like a cotton reel. After discussing these issues with the client the decision was made to go the whole hog so to speak and repair the engine properly.

Here's a photo showing the con-rod's forward lean.

First task is to clean the parts and then we'll make a new crankshaft and while we're at it we'll make it correctly and counter balance it properly.

Here's the new crankshaft blank ready for machining in the big end.

Next step machine in the big end journal, the lube hole and  counter balence.

 

Nicely refitted back into the crankcase and the new con-rod also fitted.

Next step, start on the cylinder liner restoration with new piston etc.

 In the meantime we also took the time to rectify an original design flaw in the back plate department and added a slot to allow easy fitting and removal of this part.

Here's the cylinder liner all nicely relapped true and round with the correct geometry added for better running performance.

Next up is to fit the new piston and contra piston into the cylinder liner.

And here's the restored cylinder liner with new contra fitted, new piston, gudgeon pin and con-rod all ready for reassembling into the engine.

 

Here he is all assembled and ready for the rest of the parts, now with a very generous helping of compression as well.

Next we will clean and refit the cylinder block and head, along with the redesigned contra piston pin that we will make to be able to keep the engine looking original on the outside and still utilize the cylinder head for compression adjustments.