Cylinder Head 6

Started to clean up the intake ports. They will be expanded from the current size of about 1-1/4" to 1-3/8" and will be essentially straightened a little through the process. The boss for the intake valve will also be reduced in size. This is not considered radical for this engine. It should remain very tractable but should breathe easier and provide more mid-range torque and throttle response. Also gonna drink more. The numbers for this head are W-1628-8. That means that it is the 628th made and is set up for a 8:1 compression ratio. This head also has a very low lift set of camshafts as did all of the early models. In fact, it can't be changed to a higher lift like the xk120MC version without machining the lifter buckets to clear the cam lobes.


The last two shots are from the exhaust port toward the valve seat. I need a longer set of dies to finish up the rough-in.

Cylinder Head 5

More of the roughed in exhaust ports. Note that I made the valve guide boss smaller and sleeker. I'm planning on reconditioning the guides so I'm working around them. If I were going to replace them, the entire boss could be removed and allow only the stem to stand alone upon replacement.

Cylinder Head 4

So this is the first roughed out exhaust port. The idea here is to clean up the lumps and bumps that can restrict air flow without dramatically increasing the size. Much cleaner.

Cylinder Head 3

Cylinder Head 2

First shot is the start of clean up of the exhaust port. Notice how rough the casting with ridges et al.

The remaining shots are of the intake port. Notice the curve and the rough casting again. The intake port is round while the exhaust port is rectangular and if you note on the first photo again, the edge is irregular. Typically, these ports are cleaned up when mated to the respective manifolds. The intakes are very close, the exhausts are all over the place

Cylinder Head

These are a couple of typical images of the exhaust ports on the cylinder head. This is a type B head so it has 1.65"(1-5/8") which are the same as almost all XK's. So this is the same as in the desireable C type head. This head is not known for its power but rather for torque and fuel economy. The intake ports are offset from the combustion chambers which causes a swirl to the fuel/air mixture. They are also relatively small so the mixture velocity is relatively high and that helps torque. So I want to breathe on these a bit with the idea that torque is most important, horsepower is ok, mileage be damned. So what I will be doing is cleaning up the ports and taking out the casting obstructions and enlarging slightly.

Timing chain cluster

All of the parts for the timing chain cluster arrived so I was able to assemble it and attach it to the engine block. Timing chains, wearing blocks, snap rings, Spring tensioner, springs, and spring tensioner pin, and some spacers were replaced. The sprockets themselves were in good shape as were the bushings and shafts. It all went in as it should with no surprises. This engine again is an early version that was originally manufactured without the upper timing chain rub blocks. I had this machined so that the later style blocks could be added. You can see these running parrallel to the upper timing chain, one on each side.

More oil pan

After the oil pan took its little bath and dry, the oil level sending unit found its home in the oil pan side. This a feature of the early cars. Later cars simply have a plug in this location. The way this works is that when a button on the dash is pushed, a gauge ( I think it is the gas gauge) switches over to read the oil level. First shot shows the outside. Second shows the inside float.


Then the oil pan baffle is shown with its new spot welds. This piece was broken in the oil pan and was fixed (sort of) with a couple of small bolts and nuts then smashed on the end like a rivet. Unfortunately. the bolts weren't tight and the smaller piece rattled.

Finally, the baffle is shown in place and the oil pan is ready to be reattached to the block. I still need a piece for the oil pump in order to close the bottom of the block.

Oil Pan

The oil pan came home this week from Wilson Welding where it had three cracks repaired. Once it arrived home there was a filing party to flatten the gasket surfaces. The flattened surfaces show in the last two shots. From there it went to the kitchen sink to take a bath and an air dry.

Oil Pump and Flywheel

The oil filter head is installed.


Then the oil pump is installed. The metal box assembly is one half of the oil baffle. The other half is attached to the oil pan. The oil pan is at the welders getting three cracks repaired and should be back next week. Note that the locktabs are installed and bent into position. All the rods and mains are torqued up. The crankshaft turns very freely still by simply grabbing the crank flange and turning.

The flywheel install was interesting. The flywheel has to be heated to clear the mounting flange, and I calculated that I would need to heat the flywheel in the oven to a 400 degree differential to clear. Not trusting myself, Dee and I heated the flywheel in stages, pulled it out of the oven and measured how much it expanded. The calculation was on the mark, so we eventually heated it to 525 degrees. Since I keep the garage at about 55 degrees, we needed around 455 degrees after I ran it to the garage from the kitchen. So we heated it to 525, I pulled it out with welding mits, Dee threw a towel over it and held the door, while I ran to the garage and attempted a fit. It fit. The old crank had 6 bolts for the flywheel. The later requires 10 so I need 4 more to finish the install. I need these bolts, a clutch disk and a couple of bushings that are on backorder for the bellhousing to attach the tranny.

In other news, timing chains and other timing bits are ordered and should be here next week. I'm going to get held up because of a couple specialty bolts that I can't find for the front timing cover.. Then the head work is going to cost a few nickels and will require a wait.

Missing photos