Evaluating the motor's condition
Here's where we disassemble the motor far enough to determine how much work needs to be done to restore the motor's original performance. If you know you are going to put in big pistons and a racy cam, there's not much evaluating to be done. Tag along with the rest of us anyway. As hardware comes off, give it a soak in the parts cleaner can and a scrub, then dry it off and either bag and label or sort into your drawer organizers. Larger parts can be cleaned in mineral spirits in your oil change pan with paint and tooth brushes.

Remove the clutch
Undo the bolts holding the clutch cover to the flywheel at bit at a time, working around the cover. Note which side of the clutch disk faces the flywheel if you plan on reinstalling it later.

Take a good look at the flywheel and clutch cover friction surfaces. If there is any scoring or grooving, you will want to replace the cover with a new one and have the flywheel ground flat. Do not remove the flywheel yet.

Remove the head
If you haven't yet, remove the intake and exhaust manifolds. Remove the fan and its pulley. Remove the generator or alternator by unbolting the supporting and adjusting brackets from the motor.

Remove the thermostat cover (the thing the upper radiator hose connects to) and pull out the thermostat. Unless it's quite new, you'll want to replace it, but save the rubber gasket -- new ones don't necessarily come with it.

Loosen all the valve adjusters. Unbolt the rocker arm assembly and remove it. Inspect the surfaces where the rockers contact the valves for any signs of rough or uneven wear. Put this assembly to soak in your new oil change pan in some mineral spirits.

Pull out all eight pushrods (we don't care which is which) and inspect the tips for wear. After you clean them up, roll them on a smooth desktop (kitchen counter, coffee table...) to verify that they are all perfectly straight.

Remove all the head bolts and give them a soak. Grab the head very firmly and, without dropping it on your toes or throwing out your back, lift it onto your workbench. It's going in for (at least) a valve job, so don't disassemble it any further for the moment.

Using your long-nose pliers, carefully fish out the lifters without leaving any plier marks. Turn the flywheel to make them pop up where you can grab them. Each lifter must go back into the same bore it came out of -- keep them in order at all times! If you can see any perceptible wear on the bottom of the lifters, you are probably in for a cam replacement. Do not try to have the lifters lapped or otherwise refurbished -- they are case hardened, so any machining will expose soft steel with disastrous consequences.

Basic cylinder inspection
You can now get a basic impression of the condition of your motor's cylinders and pistons. The walls of fresh cylinders have a slightly rough "crosshatched" pattern -- if you can see crosshatching all the way around each bore, you are in good shape.

If the bores are worn smooth, feel for a lip or ridge at the top 1/4" of each bore where the rings never travel. If you can feel one, you will probably need a slight overbore and new pistons -- the machine shop can measure this precisely -- you may just need a hone and a re-ring job. When we get to the part below where we're inspecting the big end bearings, go ahead and pull the pistons out at that time.

Feel for any out-of-round condition in the bores. A broken ring will eventually wear a slight arc in the bore. If you can feel this, you definitely need an overbore.

A small amount of accumulated carbon on top of the pistons is normal. Just leave it alone. Large deposits can be scraped off, but this is best done with the pistons out of the block.

If you saw good crosshatching (or, at least, no detectable ridge) and no other perceptible damage, the economy-minded should be able to get by with new rings and no major work to the block. We're going to inspect some other areas before we're done -- you're not off the hook yet.

Timing gear inspection
Remove the metal heater tube from the water pump and the block. Unbolt the water pump and remove it. Do not lose the O-rings on the top of the pump.

Stop the motor from turning by blocking the flywheel teeth against a bellhousing locator stud with a large screwdriver. Use your breaker bar to remove the fan belt pulley from the front of the crankshaft. Force and an assistant may be required.

Undo the bolts fastening the timing gear cover to the block and remove it with a minimum of twisting so you don't damage the front main seal. Some prying may be required to start it if it was installed with gasket sealant.

While turning the flywheel through two complete revolutions, carefully check that there is no side-to-side slop whatsoever between the timing gears. A small amount of forward and backward movement of the large gear is acceptable. If the large gear is fiber, inspect it minutely for cracking.

If you discover any defect here, or if you plan on replacing the cam, you must replace the large gear. I suggest that you replace a fiber gear with the steel part used on the B30 motor.

Bottom end inspection
If your cylinders were in good shape, you can just about count on the main bearings (the ones that support the crankshaft in the block) being sound, so we'll just leave them alone for the moment. The big end bearings (where the connecting rods meet the crankshaft) will wear first, so let's take a look at them.

Tip the block over so the distributor side faces up (the distributor should still be on the block so its drive gear does not fall out).

Remove the many bolts that hold the oil pan on. Remove the pan -- a little careful prying may be required to start it. Do not bend the mounting surface.

Each piston, connecting rod, bearing shells and end cap are matched sets. Do not mix them, and note which side of each piece faces forward as you work -- they must go back together the same way into the same cylinders they came out of, even if you install new bearings.

Use the breaker bar to undo the two nuts on the #1 end cap. Pull the cap away from the connecting rod. The bearing shell may or may not come with it -- don't confuse which way around it goes. Turn the flywheel so the piston is at the top of its stroke -- then turn it back so the crankshaft journal separates from the connecting rod. Do not let the connecting rod bang around.

The bearing shells should be a uniform bronze color -- if there is white showing through, they are worn out. Inspect the journal surface on the crankshaft -- it must be smooth and shiny with no scoring at all.

Push the #1 piston and connecting rod out through the top of the block at this time. You may have to tap it out with a soft mallet or a hammer wrapped in a shop rag. Be careful!

Repeat for the other three cylinders.

Main seals
The original main seals (at the front and rear of the crankshaft) are made of a felt material and tend to wear out and leak oil, even on otherwise healthy motors. If you still have these (or what's left of them by now), they can be replaced with modern seals by having some minimal machining done to their housings. Alternatively, you can trade in your sound old housings for modern assemblies.

The front main seal housing is the timing gear cover, which you've already removed. Felt seals are held in by a large wire clip and a sheet metal retainer. Have a look at the integrity of the seal and the material it's made of. If it's felt, plan on replacing it.

The rear seal is behind the flywheel, and it's finally time to remove it. If you won't be having the flywheel ground, mark the flywheel and the rear of the crankshaft so you can reinstall it in the same position. Undo the flywheel bolts and it will come right off. It's heavy -- watch your toes.

Remove the bolts on the rear main seal housing and pull it off. Inspect the seal like you did the front one.

Conclusion
You are now in a position to figure out pretty much what will be necessary to make your motor run for a good while longer, restore it to new or modify it for more power, depending on your intent and budget. Go through your catalogs and talk to your machine shop to figure total costs -- then add 20% more for a "fudge factor."

At this point, send the head in for a valve job. This is not expensive if no parts are required -- and if they are, isn't it a good thing you're sending it in? The machine shop should be able to evaluate the head's condition and do everything necessary to restore it. This will give you a good feel for how long a machining job takes and what sort of a job the place does before you turn your block over to them. It is a good idea to have hardened valve seats installed at this time if you don't already have them -- the old-style seats will eventually erode with today's unleaded gas.

If you plan on installing an ipd high performance cam kit requiring larger valve springs, have the machine shop leave the head disassembled until your new springs arrive. They will have to machine the valve spring seats to match -- Iskenderian no longer supplies the cutter for this, so I wouldn't try it at home. If you want to reassemble the head yourself, you will need a valve spring compressor tool.

OK, that's it for this issue. In the next issue, we'll order parts, get the machining done, and put it all back together. If you must keep busy, this is an excellent time to do things like cleaning up your car's engine compartment, rebuilding carbs and the like.

Be patient -- the worst thing you can do when working on your classic Volvo is to get in a hurry!