Waiting, waiting, waiting...

While we're still waiting for the timing tools to arrive, work on the engine hasn't stopped completely.

According to the tracking, the tools are apparently in the country now, but the only update we've had is still just "Shipped from France", which isn't exactly the most useful status in the world. So rather than sit around waiting, we've been focusing on the block in the meantime.

We're also waiting on the crankshaft bearings to arrive before we can fully assemble the block again. Until those turn up, and until the timing tools are here, we're in that slightly frustrating stage of an engine rebuild where there's still plenty to do, but a lot of the bigger milestones are on hold.

At this point, we've removed the head from the block so we could start working on that separately while continuing with the bottom end. It made sense to split the work up a bit, especially while we're still waiting on tools and parts. That way, we can keep making progress instead of just staring at the tracking page and getting annoyed.

With the head off, it also gave us a much better look at the top of the pistons and the condition inside the block. Nothing especially dramatic there, but it's always satisfying to get things properly apart and actually see what you're working with instead of only guessing.

One of the more annoying jobs was getting the balancer shaft bolt loose.

Normally, you'd just hit something like that with a decent impact wrench and let that do the work, because trying to loosen it normally tends to just spin the assembly. We borrowed a massive impact gun from a nearby neighbour, and even that still wouldn't get it loose.

So at that point, the sensible approach had already failed, which meant it was time for a less sensible one.

We removed the oil pump cover, exposed the chain, cut it since we already have a new one ready, then removed the oil pump entirely. After that, we wedged the handle of a sledgehammer between the balancer shaft gear and the block so it couldn't rotate, and then finally got the bolt loose with a breaker bar.

It was absolutely not the cleanest-looking solution, but it worked.

The rest of the work has been a lot less dramatic, but probably more important in the long run.

We've had the pistons out and laid them all out in order so everything stays organised, and they're now being cleaned and prepared before reassembly. It's one of those jobs that doesn't make for the most exciting update, but it matters later when everything has to go back where it belongs.

With the block stripped down further, we also removed the crankshaft and kept working through the rest of the assembly properly. Bit by bit, the block is getting cleaner, barer, and closer to the point where it can start going back together instead of only coming apart.

I also managed to sneak in a small April Fools' prank in the middle of all this by sending people a photo that made it look like the engine had fallen off the stand. Somehow, around 30% of the people I sent it to believed it, which is honestly a better success rate than I expected.

So that's where things stand at the moment.

Today's job is honing the cylinders, and after that we're mostly in a holding pattern - waiting for tools, waiting for parts, and trying to get everything else as ready as possible so we can move quickly once everything finally arrives.

Not the biggest update in terms of visible progress, but still an important one. The messy jobs are getting done, the parts are being cleaned, and the block is getting closer to being ready for reassembly.

If the timing tools and crankshaft bearings decide to stop sightseeing and actually arrive, the next update should hopefully be a bit more exciting.