re installing cylinder

I tried the hose clamp method and it was a terrible failure, so I tried Jim's method and it was easiest and the cylinder finally is on. Thanks everyone for making my first cylinder install a success, one last question: Since I only really get one shot at tightening those four allen bolts into the cylinder before the head goes on, does anyone use blue loctite or anything other than just torquing to spec?

Probably best to just use a light film of oil on the threads and torque them to specs. Jim

ludwig said:

Litterally billions of car pistons have been installed with ring clamps , so they can't be thàt bad ..
But then , there are ring clamps and ring clamps ..
Comnoz , what strikes me in your picture demo is that the timing cover is allready on .
I always time the cam after the barrels are on ..

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hi ludwig,how many of those billions of car pistons have been installed from beneath,building a car engine is totally different from a norton engine,ive built car engines and its a peice of cake,pistons rods clamps tapped in from above then bolted to crank,easy

Thats why you heat the barrels with the pistons in them. The barrels hold the heat for a long time and give you a lot of working time. Jim

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Aw yeah, just it was low 40's winter time and not enough heat on hand to get barrel hot enough to help. Anywho in these pistons the pins were tight to need a wood drift and tapping. That's how they came out but the jarring even backing up rod put me off to again fart with the hose clamps too many times till done and winded.
I'm only half ass pilot and less than that a mechanic, ugh.
This post aids my review and is therapy to face another full engine. This time I'm inviting a buddy to entertain, help advise and share beer and bandaids.

Ok hope this is the last about the cylinder. The manual really doesn't give specific nuts to torque in any order. I take it it doesn't matter from front to bacl or side to side which nuts are tightend first or last on the cylinder base as long as they are tightened to spec? It odes say to tighten is sequence, but goes on to show the 20 lb nut , then in no order the 25 lb nuts and omits the four allen bolts @ 30 lbs.

There is likely a sequence somewhere but I 'm sure you would be fine using cross pattern. I generally seat all of them, then torque the long ones in a cross pattern. Then I torque the rest of them, then I go back and slightly loosen and retorque the long ones. Jim

Thanks guys, I hope to have it buttoned up today.

When torquing plates or head or flanges down, helps to think of it a spreading out Al foil worked from center outwards and around like tire lug nuts. I usually made 3 passes, first good seating, 2nd good torquing, 3rd hi torque short of twisting studs.
I sure hope I'm not misleading any body but i farted around a few times going by manual torque sepcs and constantly chasing follow up nip ups, while my more experienced 4 decades long buddy Wes, does his once and stays dry. When I once helped take his '71 head and barrel i was surprise how tight he'd nipped up. Now I do too going by jaw teeth grit intensity just short of enamel chipping. Thinner fasteners of course make more grit tension to start with. Helps to have in past found the max torque and that 1/4 easy turn more in various grade fasteners.
So might suggest a bit over doing of the 4 hidden fasteners while able too and also suggest red strong not blue moderate loctite

I use VW ring compressors on my pistons and they close the rings good and slide down easy and are able to pull them apart in secons as well I use the u shape method to hold the rods and pistons and it always handy to have a secon pair of hands to help, I use Hepilite pistons with only 2thu clearence between final hone, nice and tight but have never had any problems with putting barrels on, just take it slow and easy and keep a eye to make sure the rings set in OK...

Ashley