Si2

I finaly managed to find a piston of the original size - so I can get back to working on the GAZ again now. Not a lot of progress since the last shots... Hope to get the engine block to the machinists again in November to have new valve guides fitted. Si

can you not just fit a hall affect ingition module?? There's on called an Aldon ignitor - you may need to measure up to find the mosr suitable one - but this is basically a block that replaces the points and a magnetic collar that drops over your cam lobes.. They are over £100, but you may be able to get a uxed one and just modify the points bit base to get it to fit - the magentic olccar is the one tricky bit - but I guess that depends purely on the dimensions of your cam lobes. Si

have you checked that all your valves are free??!! Turning the dizzy body will move the points in relation to the shaft lobes, so advances or retards your ignition point. UAZ 469 rotates the other way - that's probably where I have got the contra-rotating dizzy from - sometimes I see parts advertised as fitting both GAZ69 and UAZ 469. that doesn't seem to be the case...I have no 469 experience though. It's a tough one - it's all so simple in theory, but so complex in nuts and bolts.. It does sound as is you have an intermittent problem though - if you started out OK and then had issues later. Heat normally affects fuel not spark. Your talk of an electronic points module sounds good - I once had an MG midget and fitting an electronic ignition module made one hell of a difference! Si

the rotor arm will not always line up exactly with the cap contact - there needs to be a degree of float so that you can adjust your timing by rotating the distributor around the central shaft. The points are also open for at least 20 degrees - does the rotor move closer or further from the contact through that arc?? I have a very similar distributor on my GAZ, I did the same thing - replaced the radio suppressed version. I am sure it ran well before the engine seized up, but it was a long time ago. I have seen tow types of distributor advertised for GAZ69, one clockwise and one anticlockwise. If you have a wrong rotation then the rotor is moving away from the contact as the points open, rather than closer... I've also got a rotor arm with a very wide contact face that might help. If the rotor arm is facing nearly the right direction it should be enough to let the spark jump. I'm going to have to go through this whole prcess as I reassemble the engine. What I'd do is set the engine up at TDC on cylinder 1 and then drop the distributor in the engine. Mark on the body where the HT lead contacts on the cap are and put the rotor arm back on. See if you are on a reasonable position and then gently turn the engine over by the starting handle and see how the arm moves. Si

I made an equiry on the piston in Germany. It's anopther €22 euros to post it and they only take bank transfer which would cost me another £9.50. So I'm fishing in Poland again! Si

I'm trying to order the single piston now... Cam shaft comes out this weekend. I know one of the followers is rough on the top surface but I am hoping to be able to just grind it flat again and take up the slack with the tappet. I've no idea how I'm going to fit all those bits back in again! Anyone have any idea on the torque values for big ends and crank bushes?? Si

I got my valve guides from Russian spares. Very quick service and great prices. I wasn't looking to do a rebore, as the engine only has 20k km on it and looks in good shape. SI

I'm going for a rebuild. I'm quite keen to keep it as original as I can, it's part fo the charm for me. I have valve guides and new valves now, just scouting around for a piston. SO if you can find an 88mm piston then I'd be grateful. My workpal has a Polish wife, they go over quite often, so I've given them the same request for the next trip! regards Si

I have the original 2.4L sidevalve engine. It's got 88mm pistons. I tried to post some pics here but ran in to a few issues. Let me try again.. That's the broken piston... Si

I have to admit, we did use a big hammer - one each... Si

I got the engine out and to the machinists. We hauled it up on the mill bed and managed to drill out the valve, but we damaged the valve guide in the process. So I decided to strip the engine down completely so i can get the block to an engine specialist to fit a new valve guide. When the sump came off there were a number of large lumps of ally in there. One of the pistons has lost most of it's skirt. So there's more work to be done! I did take a few pics, i'll post them up later. Engine out was a reasonably straight forward process, there's plenty of room in the GAZ, especially with the bonnet, wheel arch and side panels removed. So now it's strip down, repair and rebuild time. In the process i found the timing marks as well! There's a tlittle window on the bell housing that allows you to look in and across a small spike to see the TDC marks and associated timing marks.. If anyones interested I'll post pics of the strip down and rebuild. Si