Hailing originally from New Zealand, Des Hammill is a professional engineer with many years of practical experience of building race-winning engines and solving technical problems. The author of several books in the SpeedPro series, Des writes in an easy to understand manner and gives step-by-step guidance. Des also takes his own photographs and creates his own line drawings.

• Using this book
• Essential information
• Sierra Cosworth engine

• Standard connecting rods
• Forged connecting rods
• Later, cast connecting rods
• Cosworth rods
• Standard connecting rods
• Camshaft lobes and rockers
• Camshaft pillars
• Camshaft bearings
• Piston to valve contact
• Auxiliary shaft gear wear
• Loose sprockets
• Valve guides

• Pistons and connecting rods
• Piston & connecting rod weights
• Piston & connecting rods
• Crankshaft and flywheel
• Large capacity engines
• Clutches

• Pistons
• Forged pistons
• Piston ring sets
• Crankshaft bearings
• Camshaft bearings
• Camshaft spray bar
• Camshaft kit
• Gaskets
• Special bolts
• Auxiliary shaft bearing
• Seals
• Valves
• Competition valves
• Valve retainers and keepers
• Valve stem seals
• Oil pump and oil pump drive
• Sump (oil pan)
• Dry sump
• Timing belt
• Camshaft and auxiliary shaft thrust plates

• Permissible bore oversizes
• Repaired blocks
• Component inspection
• Block & main bearings
• Main bearing caps
• Check-fitting main bearing shells
• Checking bearing crush
• Connecting rod checks
• Connecting rod crack testing
• Connecting rod straightness
• Connecting rod length
• Connecting rod hardness
• Piston pin to connecting rod fit
• Checking connecting rod big end tunnel size
• Connecting rod crankshaft bearing tunnel resizing
• Removing connecting rod bolts
• Refacing connecting rod and cap joint
• Fitting new connecting rod bolts
• Connecting rod bearing tunnel honing
• Aftermarket connecting rods
• Connecting rod bolts
• Checking connecting rod bolts for stretch
• Connecting rod bearing crush
• Checking connecting rod bearing internal diameters
• Optimum connecting rod bearing clearances
• Crankshaft
• Crankshaft checking
• Crack testing
• Checking straightness
• Crankshaft detailing
• Measuring journals
• Crankshaft regrinding
• 'Check-fitting' connecting rods to crankshaft
• Building the short block

• Valves
• The benefit of larger valves
• Group 1-type valves (1800/2000 engines)
• Group 2 inlet valves (2000 engines)
• Sierra IS head/valves
• Valve size summary
• Valve throat size
• Inlet port size (std size valves)
• Exhaust port size (std size valves)
• Valve throat & port modifications (std size valves)
• Valve unmasking
• Inlet ports
• Exhaust ports
• Large valve modifications
• Enlarging exhaust ports (large valves)
• Valve guides

• Head planing
• Thinner head gasket
• Block planing
• Raised top pistons
• 'O' ringing blocks
• Compression ratio summary

• Standard camshaft
• High-performance camshafts
• Choosing a camshaft
• Competition engines
• Camshaft data requirements
• Holbay roller camshafts
• Camshaft timing
• Camshaft summary

• Valve spring dimensions
• Standard valve spring data
• Measuring valve spring poundage
• Advertised valve lift
• Competition engines
• Valve spring summary

• Rocker geometry criteria
• Valve stem height
• Altered rocker geometry
• Lash caps
• Rocker sizes/designs
• Roller rockers
• Checking rocker geometry

• Standard cast iron exhaust manifold
• Exhaust system construction
• Four into two into one
• Four into one
• Primary pipes
• Primary pipe diameters
• Primary pipe lengths
• Equal length primary pipes

• Engine balance
• Flywheel
• Engine balance

• Distributor spindle
• Drive gear
• Endfloat/endplay
• Contact breaker points
• Condenser
• Electronic module
• Distributor cap
• Rotor arm
• Coil
• Low voltage conventional (standard) coil
• Uprated low voltage conventional coil
• Ballast resistor coils
• Electronic coils
• High tension wires
• Sparkplugs
• Checking spark quality
• Wiring & connections
• Alternator Ignition switch
• High tension current (points type distributor)
• High tension current (electronic type distributor)
• Ignition timing marks
• Checking TDC markings
• Marking crankshaft damper/pulley