I pulled the B20F out of my 1800ES today. With the head off I inspected the cylinders for wear. Looked good, cross-catching still very visible. I'm going to put new piston rings on, all new gaskets and seals, and an all new valve train. Culprit of the "mysterious noise", camshaft gear. The fiber gear pretty much fell out with the cover off. I'm going to replace it with another fiber one for now, though I'm hunting for a B30. Because the cylinders aren't exhibiting much wear I don’t need to do a full rebuild, right?

Coolness. Correct in that you don't need to do a full rebuild, hell, you probably don't need to do any rebuilding at all if you can still see the cross-hatching... How many miles are on that motor?

Anyway, by top end rebuild, what exactly are you asking? Because so far you've only mentioned the bottom end...

I'm in the middle of rebuilding my b20F head right now as well...
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Kyle - 142, 145, and 244! - Oregon Volvo Tuners?

Assuming that the engine is original, and I think it is, it has about 175K miles on it. By top end rebuild I mean a new cam, lifters, valves, springs, and guides. I'm also planning on putting in new piston rings and all new gaskets a seals.

Boy, Colin, I would NOT put in new rings. The old ones aren't even
broken in yet! That is just a bunch of extra work unless you think
they are gummed up or stuck or something.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

I wouldn't worry about the internals either, other than MAYBE the lifters, pushrods, guides etc.

Your intake valves and guides could very likely be fine as well, but the exhaust side is usually something that's always replaced when it's apart after a long time.

Before you go and order things, if you have the time anyway, take out your stock lifters and pushrods(labling them so you know what came from what hole and so they remain paired), and the cam to take a look at everything. If there's visible wear or pitting, then think about replacing them, but you could be fine if the car was taken care of. Maybe take some pictures for some further opinons after you remove everything.

Here's the link to my situation, but there's a TON of posts in there, and that's not even the half of it. I've been talking to people through emails and on Turbobricks in addition to what's been said on here: http://brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=1124198
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Kyle - 142, 145, and 244! - Oregon Volvo Tuners?

Soaked in oil since 1971.
Thanks. I was wondering if anyone else had the
30 year melting fiber cam gear senario.
Mine crumbled on the freeway 2 years ago
at 60 mph,and I was very puzzled because
my previous 145 ran for 15 years faithfully.
I guess it needs to be added to the 20
year old brake booster/diaphram failure.
Ken
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White 86-245 DL, M 46, IPD bars & Wagon Overloads,Commando Bumpers,SS Belly Pan & Air Pickup,Straight-Shot EMT Chassis & Tower Braces,Scorpius Alloys,2 Belt No AC Conversion,Black POR-15 No Glare Front End