Removing the cylinder barrels

After removing the rear cylinder head, I decided to press on with the cylinder barrel. Having played around before I knew the front piston was pretty stuck but having loosened the barrel bolts I could at least rotate the engine by hand. Doing this the entire front barrel was moving up and down the studs.

Cylinder cleaned up massively but not going any further!

There was significant carbon and a bit of rust in the liner, so I used the penetrating oil again over a couple of days. Unfortunately this was still not working, so I tried my trusty orange persuader. Hitting on the cylinder with the barrel supported by timber got some movement. I was hoping to get the piston far enough down the barrel liner to remove the piston wrist pin. It just wasn't happening and I was concerned about the hammering causing damage to other engine components.

I changed my attention to the rear cylinder. By this stage, I know I am going to have to hone the liners at a minimum, so removing the barrel completely from the piston is no concern. The barrel came off easily and is in pretty good condition. Unfortunately what I found next was not...

Peering into the crankcase, I was pretty surprised to find rust, and a lot of it. In reality, I am hopeful that the fact that the conrods are still attached, that all the bearing surfaces are OK (fingers crossed). It also explains why there appeared to be a smattering of rusty deposits throughout the engine - I suspect that it has been sitting around exposed and possibly then turned over so the oil system has distributed the rust infected oil around the motor.

Still have to figure out how to remove the front cylinder barrel. I will think this one over before attacking again. Full engine rebuild now confirmed!