dead engine, new engine

[mterrens]

I am sure that most folks here are fed up with my moaning and pondering about the noise my Coupe's engine has been making over the last few months. Now I have something new to ponder - and to be excited about too.
I took the Coupe out yesterday for a quick spin just to listen the engine once more before I took it apart to find the problem. About a mile from home the sound suddenly went from an annoying tin-can rattle to a hellacious BANGBANGBANGBANG, like something big cut loose inside the engine. I coasted to a stop, started it (the new noise still there) and found the engine would die immediately upon putting the car into gear. I think the problem will be much easier to find now. Thank goodness for AAA, hauling my sorry butt home.
ON THE OTHER HAND, just days ago I entered into an agreement with fellow listmember Eddie Lim to buy the recently rebuilt engine out of his Sedan, complete with new clutch and .050-oversized cylinders. We sat a temporary gas tank (a 1 gallon can) in the engine bay as his tank was shot, and took it for a quick test drive. The engine sounded beautiful. Today we got it out of his sedan and into the back of my minivan. Now it sits in wait for a cleanup and a swap into my Coupe. It isn't exactly kosher as it is a sedan engine, but the darn thing RUNS and now I can take my time poking at the dead one.
Needless to say I will be documenting my experiences with the engine swap and the diagnosis and posting it here and on my website.
Steve
www.honda600coupe.com

[Miles]

It is easy to convert the sedan engine to coupe simply by swapping
the coupe cam & gears/housing and lid. Some of the sedans already
have the coupe cam fitted and many of the cam boxes have the boss
which can be drilled and tapped to use the coupe lid. Hopefully the
engine you are getting is a synchro trans. Easy to know by the engine
number N600E-15..... or N600E-25..... are the synchro ones.
Miles