Is it possible or adviseable to hone the original liners
in a '85 Spider? They don't appear to be scored or
excessively worn but wet compression test indicates
rings are bad.
Would like to hone the original liners, either in the
car or removed, and then put new rings on the old
pistons.
Does this sound like a reasonable thing to do for a cost-
effective engine restoration?
Maybe. Its all dependant on the bore size when your done honing. On a motor
that has been run a while, long enough to require the new rings, I have
doubts that you'll be able to hone the old liners and still be in spec on
the piston clearances. To much clearance can cause problems with the
pistons and with cylinder sealing. Also, too large a bore size for the
rings can make it impossible to obtain the correct ring gap which will
cause further problems with ring sealing. You can try honing one and then
measure it to see if your in spec or not, hones don't cost much so it might
be worth a try.