[tharkun8]

Its been a while since i updated this post.

I wasnt able to get to work on the car for the last month or so due to work issues.
I finally was able to get back to it last weekend and this weekend.

I have the engine and trans just about ready to pull.

i just have to drain the Trans.. remove the trans coolant lines and the gearshift
linkage then take out the trans crossmember and the engine mount
bolts and it should be ready to come out.

Since Ive been working so slowly when i disconnect something
I use a wire tie and a sandwich baggie to keep dirt out if i can. Thats
why you are seeing plastic on the trans and engine coolant connections.

Ive been trying to clean the engine up as much as i can as i go but
there is still a ton of dirt in the crevices.. so Im trying to minimize that dirt
getting into where it shouldnt.

In the last few days of work ive pulled the AC system, other accessories,
fuel pump and flex lines, starter, engine bay electrical harnesses.. carb and
throttle linkages..

each item is a first.. with several more to go.

once the engine/trans is out then ill move on to pulling the doors and the
front and rear glass..

in the meantime i picked up a set of 7k3 heads to use to replace the 91s on there.
they have 95 cc chambers and have already been mildly ported with a valve
job and new valve springs. My intake is a 75 so I dont have to worry about
the exhaust crossover but i dont like the EGR stuff on it so I am looking for a 72
intake somewhere nearby.. seems the 72s are real popular due to the exhaust
setup but no EGR stuff yet..

well im patient.. lol

John

[tharkun8]

Well another update..

I pulled the motor and trans on Sat morning.. the engine is on a stand and the trans
is sitting on a small moving cart for me to move around.

Im working on this car to make mistakes on and I made another one this time.
went to let the engine down a bit in the bay when i was going to reposition the hoist
but I lowered the engine too fast.. and since the trans was still connected it tilted
back and broke the top of the distributor against an electrical connection on the
firewall.



I picked it right back up as fast as I could and got it out without any more problems.
Couldnt see any other obvious damage.. and since I was going to go to an HEI anyway
I didnt care too much about the dist. but now I have to find a replacement connection
for the firewall.

Anyhow.. now its pulling the glass, dash, and headliner and doors then its time to take
it all to the body man for the fender replacement and other body work...

then the REAL cash outlay starts...

John

[63gpman]

As they say in the business "$hi+ happens"

If you are looking for parts, I picked up a 65 4 door and have started taking things off of it. I also purchased one of the Skip White low dollar HEI's from ebay that has had overall good reviews for what it is. I ended up going with dual quads so my points dizzy went off to sun tuned for a rebuild (should be back this week) if you are interested or need parts, let me know.

Here is a link to the HEI that I purchased.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PONTIAC-V8-B...ht_6118wt_1399

[tharkun8]

Well work is slowly continuing..

got the engine on the stand a few weeks ago and finally started a
bit of engine tear down tonight..

I am mostly following Rockys book on teardown.. just since this is the
first time I'm doing this. There have been some differences from what
he describes though so Im not sure what work has been previously done
or just one of those things. For instance there were no oil drippers under
the valve covers .. but I was moving right along bagging and tagging until
getting to the lifters..

The lifters are really in there.. and they werent really budging so before doing
something dumb and messing up a lifter bore i called it a night..

I have to say though.. I really am surprised at the amount of carbon deposits in
the lifter valley. Doesnt seem normal to me .. but what the heck do i know.
I did notice that the valley pan came off REAL easy.. and the gasket basically
disintegrated so maybe there was air leaks that were helping deposits form.

So what is the trick for getting out the lifters in this situation ? Are these valve
springs stock ? Im thinking they arent.. but Im likely wrong.



Thanks for looking

John

[Deadhead]

All looks normal and good. I have seen a LOT more crap than that in one!

Do you have the cam out yet? It has been a number of years since I did my last one, but I think I may have run across this and slid the cam out and got the lifters out that way.

Have fun. Rebuilding a motor is great. Keep up the momentum and stick with it until done is the best way. Getting all the work done and back together ASAP is key to confidence and remembering how it all goes for me.

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

All looks normal and good. I have seen a LOT more crap than that in one!

Do you have the cam out yet? It has been a number of years since I did my last one, but I think I may have run across this and slid the cam out and got the lifters out that way.

Have fun. Rebuilding a motor is great. Keep up the momentum and stick with it until done is the best way. Getting all the work done and back together ASAP is key to confidence and remembering how it all goes for me.

Thanks.. yeah.. i sprayed PB Blaster on them last night and am going to let them soak.
Ill do that each day.. I did figure that they could stay until I can get to them from
beneath.. maybe a small hex bolt and a small hammer from underneath can pop them out without too much trouble.. but ill see when i get there.

glad to hear this isnt too bad. As i said.. almost everything im doing here is the first time so i have no idea what to expect sometimes..
Ill prob run into the same sticking problem trying to remove the pistons if the cyls have ridges... Time will tell..


John

[Deadhead]

Pretty sure I remove EVERYTHING to the bottom end. You can tap the rods with a mallet and block if need be.

Don't get in a hurry to take it apart until you are ready to rebuild. Trust me. This is a big mistake frequently made. This can be one of the quickest easiest and most satisfying parts of the restoration if you just hit it and get it all done since the machine work not a big hold up.

[Engine-Ear]

Removing the lifters by pushing them DOWN thru the bores will prevent galling the bores in the block (which you do not want)...new cam and lifters going in anyway so ya might as well...

[tharkun8]

A bit more work tonight... took the heads off.. and the oil pan and water pump
and got a look at the guts tonight..

quite a bit of buildup .. thats for sure.. metal head gaskets.. not sure
if the pistons are stock or replacements but Im thinking replacements..
but obviously passing on a rebuild wasnt an option.. looks like the
driver side had a blown gasket between cyls 3 and 5. Also looks like there
are some cyl sleeves but I cant tell yet until I clean the deck a bit more..
could just be buildup lines from the gaskets or something.

Got the oil pan off.. it was dented pretty badly and you can see that the
oil pickup is dented and knocked out of position some..

I figure that this had to have been rebuilt before.. just from looking at the
parts involved and the reddish stuff in the block passages.. I can see some
rust but the red stuff looks almost like a putty or filler or something but I could be
wrong.

I tried to look for metal shavings etc in the oil pan but due to the dent
I couldnt drain all the oil since the plug was lifted an inch or so from the
bottom.. and since there was still quite a bit of oil in the pan I couldnt
really get a read on it..

Thanks for following along..

John

[tharkun8]

couple more pics..

[tharkun8]

Hey all .. FINALLY time for a bump...

the project has been stalled for a long time.. but its nearly spring and
time to get serious..

the disassembly is entering its last stages..
then its pulling the body off the frame.. having the frame and A arms
blasted and powdercoated then the body work can start.

mostly sat over the winter.. didnt have a compressor and was trying to
accumulate the cash for a 5hp 80 gal Eaton.. but.. something always came
up.. so I just settled on a 3.7 hp 60 gal Kobalt model for less then half the
price.. I'll take care of it right and see how long it lasts.. if i can get through
this car and onto the Bonneville it still would have been worth it. Cant delay the
project due to compressor any longer..

Heres some pics as she sits now..

next steps..

rear doors FINALLY removed ( the screw bolts have been a huge PITA -now can use impact gun - CAREFULLY)
wipers and wiper motor
steering column and steering box
brake system
windshield trim and glass
then body to frame bolts.

each thing has its trick but there should be more posts to come..

oh BTW. for the folks following along.. I have 3 1966 B body Fuse blocks
available for a small fee.. 2 are ok and 1 is rough.. but they should all
be reusable if in need.. only thing is i dunked them in simple green to
give a prelim clean and the white lettering washed off..

pics will be available on request..


John

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by tharkun8

rear doors FINALLY removed ( the screw bolts have been a huge PITA -now can use impact gun - CAREFULLY)

Amen, brother. I bought an impact kit from Sears that allows you to insert a big phillips bit into it...then you whack the back of it (or your hand!) with a BFH.

Originally Posted by tharkun8

oh BTW. for the folks following along.. I have 3 1966 B body Fuse blocks available for a small fee.. 2 are ok and 1 is rough.. but they should all
be reusable if in need.. only thing is i dunked them in simple green to
give a prelim clean and the white lettering washed off..

Selling these without the labels may be tough. I would discard any that are cracked or chipped.

[barrierblue66]

Bet it feels good to going again! Wish I had the patience I used to have. I'll be following along John.

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

Amen, brother. I bought an impact kit from Sears that allows you to insert a big phillips bit into it...then you whack the back of it (or your hand!) with a BFH.


Selling these without the labels may be tough. I would discard any that are cracked or chipped.

Thanks Matt.

yeah as soon as I saw the lettering come off the blocks I knew I screwed up..
but.. they dont make em anymore so if anyone needs one..

I tried using one of those spring loaded hammer tools .. didnt seem to work or I wasnt working it correctly.
I was whacking for 5-10 min and the screws were not moving.. I was worried about damaging the screws so I decided to wait
for some power assist..

John

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by tharkun8

I tried using one of those spring loaded hammer tools .. didnt seem to work or I wasnt working it correctly.

I was whacking for 5-10 min and the screws were not moving.. I was worried about damaging the screws so I decided to wait
for some power assist..

Please share what tools and procedures (with pics, if possible) give you good results. I think a lot of people have been in your shoes and many more will be in the future.

[tharkun8]

Hey all,

The weather was nice on Saturday and I got out to do some work on the
car for the first time in 6 months or so..

FINALLY got the rear doors off.. shows once again that the right tools
make things SO easy..

also removed the emergency brake pedal assembly and the main brake assembly
with the booster and master cyl.. Ill be going to a dual master cyl on the rebuild
since Im going to put Scarebirds disc setup on the front.. and maybe
even the rear setup as well.. I haven't decided yet.

so next steps..

steering column and steering box
wiper motor and wiper assembly
windshield trim and windshield..
frame/body bolts

then its time to buy wood for body supports
and renting a picker to lift the body off the frame

BTW.. anyone know offhand the size of the seatbelt mount bolts ? Im going to use
the cherry picker with my engine balancer to attach to the seatbelt mounting holes to
lift the body and I have to dig the bolts out to see what size they are...

then its the frame and susp parts off to blast and powdercoat

Thanks

John

[barrierblue66]

Sounds like you have your plan of action rolling along pretty well. Looking forward to your updates!

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by barrierblue66

Sounds like you have your plan of action rolling along pretty well. Looking forward to your updates!

X2!

[Deadhead]

Seat belt bolts are BA fine threaded chrome jobs with a thin head on them. There is an unthreaded tip on them to help center in the hole through the carpet. Nothing else like them.

What tools did you end up using to get the doors off?

[tharkun8]

Originally Posted by Deadhead

Seat belt bolts are BA fine threaded chrome jobs with a thin head on them. There is an unthreaded tip on them to help center in the hole through the carpet. Nothing else like them.

What tools did you end up using to get the doors off?

Thanks.. Ill prob have to dig out the bolts.. just wanted the
diam/thread size.. was going to use long bolts with nuts underneath
to take the weight off of the threads when i lift the body up..


I had 2 phillips screw ratchet heads for my impact gun 1 1/2 inch and 1 3/8th
used the 1/2 inch first and it got the hinge to pillar bolts off on one door
but then i tried the hinge to door bolts and the PSI was set too high and
the head snapped

so i got out the 3/8 and adapter and turned the PSI down to 90 lbs and went
slower and got the other door hinge to pillar bolts out. I still have to go
back to get the hinges off the doors but at least I can proceed
on the body now.. once the frame is out being done and I get
the body started ill work on the doors.

John