The month of October was spent getting the engine compartment ready to install the engine and doing touch-up on the engine as well. The engine compartment has been cleaned and some areas like the upper control bushings and nuts, the original fuel and vapor lines, and other items had accumulated a little surface rust over the last 50+ years. My good friend Steve, spent allot of time, cleaning rust film off these original parts rather than replacing them. Once the rust was removed, the parts were prepped and coated with a K2 epoxy dead flat clear to hold off rust. The inner fenders, firewall, frame and cross member were not painted and are original. Steering linkage, stabilizer bar, steering gear ball joints and such are original. Most of the brake lines are original except for the one that crosses the front cross member. The wiper motor/washer, power brake booster and combination valve are original as well. I was not able to save the master cylinder. It had deep rust damage and I decided not to sleeve it. The replacement unit is an excellent reproduction. I was able to rebuild the combination valve but it was a difficult procedure. I spent many hours sourcing a tiny internal spring that had rusted into 3 pieces. Steve also spent most of a Saturday taping off and air brushing the exhaust ports and several other tiny "rat bites" on the engine from transporting and dyno pulls. It looks great again. I feel I am staying on schedule and plan to install the engine in the next week to 10 days. Here are a few pics of the October progress.
|