This is the feeling you get when restoring an old car. Your dirty filthy all the time. The chemicals are converting your skin to Naugahyde and time blows by like nothing. You want to believe all this tedious labor is for the SOMETHING. But somehow, the car and your pile of parts look mysteriously unchanged. This is the way my weekend went.
Okay, some levity: In fact, I did see some progress. I installed the clutch. It's hidden by the bell-housing so there is little obvious change, but it's significant. Here are some boring pics of the pressure plate and clutch fork. This is probably a few hours work. Much of that time was arresting the rotation of the crank while torquing everything.
I then went ahead and installed the clutch slave cylinder (sorry, blurry pic).
The parts of the engine block uncovered by components like the water pump and thermostat housing are not immediately discernible so you have to over lay the gaskets, draw a pencil line and then coat those areas outside the gaskets. It's that, or rattle can around the parts after they're installed. Since these parts are bright aluminum, which I intend to buff out to a "bling", I chose not to mask and spray. Now I wish I had. I am using a high-temp POR-15 engine paint that must be brushed. On smooth surfaces, it sucks. These surfaces were smooth, therefore the results suck.
Runs, drips, errors. Uhg.
Most will be hidden by the components so not to worry. Breath in.... Let the stress leave your body... breath out....
Where was I? Oh yes, then there was (a) Miscellaneous Part #1, a small stone guard that appeared in a random box. I have no clue where this baby goes, but it needs a coat of that ding-proof paint.
Then, while sorting out some of the linkage for the tranny and transfer case, I came upon Miscellaneous Part #2: It is the hi/lo range linkage for the transfer case shifter (yes I had to research that). It has a ball-joint covered with a small rubber boot and a threaded adjuster (which I am opting to leave alone, for now). So first, does the rubber look serviceable? Yes! Is the ball joint worn? I don't know, so let's take it apart and see. Ooh... Damn.... That's a lot of rust. Some vigorous cleaning and wire brushing and I think I can make it work. The lube that might have once resided in that joint was replaced by a healthy amount of rust which had no place to go because of the boot (which did it's job) so it acted like a pseudo lubricant. A bad pseudo lubricant!
I softened the rubber boot with WD-40 (bad for rubber but good in small doses), Painted the adjuster, then packed the joint with molybninum grease (good for ball-joints). And....not bad! The process to restore this diminutive part was time consuming but fun. Imagine, that rubber being supple after 33 years!
There were several batches of bolts that needed reconditioning and painting, none of which warranted photography. I coated the raw steel exhaust hangers with POR-15 and then hung the exhaust system for good. Incredibly, there was so little room between the headers and the head (a good thing) there were a few minutes of wrestling to get the manifold gasket in place. Now, can't wait to get the gleaming intake bolted up. Patience!
There were a few other parts installed today: The oil cooler, which is mounted to the filter bracket, all bolted to the block, plus the fuel pump. Note the brass outlets which are brazed to the cooler housing. Too cool. The mounting bolts are hollow and are sealed with bronze washers on the front and o-rings on the back. Interesting system, but it's a wonder it works long-term. The filter is the right thread (Ford) but the wrong diameter and only there as a dust shield. A leftover from a car I sold decades ago!
Lastly, the thermostat housing is in place. I would have installed the t-stat and the cover, but I think I have the wrong gasket! (hmmm, how'd that happen SOR?)
Good night.
