Oh, that pesky rear differential

I had intended to make a bit more progress today, that is, until the "other" project began spiraling out of control!  Most of the day was spent firefighting (metaphorically, of course) with complete incompetents.

But, said I, I did manage to install the cylinder head, sandblast a few of the neglected parts and then tear open that noisy rear dif.

First the head.  After a final cleaning and some obsessing over the less-than-perfect mating surface of the block (in the perfect world, I'd have had that planed), on she went and following the tightening pattern prescribed in the manual, torqued the 15 bolts to 95 ft-lbs (in four steps).

 

Then with the help of my buddies sandblaster, I prepared the remaining unpainted parts for refinishing.  The hinges are for the hood.  Beside them are the brackets which hold rubber pads for resting the folded-down windshield (Rat-Patrol style!), and remaining are the running board brackets which mount to the chassis.  I really did mean to have TNT paint these parts but they were buried in a box and were forgotten.

Finally today, my good friend Orlando gave up his evening to coerce me into checking out that noisy rear pumpkin.  This was the "aching tooth" of this project.  And just as I feared, this baby will need a root canal!  But, I had enough rebuild parts to put it back together so that the project can continue.  It's far better than it was and a more thorough repair can be scheduled for later on.  TG!