I started this week by backtracking a bit. I removed the oil pan as I didn’t remember if I’d torqued two of the main bolts down after swapping them. Turns out I had, but I just needed the piece of mind. So a bit of scrapping and re-doing things I had just done later, the pan was back on and ready to rock. The good news is I was able to verify that the process we used works great for holding the pan on, it’s really hard to pull off. I also had a near miss with the razor I was using to clean the surfaces for the new gasket. I have no clue where my good gloves went too.
Another bit of back tracking I needed to do was on the exhaust manifold. I didn’t really trust the cheapy gasket that came with but had initially used it because I had misplaced my MLS gasket. I managed to get a heli-coil kit in 8mmx1.25 thread pitch as well, so I removed the manifold and set to work. First things I needed to do was grab a drill bit of the size specified on the heli-coil thread chaser. Next, I used the thread chaser to essentially create my own thread. Last, they have you screw in the coil that will interface with the stud. It’s a fairly simple process and was easier than I anticipated.
With that done I turned my attention to the injectors. I needed to clean them up a bit and change the o-rings. Pretty simple stuff, but makes me feel a bit better about eliminating possible troubles.
Next up were the engine mounts. Weavers was able to press one out but they did a bit of damage to the inside of the steel, so they didn’t want to risk it on the other. Luckily, I was able to get a chisel on the inner lip and knock it out by working my way around. I did try and cut the sides first to make it easier to remove, but it’s hard to say if that helped or not. Either way, it was easier than the route most people take by burning the rubber out and then cutting the sides.
I also cleaned up my water pipe a little as it had some rust. A bit of paint and it looks good as new!
Since I had taken apart most of the engine bay and I’ve got a thing for replacing basically any part that may or may not need replacing, I got a new fuel filter and threw that on. Note to self: never again. The hard line that runs to the filter from the pump tends to get pretty rusty and isn’t easy to divorce from the filter itself.
Either way, I’m glad it’s done as it gave me a chance to clear some more rust off. Sam was also having some fun, pulling an engine from a Cutlass and a Camaro over Saturday and Sunday.
I had a bit of trouble with removing the front engine mount, which I had hidden in my car and forgot about until now. Nothing a sawzall and some more hammering can’t solve!
At this point I had a good collection of rusty mounts and other steel pieces that hold the engine in the car. I also had a bunch of POR-15, so I added them together. I also wanted to mention that it was oddly cheaper for me to buy six 4 ounce cans rather than buying a single 20 ounce can. Something isn’t quite adding up there.
While I let those dry, I took my throttle body apart to clean it up a bit. I also attached the cam angles sensor, or CAS, to the engine as it nests in between a brace on the intake that I’ll need to use use as an anchor point to lift the engine into the car. We were planning to put the engine on a hoist but didn’t get time, plus Sam needed it for his engine fun.
And then an interesting thing happened, I kept finding more and more rusty stuff that I need to paint or clean. Luckily, POR-15 is a rust encapsulator so I only have to get the big flaky stuff off before painting. I even painted a lot of the parts that bolt up to the firewall as a preventative measure. POR-15 also protects again oil and grease and the like, awesome! But please, for the love of all that is holy, wear disposable gloves and clothing when you work with this stuff. I read and heard that from multiple people, but I didn’t get around to getting any gloves. Now I’ve got stained hands for the next month or so.
My brother came by Sunday to clean out some stuff from one of our garages, and came across this lovely little guy just hanging around.
Yep, that was a rat. The good news is it’s not in my car, so I’m okay with it.
After finding even more metal to paint, I took the mounts that had dried and started putting in my Prothane poly mount kit. Most of these are just two separate inserts that you can easily press into the metal by hand. However, the front motor mount is a single piece that you need to press in. This is much more difficult as you don’t have a good surface to press against, you can see it in the bottom of this picture.
After no small amount of cussing, throwing, hammering, and swearing off working on cars ever again, I turned to Sam in hopes he would see through my blinding rage and help me out. Should have done that first. He ended up using a bolt, large washer, and nut to create a pushrod of sorts that was large enough to knock the now-super-freaking-stuck poly piece out. Then, I grabbed some dish soap and lathered the part I was pressing into the metal as well as the middle area that had gotten stuck before. Using our bench vice I was able to get the mount started into the metal, and then I used the home-made rod to drive it home. Much, much easier.
With the taste of sweet motor-mount defeating victory in my mouth, I went ahead and bolted them into the car. You can see the forward, rear, and passenger mount are all in place. The driver side mount actually attaches to the engine and then is bolted through the tower on the drivers side.
That’s about all I’ve accomplished this week. I haven’t had as much time after work to put into the car, and with the sunset coming on earlier than it has in a while, I have to really focus my weekend time on cranking away at this. I did also manage to grab another can of Thermo-Tec copper colored heat wrap coating and paint my exhaust pipes back to the muffler. I haven’t had time to wrap it yet, but I swear I’ll get around to it! I also got to talking with my brother about it and he recommended that I not wrap the downpipe as they had seen burnt valves in the race shop as a result of that. So I guess I’ll just be wrapping from the flex pipe back and whatever I can finish after the catalytic converter.
I did get a few more things attached in the engine bay as well. Here, have a pretty picture.
I’m getting close now, I need to think about breaks, shocks, tie rods, ball joints, and other wear items I’d like to replace as they’ll need to get here soon if there is to be hope of getting this thing on the road before snow. See you all next week!
Cars, Computers, & Random Thoughts