Motor work

With the onset of cold and nasty weather, I have decided to spend the first part of the winter with the motor.  I have cleaned the workbench off and started the process of rebuilding the motor.  Everything looks good so far and with a little hard work, I plan on re-assembly soon.

I have identified the 390 the car currently has.  It was manufactured on August 31, 1967. 

The oil pan was filled with sludge, as I expected from the years of sitting.  What I did not expect was the sludge under the oil baffle on the intake manifold.  I originally was not going to take off the baffle, but after reading in the forums, it sounded like a good idea.  I will have to drill and tap the attachment rivets, but it was well worth getting under the baffle to see the mess.

I have a few options for gaskets and rebuild kits, but I think I may have new old stock kits from eBay soon. All of the lifters looked clean with no wear. 

 

I did start to catalog and clean the emblem's around the vehicle.  Looks like most of it will have to be saved due to the price.  Most of the outer emblem chrome is only slightly pitted.

I just need more free time!



2nd attempt after wet sanding



I have not made any major progress over the past two weeks.  Today was supposed to be a day of working with the intake manifold, but I ran out of free time quickly.  I did start restoring a few parts such as the front turn signals.  One of the gaskets had leaked on the right housing and it was completely filled with rust.  I am using Rust-Oleum rust converter on the small rust and it did a good job.  It goes on milky and turns into a black epoxy when dry.  I used a good primer over that and added the reflective paint.  It actually came out good.  I think I will sand and do one of them again. As you can see from the picture, the reflective paint shows anything not completely smooth.  I think a second coat of primer and some light sand paper will make it look new.

I cleaned the exhaust manifolds, which always leaked on the right side.  They are shot.  There is a lot of pitting around the gasket area and there is not much left to be milled.  I had forgotten that one of the bolts broke off many years ago and it was drilled out.  The bolt is not threaded correctly. 

Not much progress

Not much progress over the past two weeks.  I have been picking up items a little at a time when they go cheap on eBay.  The frame is ready for sanding/sandblasting and the parts are all ready to be cleaned and painted.  This weekend I will be cleaning and finishing the intake manifold. 
I have picked up an engine gasket kit and as soon as I get time and the garage cleaned again, I will be ready to start on the engine as my November project.

New Carb Restored



Before


The new carb has been rebuilt and restored.  It will be shelved until the motor is complete.  I was shocked when I finished and did not have any screws left over.  There is a first time for everything!

After







Before



After







After



Before

After

New carb is here!

No real progress this week, but the new carb has arrived.  It is not new, but it is new for the car.  I have opted to replace the Ford Carburetor Autolite 4100 C5AF-AA with a Holley 4160.  This is in line with what was available for original purchase and constitutes an upgrade in performance.  The 4160, although a workhorse, will be shelved for possible future use or sale. 

The Holley does have some positives as well as negatives.  The ease of adjustment and performance should offset any negatives.  Although this carb looks like it is ready to go, I will be rebuilding and restoring it over the next few days to new condition.  Even though it is a little 80's, I will be painting the carb with Eastwood carb paint.   Why not restore the carb to the original luster while rebuilding it?