irobertson

I was able to get some more progress today.
I put the pistons in the cylinders today.
I also pulled the spray tubes from my cam towers. I drilled & tapped the plugs with a 10-32 thread, then yanked them out with a slide hammer.

Now I need to get these cleaned up.
I'm thinking I should swap my glass bead out for soda and blast them with that so as not to rough up the machined surfaces.
Anyone done this?

Amber Gramps

^^^^^ SPAM

Love my soda blaster. You can get a 50# bag at Harbor Freight for dirt cheep. Has to be the best tool for restoration that doesn't fundamentally change the part you are cleaning.

whalebird

I like my soda blaster to. I get the medium grit from HF for most jobs. It makes my anodized aluminum pots and pans look like new without a trace of effect to the anodizing. I have had trouble getting paint to stick to pieces that I've soda blasted, even after I cleaned them real good. Might be the paint (or me) thats not so good.
Ian, I have found that soda blasting is really good to the aluminum parts I've used it on. Do bundle up and use a dust mask if you go this route. Get a second opinion however as there may be other methods better suited to your needs. I will say a gallon sized can of carb cleaner will do wonders if your part will fit in it; you may have to 'flip' it to get all sides.

irobertson

I took a run down to Watertown to pick up a bag of soda from Harbour Freight last weekend. I also picked up a MIG welder on sale for $200, woo!
I find the soda good at cleaning, but much less effective than the glass bead at taking off corrosion.
I got the rocker shaft bores cleaned out by wrapping a clean out brush with Scotch Brite, and scouring the bores out in the parts cleaner.

Ed Hughes

I hope your HF mig works better than the deal I got from them. The instant I touched wire to material, it sparked. It always kept a charge intternally. I donated it pretty quickly to the Salvation Army, and spent $500 on a real MIG.

irobertson

Hi Ed,
I have to admit, I was a bit nervous buying the bargain brand.
Seems OK so far though. I've been practicing a bit today. I can get a reasonable weld with 1/8" material, but I blew through the thin walled tube pretty quick.
I'm using flux core for now until I get a bottle.

Reiver

Really sanitary work. Enjoying your progress. I need a blast cabinet.

andy_uranium

Awesome work! Engine is looking good. I love these threads, great to help learn about these cars. Subbed for progress.

justinsrx7

Great thread Ian!!

irobertson

I'm super busy on a work related project right now, so no time to work on the car. However, I can still gather the stuff I need to get the job done.
I ran across to the UPS Store in Ogdensburg NY today to pick up my refurbished injectors, they look like new and were professionally packaged complete with the flow report, all matched at 65 (nice job Mr Injector), and I picked up my KEP Pressure Plate and Clutch Disk.

Ed Hughes

Ian, I can pretty much assure you your injectors will be a problem when you finally fire the motor. They probably will be stuck. I made the same mistake when I built my engine, sending them off to check them off the list.

It is best to wait until you are a couple of weeks from needing them to send them off. I used Witchhunter, who offers similar service, and he even posted the warning on his website about this, but I didn't see it. You may check with your guy on how to store and free them when ready.

irobertson

Thanks Ed, I will check with him on that point and see what he recommends.

irobertson

Well, I've been working away from home nearly every week this summer. As a result, I've had hardly any time to devote to the car. Now that I'm back home, I can get back at it.
Yesterday I fixed the little through bolt o-ring issue I had.
See HERE for info and pics on that job,
Today I was able to get the cylinders and heads installed.
Next will be tin, properly mounting the cam towers, then proceeding to the valve gear.
Nice to be making progress again.

Ed Hughes

Looks very nice!

Reiver

I agree, with Ed, you're getting close too.