Got a call from the Machine Shop

[ronzet]

Well guys,

I just got a call from the machinist.. My block is bored, my crank is milled, the head is fixed, the rocker assembly is rebuilt, ad infinitum...

I am picking the schtuff up this afternoon and will be reassembling the engine, painting it Maroon, connecting the tranny, and installing the assembly on Sunday...

I should be able to fire it off Sunday PM...

As for the engine compartment... As you know, I have given this car to my wife who has yet to decide which shade of a <span style="font-style: italic">girly </span>color she wants... To me, if it ain't Red, Black, or
BRG... It ain't a B.... (In all defference to those with colors other than that) :smirk:

I think she is leaning to Iris since that was available on the pre 67 Bs... So the engine compartment will remain red/black/yellow until I get the bodywork finished. I will cover and tape the engine when I paint the compartment with the rest of the body....

This is a 'restored while driving' project.. The undercarriage is already re-built...

Film at 11:00...

 

[tony barnhill]

I dunno.....think I'd paint before installing the new engine...

 

[jlaird]

Yep gota do it first if you want it to be of any class. Even the wrong color is better than an after the fact thing.

 

[ronzet]

Tony,
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]
I dunno.....think I'd paint before installing the new engine... [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know.... Would be a whole lot easier...

With the pressure to get it back on the road I have opted to take this course... As you so well aware, pulling the engine and tranny is realtively easy in these things (and I have developed a bit of expertise in that area). I will likely pull it back out when the bodywork is finished to do the engine compartment with the rest of the car... I will be replacing the wiring harness, rebuilding the heater box, and various accoutrements...

May not be the wisest path... but there it is..

Thanks for the comment....

 

[DrEntropy]

I got to a point with pre-'68 B's we could go from having the hood raised to having the lump sittin' on the floor in front of the car in 45 minutes or less.

...the good ol' days.

 

[ronzet]

Doc,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I got to a point with pre-'68 B's we could go from having the hood raised to having the lump sittin' on the floor in front of the car in 45 minutes or less.

...the good ol' days.
[/QUOTE]

Isn't that the truth...

Back in the days when we didn't 'savor the moment'.. we just got it done...

Admittedly... I work a whole lot slower than a few years ago..

I was putting my pistons in this morning and, you got it, I broke a ring on piston 3....

Well, I guess I am going to take the advice of many here... strip and paint the engine compartment BEFORE I put the engine back in after all

 

[DrEntropy]

"Work goes on apace."

We get to choose that pace.

Go as it need to.

 

[jlaird]

At 69 years i have also slowed down a lot but enjoy it more. It is nice to enjoy looking and feeling the parts as they become a whole.

 

[ronzet]

Jack,

I am a decade behind you....

I really can't say I enjoy working on cars more than I did years ago. The creeping and crawling under, in, and around tight spaces just isn't as easy as it once was.... :smirk:

 

[tony barnhill]

Ron - don't feel bad - when I was building my Midget engine, I broke a couple of rings & had to wait for a set to come from England!

& I also work much slower than I once did.

Good decision on the engine compartment...I think you'll be happier in the long run!

 

[ronzet]

Tony,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Good decision on the engine compartment...I think you'll be happier in the long run!
[/QUOTE]

You are likely correct...

My wife is still not yet decided on the color of the car... But, moving forward, I have begun the stripping of the compartment and will, over the next few weeks, clean and primer. Hopefully she will have decided the color by the time I am ready to paint.... :smirk:

However... I am probably going to suffer the 'just as well' syndrome and end up completely tearing it apart..

One comment about breaking rings... Back in the 60s when I did many small block Chevies, a set of rings always included a few spares as part of the set... Too bad they don't still do that...

 

[mccalebr]

Good decision...paint first, then installation of engine.

I find that now that I have the TIME to slow down and work at MY pace, the work is better, I enjoy it more, and I usually don't have to go back and re-do it as much.

Ray

 

[tosoutherncars]

Just finished installing a set of rings... man, I'm glad I read this post *after*, not before. I would have been even more paranoid about breaking one! Thankfully all went well... (They should really tell you it'll smoke for the first bit while they break in, though. I was terrified something was wrong!)

 

[ronzet]

Duncan,

I am glad that you succeeded without breaking one...

I did my A a few months ago and completed the rebuild without a mishap... It runs REALLY well...

One of the guys, a fine gentleman and scholar, in the club has a partial set and has offered to give me a replacement ring...

Now I just need to not break another....

 

[ronzet]

Ray,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]I find that now that I have the TIME to slow down and work at MY pace, the work is better, I enjoy it more, and I usually don't have to go back and re-do it as much.
[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, with the demands on my time by a myriad of other tasks, my time is at a premium when I work on the car...

However, I agree with you that it is much more enjoyable because there is a level of confidence in what I am doing that is most gratifying...

Still, the fun is in the learning something new or remembering something that brings back memories of a time and place long gone.