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Got a call from the Machine Shop

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ronzet

ronzet

Jedi Knight
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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...
 
I dunno.....think I'd paint before installing the new engine...
 
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.
 
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....
 
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.
 
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
 
"Work goes on apace."

We get to choose that pace.

Go as it need to.
 
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.
 
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:
 
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!
 
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...
 
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! :smile: 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!)
 
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....
 
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.
 
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