[TPR] Asa's Engine rebuild update

[Asa Jay Laughton]

No Rod Bearings again today...

... so I pulled the radiator.

Did I mention I really HATE pulling the radiator?
I HATE pulling the radiator.

- Drained as much as I could from the radiator.
- Drained as much as I could from the undercar pipes. (I HATE this part 
but it's better than dribbling another gallon of coolant on the floor 
when unhooking the pipes at the radiator)
- Then as I went to take the hold-down bolts out... and was looking at 
the concoction I put together to lean it forward, began to HATE the job 
even more.
- I couldn't for the life of me remember how I even got the silly thing 
IN.  (note to self... re-make the lean-forward brackets... LONGER).

So I get the thing unbolted and finally lifted out after about two and 
half hours.  Did I mention I HATE this job?

Whoa!  Geez the assembly of this radiator is sooo much better than the 
two pieces of crap I got from Summit.  And this is after 10 years of 
abuse in my car.  The cooling fins go all the way, tank-to-tank.  And 
the overwhelming majority of them are still straight, except where 
larger bugs and gravel have taken a toll.  And the pipe fittings?  Holy 
Cats!  They look -bigger- and go straight through... no restrictions.  
It's beautiful.

Now to figure out if it's really leaking.  After fighting as long as I 
did to get it out... I'm taking the rest of the night off (yes... I'm a 
pussy).  I'll rinse it out tomorrow, soap down the outside, put some 
pressure to it and look for bubbles.  Better to do that in the brighter 
sunlight -anyway-.

Note, you may recall I took an off-course excursion last year and banged 
up my front valence pretty good.  Boy did I.  It appears I also bent the 
drivers side radiator mount.  This doesn't look real pretty.  I'm going 
to have to get in there and do some percussive engineering on it and the 
valence.  Too bad the lower grill is welded in, I could really use the 
access. <sigh>  just another -thing- I need to do before putting it all 
back together.

I hope the bearings get here tomorrow.
I really hate pulling this radiator.

Asa Jay


Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism


On 7/23/2012 9:30 PM, Asa Jay Laughton wrote:
> Rod bearings didn't arrive today, so the engine stayed in the protective
> plastic bag cocoon.  Instead, I evaluated the oil pump and distributor.
>
> The oil pump is a high volume from Ford Racing.  What makes a high
> volume oil pump you ask?  Good question.  I took this one apart to check
> the gears and wondered that myself since it looked  identical to the one
> I took out of the engine.  Well, once I got the original pump next to
> the new one, it became obvious.
>
> A high volume oil pump, in this case, has a taller set of gears.  As in,
> a half inch taller.  Therefore it moves more oil in any given rotation.
> That was in interesting tidbit.  I'll take photos and post them later.
>
> I began taking apart my Duraspark Distributor that was on the Mach I
> engine.  Since it has a steel distributor gear compatible with the steel
> roller camshaft, I was trying to figure out which way to get it into the
> Pantera.  I had thought I'd just change out the top end, pull the
> Duraspark pickup out, remove the top shaft and replace with the parts
> from the Pantera distributor.
>
> Can't do that though, the housing is slightly different.  Oh well. Here
> are my three options:
> - Pull the steel gear from the Mach I distributor, put on the Pantera
> distributor.
> - Buy another new steel gear and put it on the Pantera distributor.
> - Install Duraspark II in the Pantera.
>
> Least cost at this point is to simply swap the gear from one dizzy to
> the other and that's probably what I'll do.  Next best option is to
> install Duraspark II in the Pantera, which will cost a little for the
> module and wiring harness.  Buying another steel gear would probably
> cost about the same as the Duraspark conversion.  I can wait on this one
> a little while, no rush.
>
> Tomorrow night, if the rod bearings don't show up, the radiator is
> coming out.  I'm caught up on all other activities in the garage... time
> to stop procrastinating on the radiator pull.
>
> Simple questions:
> - The oil pan has an extra bung at the front.  Good spot for an oil temp
> sender?  What are the recommendations for a temp sender/gauge assembly
> for oil temp?
> - What is the preferred aftermarket oil pressure gauge?  I'm thinking of
> mounting it in the engine compartment facing the rear view mirror.
> Which is better, wired or pressure tubing?  If wired, then I can run it
> into the cabin... but I have one of those already.
>
> Just looking for answers,
> Asa Jay
>
> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
> &   Shelley Marie
> Spokane, WA
> ******************************
> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
> http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism
>
>
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