[TPR] Asa's Engine rebuild update

[Asa Jay Laughton]

No Rod bearings again today.  I emailed the supplier and asked for a 
tracking number.
New parts from Summit arrived though... new Racing Harness to replace 
the expired one and an oil pan gasket set (trying a new "crush-proof" 
one from Miloden this time).

No work tonight though.  Shelley, Sam and I had dinner with my parents 
and some friends on short notice.

I'll hit the garage hard again Thursday night.
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 7/24/2012 9:33 PM, Teampantera wrote:
> Okay pussy you did it!!!
> Well.done....you DA MAN for a day ;-)
>
> Asa Jay Laughton<asajay at asajay.com>  wrote:
>
>> 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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>>>
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