Father & son having fun

I missed last weeks post since activity was impeded by missing parts from Hurst.  The transmission kit I bought had the trans, bell housing, flywheel, pressure plate, hydraulic clutch, throughout bearing, pilot bearing, etc.  What they didn't provide was bolts for the flywheel to crank...really?  If you buy a bolt in kit, shouldn't it come with everything to bolt it into the vehicle? Anyway, I spent some valuable time with the car this weekend which included using Eastwood Exo-Armor to protect the polished components of the engine (  http://www.eastwood.com/exoarmour.html ).  This stuff is suppose to be good to 2000 degrees and held up against 4000 hrs of salt spray. An air brush was used for application.  This stuff needs to have thin coats and it was easy to build too quickly.  Overall, I was quite pleased with the results. I also sprayed the bell housing and transmission to keep them looking new. Here is the intake, A/C Compressor, and m...

Not to much to share from this week.  I've been neglecting the yard and such so, this weekend entailed the movement and distribution of 12 cubic yards of mulch.  However, I did find some time to work on the water pump.  Since my engine came from a truck, the accessories and such are not configured to fit under my hood. Here is the new water pump which I promptly pulled the heater hose end out and tapped the holes for plugs.  The new water pump fits the F-Body vehicle which also required a new harmonic balancer to re-position the serpentine belt.   Installation of the new balancer will require a special tool (M12 Threaded Rod) to do the job correctly.  The old seal in the timing cover came out pretty easily and the new one installed without incident.  I figured if I was putting a new balancer on, I better install a new seal. Previously, I had a concern with clearance on the headers.  I took a shot and ordered a set from Ebay which really ...

I was looking over some of the pictures in my post and for those people that know me, sub-par pictures are not really acceptable.  Anyway, I plan to spend more time on the details associated with documenting this adventure. This weekend was hot here in Houston...it is our bad weather season.  It seemed like I went through two to three changes of clothes just working through the morning, up through lunch.  Clothing needed changed because I was too soaked to be comfortable and not stick to everything I touched.  This weekend the work was focused on a number of small items associated with the rear suspension.  The drive shaves and shocks where the major addition this weekend along with other small pieces needed to close out this portion of the drive train. It was interesting looking back at the original strut rod that came on the car.  From what I've read, they use to bend the rod to achieve alignment on the rear wheel if the existing adjuster didn'...

I missed posting last week but things are moving.  After installing the engine and doing an initial fit of the upper control arm to the frame, it was clear we have a clearance issue with the water pump outlet.  Looking online, this is a typical problem for some swaps...funny that no one has solution for purchase.  So, it looks like I will be pulling out the current pipes, tapping them for a 3/8" and 1/2" plug and then relocate some pipe fittings else where on the water pump.  The thermostat neck is an easy fix since a straight version is available.  This is part of the reason I went with a cheap used engine first to prove out these solutions before dropping some serious money on a create engine.   This weekend, Brandon and I worked on the front suspension.  We are going with a semi coil-over shock to gain the ability to adjust the ride height.  This setup also allows us to adjust the damping level of the shocks.  I'll let Brandon take ...