I would be very interested in who you went with for the chroming. AND to hear what you think, when they come back.
Agreed. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima The truck we bought and used to pull our 5th wheel has Ziebart Rhino Lining. I don't know much about it, but it is tough as nails. Doesn't chip or crack.
It's just in the bed. It was already on the truck when we bought it. Just letting you know it seems to be quality material.
I had big plans for this 3 day weekend. I had intended to do the disc brake swap but all the little odds and ends (bearings, seals, rotors, pads, etc) are all special order items. I'm too cheap to cough up extra cash for priority shipping so it'll all be here sometime mid week. Priority shipping alone would be well over $100! No biggie, I'll swap the engine and tranny instead. I've never pulled an automatic equipped engine before and it appears I need to unbolt the Torque Converter from the flywheel to get the two to seperate. I don't have a giant socket or breaker bar to turn the crank (if the engine is not froze up solid) to get access to all the bolts, so thats out of the question. I figured since all the front sheet metal is out of the way I'd just snatch the tranny while still bolted up to the engine. I took off the drive shaft, exhaust, all lines, hoses, wires, ect. Unbolted 2 bolts on the tranny crossmember, 3 bolts off each engine mount, tried to lift it out and nothing!!! I got a crappy engine crane from Harbor Freight and there is a bad seal thats letting the boom not support enough weight. No one seems to have a replacement of any sort on hand. If it ain't one thing it's another!!! Oh, yeah no one carries a lifting bracket that bolts to the carb base. None of these things cross my mind that I'll need...till I actually need them right now.
I pulled the 390FE/ C6 as a unit without too much more greif. Does anyone know how much they may be woth since they appear to be flood damaged? Core value? I stripped most everything else off the front end including the steering box but not the linkage. Scraped off tone of crud with my trusty screw driver and wire wheel, washed down with Dawn, wiped with mineral spirits, and sprayed it with Rustoleum Primer and 2 coats Gloss Black. I'll most likely give it another top coat after the suspension is all together. I started installing the front end rebuild kit I got from www.P-S-T.com. I'm installing all the bushings one side at a time so I can referance the other side if needed. I also installed spindles off of a 77 Thunderbird so I can have disc brakes. There is a pretty good tech article on the TBird Disc Swap here: http://7litre.awardspace.com/brakes.html. More on it found on the FordMuscle Forum here: http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/gal...brake-disc-brake-conversion-1967-galaxie.html.
I pulled the 289/ c4 from the donor car yesterday and started cleaning it up today. What a filthy mess!!! I sprayed it with Engine Bright cleaner, hit it with the hose, scrubbed with Dawn dish soap, laundry detergent, loads of elbow grease... barely made a dent. So far the best method for removing all the crud is an old credit card.
While I was reading this I was wondering if the cleaners were the best for the job. Fannies engine will need cleaning. Then I got to the end that said "barely made a dent" so I'm thinking none of those products. Expecting you to say a wire brush, but no, an "old credit card"! I'm not sure what that is but if you can get a picture or two of your before and after engine cleaning that would be great to see. Mean while I'll see if I can find one of those cleaning tools...old credit card...
My trusty wire brush is worn to a nub. Besides, every brush that I've used is quickly gooped up with crud. Scraping is far more rewarding. I'd give my left arm to just have is media blasted. Would need to be sure to have every opening WELL sealed though. As far as chemical choices are concerned, oven cleaner is said to work really well. I'm doing all this in my drive way where my kids play so I don't want anything too toxic. One of my buds took his engine to the car wash, sprayed with oven cleaner, and hosed off with the high pressure hose. Someone sniched him out because a cop soon showed up and he had some explaning to do.
I've always had very good luck with kerosene for breaking down old grease and grime on parts. The longer you can let it soak the better.
I use a big scrubber brush, simple green, and a power washer... I set my place on fire once with using kerosene.... that sort of thing kinda makes your wife ill about matters..
Scraped off most of the crud then wire brushed off any remaining bits. I'm going to replace the water pump and that should give me better access to clean the timing chain cover and stuff behind. The timing chain cover appears to be aluminum. Should this be painted ford blue too, left raw, or paint it cast aluminum color (Duplicolor DE 1650)? I was thinking of painting all the brackets the came color. On a different note. What all should I automatically replace on an engine that's nearly 50 years old? I need to rebuild the carb (hard to start), getting a new water pump. It came with a new distributor cap and internals with sparkplugs and wires. Is there any way to check if the crank damper is still good? Looks like rubber is dried up and cracking.
When in doubt about the damper, replace it. If it falls apart, people can die! Also, while you are there, new timing chain and gears. These old Ford engines used 2 piece rear main seals. I would change that, and while the pan is off, put in a new oil pump. I would also do the valve cover gaskets. They are cheap. Just be sure to use a torque wrench on the bolts. They take 6 to 7 pounds, no more.
Oh, Yeah! Biggest whiff ever was passing up my buddy's Tempest wagon when his mom put it up for sale. The 68 Impala wagon my mother bought had PerLux fog lights bolted under the bumper, in front of the turn signals, relayed to the light switch. Guess the original owner really liked the stacked look, too. And nothing says "Land Yacht" like a roof rack!
