Sheet metal pieces

Getting ready for the panel beater, I have acquired new sills, new b pillar shut panels, a battery box repair assembly, and some other odds and ends. I wait for the spare tire tray and for the boot floor.

Door Hinges

The door hinges came back from the welder. The only thing welded was the little rectangular stop block adjacent to the hinge pin or the hole in the second shot. The first is of the assembled hinge with the pin in location next to the stop. This is intended to stop the hinge pin from becoming frozen in the arm and causing the holes to become rounded out in the hinge box. Also note in the second shot that the arm itself has been drilled out and a bronze insert placed. This should now never seize and if it wears a lot, then the bronze bushing can be drilled out and replaced.

Carb mockup

The carbs have been cleaned. The starter carb bolt has been drilled out-I couldn't free it-and the front carb dashpot piston has also been freed. So these shots are generally of the carbs reassembled and put into position. They have not yet been rebuilt- just put back the way they should eventually look and fit.

I timed the camshafts sorta. I got the cam sprockets located with the cams at dead center and have one bolt on each side to hold the location. Chains are tensioned and the front breather cover is on for good. I want to fit the proper bolts through the sprockets onto the cams then run the engine around to determine the camshaft characteristics since it is not original. I know that the lift is greater slightly and the duration is longer than stock, but that is it.

Other news: the door hinges are off to the welder, the right rear fender is off for a patch panel, and some sheet metal parts have arrived.

Intake and Valve Cover mock-up

As you can see, I am not anxious to see this together at all. The valve covers and the intake manifold are not yet mounted. I have not finished up the cam timing as Peter really wants to be a part of this celebration and I need the cam sprocket bolts. They should be here on Monday. And the exhaust manifold studs (stainless steel replacements) have been installed. Looking good.

Head meets block

Well, the title says about all that needs to be said. One thing that I screwed up on here is that, in my haste to see this on the block, I forgot to install the four studs on the bottom of the head on either side of the timing chains. So I had to lift the head off the block and install them. It is a bit of a pain to lift this sucker once all of the head studs have been guided through. Oh well, no choice. So I got to put it on twice.

First two shots show the head in position. The next shows the head bolted down (see the chrome dome nuts), and the intake manifold studs installed.

Cylinder Head Returns

The machine work on the head is finished. I have been waiting for this but the finished product does not disappoint. So exciting! New valves, guides, springs, colletts and keepers, and seals. Then surfaced, valves 3 angle ground, new cam bearings, shims,etc. It looks great. One problem that occurred is that the chemicals used to clean the head also etched the polished surfaces. So we have another smoothing party (again poorly attended) and the head is ready to be positioned on the block.

Radiator Assembled

The assembled radiator returned. It looks really good. Hard to see here, but the steel side panels have been replaced with solid brass. It needs to be mocked up in position and then painted. I happened upon a guy by the name of Tom Shaw who did this work and if anyone is looking to do the same type of major rebuild on a radiator, I would highly recommend him. This process is not something that a person would undertake unless there is a strong reason to keep the stock radiator and if there is not another viable alternative. Contact me and I can pass along his info.

Carb clean-up

Carb parts have been soaking in carb cleaner and kerosene, and for the most part are cleaning up ok. Starting with the basics- the fuel line has been straightened. I couldn't free the fuel line front carb banjo bolt from the float chamber lid and broke it. The last shot shows the pieces next to the box to the far right. Damn. Floats themselves are good. After soaking for five days the jets freed up and let me remove them from both carb bodies. The spindles and buterflies are worse than I originally thought. After soaking there is considerable play in the spiundle shafts and bushings and they will need to be replaced. On the top side of the first shot, you can see the dashpot and one of the pistons. This is the only one I have been able to get freed up yet. The other soaks. Also, the cold-start carb attachment bolt is stuck holding the attachment arm, so it soaks as well. The cold-start selenoid (the black cylinder-looking thing in the lower left of the first shot) has been tested( it works) and has been cleaned and painted. The jets and needles look ok but will be replaced (I think) because of the higher compression ratio and reground cam. Needs lots of stuff. The parts list is getting pretty long.

Chrome Pieces

The seat frames, seat adjustment levers, seat side brackets,emergency brake handle and button, and engine dipstick have returned from the chromer's. They look great. The brake handle and the dipstick have found homes on the car such as it is. The seat side brackets need to go off to the welder to be fastened onto the metal seat back supports.

Still no head.

Carbs 2

More before shots. Peter, the dashpot plungers are stuck so I squirted them with a lot of WD-40 and let them set. Ok? I'll let you know when they are free. I hate to hold you up like this.

Carbs 1

I purchased a set of H6 S.U. carbs on ebay. Supposedly, these came off a Mk VII with 27,000 miles. They are rough but it appears that all of the important pieces are there. When they came both were froze at the butterfly shaft but a little WD-40 and they freed right up. The low mileage could be correct as the shafts show almost no play. Peter wants to redo these so I'm cleaning them a bit like I am sure he wants then I'll turn them over.