Engine Parts

Well I'm back to my normal pace, which seems downright pokey after the whirlwind of a couple weeks ago.  Oh well, at least it's forward progress.

I attached the driveshaft to the differential.  This was something we were hoping to do while everybody was it town, but we ran out of time.  That part was simple, but the driveshaft safety loop was a real pain (literally).  It theory it's not hard, but working a drill in the cozy confines under the car can be a bit tricky.  Add to that the fact that I was drilling through the huge 4" steel structural members, so super hot shavings of metal were flying off the drill onto my arms and face.  I had my safety glasses on, but when a burning hot piece of metal lands on your lip, it's amazing how fast you can move from under a car!

I bled the brakelines the other day and only have one very small leak at the front left tire.  Luckily, it's in the easiest place to get to and the shortest segment of brakeline if I do need to redo it.  But I don't think it will get to that.  I'll just need to reseat the connections and tighten them down a bit.  Even with the one small leak....working brakes!!

I also started putting in the clutch and accelarator cables.  They have both been attached at the pedals and the engine, but the lines between the ends have not yet been secured into the engine bay.  I'm waiting to see where everything else should go before I start fixing things down.

I haven't progressed too far, but I also started running the fuel lines from the tank.

And finally, I started putting various pieces on the engine now that it's in the chassis.  First, I put on the EFI throttle body.  And second, I attached the headers.  They were a real pain to install, but only because there was next to no room to work.  I had to modify the passenger side headers by drilling a hole for the EFI oxygen sensor.  I think it turned out pretty well, and with the body on it will never be visible.

I think next up will be securing the alternator and various parts and belts to the front of the engine and then the radiator and cooling systems.

What the garage looks like now.

Driver's side headers.  EFI throttle body secured

on top of engine block.

EFI oxygen sensor secured to passenger side headers.

Connected driveshaft.

Beginning fuel lines from tank.

It Rolls!!!

Well the guys have come and gone, and there's a whole lot to update.  I'll try to keep the introduction brief and let the pictures do the talking.  In short, we replaced a couple of faulty parts that arrived in time from Factory Five, installed the tires and did the preliminary "eyeball" alignment on all four corners, built and installed the engine and transmission.  We even had visitors.  Todd and his neighbor Mickey (a garage mechanic) came to join in on the fun.  And Howard cooked his famous ribs for the whole team on Friday evening.  Everybody was working hard and everything was going great until we started unpacking and assembling the engine, clutch and transmission.  We discovered that a number of bolts were missing, and in particular one special bolt that works with the clutch fork.  Who knew that one tiny bolt could bring all the progress to a screeching halt?  It was late in the afternoon on Friday at this point, so we decided to break for the day and devise a plan 'B'.  To make a REAL long story short, Brad, Grandpa and I began early Saturday morning by visiting a local Ford dealer's parts department and about 7 different auto parts stores to get the parts we needed.  We called ahead on the way back at noon and told everybody to get off their butts because we were back in business!  By late Saturday night, we had assembled the engine-clutch-transmission and installed it in the car.  This last sentence REALLY REALLY shortens the whole story, and skips a lot of laughter, colorful language and creative thinking by the whole team.

The team assembles.

Replacing faulty rear suspension parts.

Everybody works on this team.

Speeding up the inheritance.

It Rolls!! Brad "driving" his car for the first

time (with 3 horsepower).

 We wanted to see the tires with the body.

Starting engine assembly.

A lot of work later, dropping in the engine!

It's a tight fit.

Almost there.....

Something's not quite fitting....

Brad "adjusting" the frame to fit the mid-shifter.

Tightening everything down.

A very happy, but tired, team!