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Like many projects, this started out to be a simple, get the engine and mechanicals running, sand and paint. Possibly a six month program. That was in the fall of 2014.
The last person to work on the car was my cousin - the son of my uncle who repainted the car back in the 1980s. He had removed the head to have a valve job done, then I think he tried to re-use the old head gasket. As a result, it did not seal and the cylinders filled with water. Then is sat for seven years. I had pulled the engine after I got it back in 2006 but it wasn't for several years that I was able to locate parts through a friend of mine who was originally from the UK. A short time later, I discovered the Austin Counties Car Club and forum which has been a tremendous help and reference for parts sources. |
Engine RebuildInspection of the block revealed a huge crack in the side, the result of a thrown rod sometime in its past. The crack had been repaired and the block bored by a previous rebuilder. I had the weld re-done by a local machine shop.
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New pistons
My friend from the UK hooked me up with Earlpart - I ordered new .030 over pistons and all the other internals from them. At the time, I did not realize that the block had already been bored .030 over. More on that later.
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Sleeves
Knowing that the block would have to be bored further to clean up the rusted cylinder walls, I ordered sleeves from Melling and had a machine shop in Albuquerque, NM install them and rebore them to fit my .030 over pistons. You can see one of the sleeves on the cylinder to the right, That missing piece of the original cylinder wall is the result of the aforementioned thrown rod.
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