Reply To: Da baby’s in da crib!

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Hey, thanks, everyone. Thrilled to have this car. @David Coco – nice color combo.

First up, I removed the oil pan. This was such a fun task, atop the creeper, layin’ on my back. When the engine work was done, the pan gasket was gray RTV’d on – thank you 🙄. A lot of time with a putty knife and some words for whoever installed the pan, and it was off. Didn’t look bad – no real build-up sludge to speak of.

Wire-wheeled all of the pan bolts and used one of my favorite tools to reform threads on a few of the bolts. THIS is the best thread reforming tool ever. I bought one over 40 years ago from the company that made them in Pasadena,CA – and they haven’t been made for close to 30. They turn up on eBay from time to time. Trust me – you’ll thank me every time you use it. 😘

I scrubbed and flushed this in my solvent parts washer best as I could. Talking with @Ed-Minnie, he suggested removing the windage trays for a thorough cleaning. So, I gave it to a friend of mine that will broach out the spot welds, clean ‘er up, plug the holes, weld and repaint the pan. Not a big deal, as I ordered up a complete gasket set from Olson’s plus a second pan gasket, and that’ll take a week+ to arrive.

Now, I was surprised [not the delighted kind of surprise] to see these cotter pin remnants in the bottom of the pan 😖. I am not thrilled with the way the cotters are installed on the rod bearing caps, they’re not tight. So I am going to replace them all to ensure that they fit tightly. These bits look to me like the part of the pin that was clipped off. I don’t see how these could have sheared off.

I removed and cleaned the oil pickup screen. This is the +before+ photo.

The steering box has oil in it – that’s good. The fan hub was dry, so I added engine oil. I’ll get the improved version from Cislak. Cleaned and oiled the air filter screen. QUESTION: Is there a suitable paper filter replacement for this oil bath screen?

I’ll service the transmission and differential next. Gotta get a fuse for the clock and see what I need to do to get it running. I guess I could pull the distributor and carburetor and bring to Cislak while I am waiting for the pan gasket. Not like I can run it, for a couple of weeks, anyway. @Jim-Chase pointed me to his excellent three-part treatise on vapor lock and how to mitigate it most effectively. I have a new Carter electric pump, gauge and Holley pressure regulator to fit. @John-Cislak suggests installing larger diameter fuel line from the tank to the pump. I am not sure I’ll get to everything before Hershey, but will do as much as I can. I could work with greater efficiency if not laying on my back. [Say with Bahstan accent] “Dis is +fuh da burdz+.”