It's back in AND running! Last Saturday morning I started to put the
engine back together with new gaskets for the rear main plate, oil sump,
tappet covers and valve cover. Nobody told me that removing old gaskets
is such a pain! Now I know! After reassembly I painted it its original
maroon red, leaving external parts like oil filter, generator and starter
motor black. It's a really good looking engine now!
Now the story about my transmission. I pulled the transmission 10 days
ago and after removing the side cover it was obvious that first gear and
reverse idler had to be replaced. Shel - your tip about Neil Estes was
just great! He did a wonderful job doing all the assembly and reassembly
while I supplied the parts that needed to be replaced. I spent about $200
for parts (used first gear ($50), used reverse idler ($20), new 2nd synchro
ring ($35), used 3rd synchro ring ($10), new layshaft ($28), new layshaft
needle bearings ($33), new front seal ($5), new rear seal ($5) and new
gasket set ($9)). Labor cost were $150, so I spent only $350 to rebuild my
transmission - I think that's a deal! By the way, the problem with my
transmission was caused by a badly worn clutch release mechanism which caused
the clutch not to disengage properly from time to time, resulting in
grinding ...
I also had to replace the studs at the exhaust manifold because there was
virtually no thread left. The machine shop charged me $40 to do the job,
I think this is just too much! At least they did it in a hurry. Putting
everything back together was a breeze, just a few scars on my hands. Late
Sunday afternoon I refilled engine, transmission and cooler. Then I pushed
the car out of the garage, getting a little nervous whether it would run
again, because I never did anything like that before! First I turned it over
a couple of times without the ignition turned on to build up oil pressure.
Then I turned on the ignition and it started right away - what a feeling!
I'm back on the road again!
Thanks for all your tips,
Christoph Widmer
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