On Saturday we built the motor. Kim had found everything on my
list except for the flex hone (TM) that everyone had raved about.
The guy at the store showed her a regular hone ("looked like a
windshield wiper on a stick," Kim said), which she wisely refused.
They had to special order the ring compressor for pistons my size
(smaller than domestic pistons, I guess), but it was in by 9 AM
Saturday. She found the red #271 Locktite as well as some moly
assembly lube.
The old pistons came apart, and I noticed a little bluing on
the #4 rod -- the one that had had the bad piston that caused
this whole mess. Just up at the little end. There was no warping,
though; we lubed it up and installed the new pins. (BTW, you can
easily install new pins by putting them in the freezer while you
disassemble the old pistons.)
Torrey helped with that! She was very interested in helping me
pull the old circlips out. She did about four or five on her own,
and I helped with the rest. I'm introducing her to the concept of
driving a car that runs because of your own work and skill.
The pistons went in without much groaning, and I capped the rods
with hardened washers before torquing my rod bolts (duly gooped
with red Locktite) to the recommended setting. Then Kim put the
oil pan on, as she has the only fingers small enough to get the
bolts started between the pan and the back plate. We torqued them
all down just snug and set the engine on its base for the first
time in a week.
I should mention that in the intervening days, I'd painted the oil
pan and valve cover bright red. They look wonderful. I also put
a coat of dark silver on the ignition side of the block; it looks
just like cast iron, only it won't rust. The induction side of the
block is still iron, except for the tappet covers which are the same
red as the valve cover and the pan. The thermostat housing and the
whole exhaust system are a high-temperature (900 F) aluminum; we'll
see how long it lasts on the header, but it looks great now.
Then Tim and I took a break to help Berry get the transaxle back
into his Fahrvergnuegenmobile, followed by a visit to Chris K so
that Tim could see what a TR4-A is supposed to look like, as well
as getting Chris to grind out the broken stud from my manifold.
He did, laboriously and with a variety of tools, but it finally
came out with the help of a tap, and I had shiny threads again.
On Sunday, Rob Keller and I had an Adventure, looking through
the forest for a Tiger. I'll let him tell his side of it, except
to say that I knew it was a bad sign when I saw that raspberry
brambles had grown up through the engine compartment and pushed
out through the gap in the bonnet. The forest was reclaiming one
of its own, I think... I got back in time to watch most of the 500,
cheered when the Speedway got its revenge for the damned orange juice,
and then Tim and Berry and I got to installing the motor.
It actually went in very easily on the come-along instead of on a
cherry-picker, at least with three people to shove, haul, and
twist where appropriate. This was the easiest installation to
date, in fact, partly due to growing experience and partly due
to Randy Wilson's excellent advice on the starter, the starter
bolt, and the two locating bolts on the bellhousing. I did a
Little Stupid by trying to start the car before connecting the
starter cable; we then found that the belt wasn't fully in the
pulley when Kim said, "The fan is moving really slowly" as we
primed the oil pump. That took about three twists of the key;
we installed the plugs, put in a shot of ether, and the car
roared to life!
Smoke billowed from the front of the engine bay; that's when we
realized why Kim saw the fan moving wrong. We loosened the alternator
and eventually got a different belt wedged into place, then started the
car back up and backed it out into the driveway.
The paint baked for several minutes as the engine came up to temperature,
and the fumes and light smoke rose off the block. But that stopped;
we had no oil leak save for a light drip at the drain plug. I let
it run for some 45 minutes while Kim went to the store to get
champagne; every so often I'd blip the throttle to get the revs up,
clear the plugs, or just let the rings seat at a different speed.
Oh, right, the rings. Without the flex hone, I decided to break
the glaze in the cylinders with a 3M product, a variety of Scotchbrite
that's more abrasive than normal but that won't break, shred, splinter
or rust. It also gets rust off the block very nicely, and Kim later
used it to clean up the side covers before painting. We wiped the
bores down with Brakleen before oiling them to install the pistons.
Meanwhile, I beamed while the car purred at idle. The exhaust paste
worked beautifully along with the new donuts and new hanger hardware;
it's so nice not to have any exhaust system leaks, and for all the
exhaust noise to come from the tailpipe instead of from under the
hood. There was a lot of tappet noise from having to set the clearances
with the engine cold, but that's to be expected, and in fact when we
reset the valve clearances the following day it was much quieter. The
exhaust system sounds solid and smooth; the aluminum high-temperature
paint goes as far back as the first muffler, and I'm afraid I never had
the time to do the back half of the system. I can have a conversation
at fairly normal volume levels now, though; in the past I had to yell
to be heard over the volume of the exhaust leak and the high-compression
engine.
I also now have an original-style '63-'69 chrome grille installed, just
held in place by tension now but I'll drill some mounting holes for the
three upper straps later when I put in the 1/4" screws to hold the bottom
in place. I *love* the look of this grille on the car; it's something
I've always wanted, the look of the early style. Thank you, TeriAnn.
On Monday I finished hanging the exhaust system, put back one of my
new brass nuts on the manifold-to-downpipe flange, and then drove out
to a Kragen to buy an oil filter and a funnel to help recycle my old
oil. We changed the oil, reset the valves (this cam takes 0.020" on
the exhaust tappets and 0.016" on the intakes), and replaced the
bonnet (now completely degreased on the inside, with Naval Jelly
rubbed onto the rusty patches, and a fresh coat of green Derusto
paint over the entire inner surface).
Today I started the car in the morning and drove to work, keeping
the revs under 3500 RPM. Remember that this cam really gets happy
about 4000 RPM and the subject line makes sense. It's really like
flirting, or like foreplay; I'll give the car some throttle and
the motor will change from a happy purr to a throaty growl that
becomes a sort of ringing moan at about 3000 RPM; and that's about
when I have to hit the clutch to pick the next gear, just when it's
beginning to get exciting. I've got about 11 miles on the new rings
so far, but I'm determined to get them properly seated before I hit
the throttle hard and try winding the motor out as far as the valve
springs will let me. The goal is to take this car to Monterey in
about three weeks, for Kim and me to celebrate our 15th wedding
anniversary with a weekend for two at a B & B in Pacific Grove.
Just two people in a Little British Sports Car. I guess I'll have
to find other excuses to drive the car between now and then in
order to put some miles on the rings before the trip...
Meanwhile, I've just had a four-day weekend and I'm tired, beat,
sore and stiff, and I don't care. I have my Wonderful Car now,
one made wonderful because of decisions, of research, of thought,
of sweat, of cooperation and of efforts that I made, along with
several friends and family members. That's what makes a car one's
own, and what makes it wonderful.
--Scott
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