Picked up the car today, and am very pleased with it. It runs a
little bit hotter than it used to, but I have read this is typical of
freshly-rebuilt engines. Starts and runs great. Can't fairly
compare the new Piper cam to the old Kent cam, because the Kent was
so hammered, but the bog on acceleration is just about gone. Engine
is now semi-gloss black, head is red, and exhaust manifold is silver
(temporarily, at least). Wish I had thought about re-painting the
yellow metal fan, because it really doesn't match now.
Oil pressure is 50 psi at idle, 70-75 at 2500 rpm. No leaks that
I've found yet.
The best thing about the mechanic that did the work is that he can't
help but fix little things that he notices, which I've usually been
putting off for several weeks. He tapped out the tranny crossmember
bolt that I had sheared off, put in a hose from the front tappet
chest cover to the carburetor, tightened the plastic cover on the
alternator, replaced the missing alternator bracket bolt, and
realigned the bonnet. Feels like a different car entirely!
Scott Gardner
gardner@lwcomm.com
www.lwcomm.com/~gardner
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