Various and sundry on a Sunday

Post date: Feb 27, 2012 12:41:19 AM

Took the dive and cut open the gas tank today. The pump bucket retainer is in!

Note the huge baffle separating the front from the back. I didn't expect that. I did an ugly job with the soldering, but it holds. The retainer is just 28ga galvanized steel that was coerced into shape. I thought the gas tank was thin stuff, so I got some cheap steel pans at Wal Mart and cut up the square one to work as a lid. Unfortunately, the pan is about 28, maybe even 30 ga, while the tank is around 18. Not a great match. So I'm back on the hunt for cookware.

In other news, I hogged out one of the holes in the halo girdle for the dipstick. Since the Lokar is just a wire, it can move around. And sure enough, sometimes it goes straight through the hole, sometimes it curves outside of the girdle, and sometimes it wedges itself into the nut on the stud. I need to extend the tube to give it some more guidance. That will be interesting.

Turn out the OPP oil pan is anything but flat. After Andy's big flap over Jim's girdles on ROP, I expected better! Hah! The rails were warped by easily 1/4". I did what I could with some pliers and a hammer. For good luck, I bolted it down tight then heated it with my MAP torch, hoping the heat cycle would cause it to hold the new shape. Fingers crossed. It got a little tight with the girdle up near the front, so I might do a some clearancing.

The list is short from here to a running engine:

Last purchase - timing chain and paint

Various details for the break-in stand

Gaskets from SCE! Over a month back-ordered. Supposedly will ship this week.

Checking clearances

Assembly to the point of checking pushrods

...order pushrods...

Finish assembly

Fire!

If the stars align, then I'll get the short block together next weekend and the first run in about a month.

Unfortunately, the list for a usable car is quite a lot longer:

Resolve The Core Support Problem

Weld in floor patch and firewall patches

Finish the windshield channel repairs

POR-prime all the current paint, remove all the self-etch primer, re-prime and paint with underhood black

Pull off body

Clean/paint underside

replace body bushings

frame strengthen/cleanup?!

Reinstall body

Brakes: vacuum or hydro?

Reassembly

Hopefully by the summer I'll have a very fast and very (very) ugly Cutlass.