So, I started on the teardown today. I have been puttin' it off because my parts truck has no A/C. But, like my wife said, the later I start, the later I finish.

So, I tear a bunch away from the engine and out of it. I figure I will clean up the engine bay while I have room. So I took a little break and took these pictures.

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Then I take it down a little farther. Those roller rockers sure look pretty, still. They looked to still be in good shape.

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Then I pulled out #8 exhaust pushrod. Hey, are they supposed to look like this?

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This next one is #4 cylinder. I knew the rings were gone in this one. You can see the layer of junk on the piston.

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And last, a small shot of the ported E7 heads. I am thinking I may have to send these off to be checked. If I had the know-how, I would. Anyone wanna teach me?

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looks like fun! Its time to get rid of that old carb spacer though . Get a 1" phenolic, you will be pleased.

 

Ralph, what you need now are some blingy BBK ceramic shorty headers. I'm getting ready to ebay a new set.

 

git r dun

 

Anthony, it hasn't had the EGR spacer on it for many years. I do have a 1" spacer, yet when I tried it, it only gave a little on the top end. It hurt me in the low-mid range. So I tossed it. I get a better signal without one. I do have a thick laminated gasket to isolate the manifold heat from the Holley.

*pokes Mark with a stick* Yeah, yeah... You just need to sell stuff. *grin* You must have missed my nasty looking set of Hooker SuperComp shorties. Think I will hold onto them (even if I did find a bolt missing).

"I don't care who you are, that's funny there." - Larry the Cable Guy

 

I have a few leftover header bolts too!

 

can I borrow one? i lost one at some point recently....

 

I'm selling them on ebay. If you want to pick one up, you can save on shipping....but I do have a handling fee my boss just won't let me give up.

 

You must be talking about the special locking header bolts.

Mine are just regular hexcap with a reduced head for clearance. Got them at Lowe's for a few pennies and threw on lock washers.

 

Mine seem like regular header bolts to the untrained eye, but they are actually quite special. These bolts were almost used on Dale Earnhardt's car, but his chief mechanic dropped the package behind the shelf. He grabbed the next pack. If he would have held on to these bolts a little tighter, he woulda won the race, no doubt.

 

As are you.

 

Not only did I ride the short bus, I was the one with the helmet, licking the window.

 

Who needs a header bolt? I have all sorts of odds and ends ( chevy, ford, buick, Vw)

 

Okay, so I got a bit of stuff done today. As you can see by the pics below, this thing was very nasty under the hood. I did not clean up the engine bay when I dropped in the drivetrain 8 years ago. So, what you see is 24 years of gunk with 3/4 year with the engine spewing oil.

First, here are three pics of getting stuff pulled and ready to scrub. Notice the power booster for the brake. You can also see the trash on the passenger side frame where the battery tray has been.

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Now, the next two are after I scrubbed with a red Scotchbrite and a Dawn solution with a Simple Green spray. This degreases and scuffs in one step to ready for paint.

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Here I was just playing around. Sometimes I like a peek - a hint - of what the finished product is gonna look like. Heck, it was so hot today, I needed some new motivation. Judging from just the small portion I sprayed, I think it is gonna turn out nice. You can also see the sway bar mount that I tore off in Atlanta that I had welded back on.


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This last is where I sprayed the power booster and the steering linkage. I am using a "Hammered" look that is really growing on me. I bought this stuff for another project, but decided to use it up underneath here.

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I worked at taping up the rest and getting it ready to spray the silver tomorrow. Hopefully I will have some more pics to show how it turns out.

 

Looking good Ralph! The worst part about the FOXes is that after you get that all cleaned up and painted, you have to install all those parts back in the engine compartment covering up most of the detail. You'll be dreaming about it tonight! kennyg

 

Hehehe...
You're right, Kenny. Happened with the vert. But the parts that show on it sure look good.

So, today I got a few things done. With the engine bay cleaned, I finished taping to keep from getting overspray on the car. Used a foldover to keep from getting a line as well.

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I started spraying with the paint I got at Autozone, but it turned out to be too dark. You can see there is still a bright line where the body paint was sprayed.

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So, I took a detour. I sprayed with the same wheel paint I used on my pony rims. Heck, it is sparkly, resists dirt and grease, plus stands up to heat. What else could I want?

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Then I took some of the tape off. Kinda like unwrapping a Christmas present, huh?

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Then I started looking at the piles of stuff that still needed cleaning and painting. Funny thing is, look at the caked gunk on the H-pipe where I was spewing oil. And how caked the starter is.


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You should've let me coat that brake booster....I would have done it for practice.

 

I grabbed the can of etching primer again and had at it to a few parts that were already ready to spray.

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Then, since the Edelbrock intake and the timing cover just did not look brand new, I decided to go with the new Ford grey with them. I hated covering aluminum and have been thinking about this for a while, but caved in.

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Now, in this next pic, this is the cleanest I could make the valve covers. These things have always been discolored back in the days when they were on the 88 LX coupe.

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So, I consulted the wife. Ford Blue, new Ford Grey, or hammered? Well, she said it was...

Hammer time!!!

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And that's it for this weekend. I am actually quite happy with what I got done. Next up... rewire. Yuck.

 

*grins*
Gary, that puppy is way too hard to get out of the car. That is why I painted it with it still attached.

 

Okay, so last night I take a good look at the wiring. What a friggin' mess! I figured up where everything was going and exactly how many connectors I needed. So, I have been looking at a few things online for weatherproof connectors. And found out today that none of the simple auto stores carries the stuff. Anyways, I need to order some weatherpacks. I also need a couple of specific connectors like the A/C compressor and the coil. Here is how good this stuff looks right now. Yes, if I shook the underhood wiring it would cut out and maybe die on me.

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