Projects Not Another 41 Pickup Project!! (Update: 12/06)

Got the front wheels and rear backing plates back, freshly blasted and epoxy primed.



Traded some NOS Mallory pieces to Mike B for the Y-Block in his 32 coupe for getting this stuff done so I didn’t have to screw with it. Win-Win.

Mike also milled off a spot on the valley cover for the addition of an oil filler. I layed out the mounting holes, drilled and tapped for 6-32 screws and cut the fill hole without screwing up!! WHEW!!
I had saved this mil-spec. cap for years and finally put it to good use!


View attachment 5101400



It will tuck under and clears the intake runner and water neck.

 

Nice!

 

Cap is an inspired touch

 

Thanks!
A solution to a problem: how ya gonna put earl in this thing?
Stock tin cover had a big ass tube and breather. FUGLY.
HHH has a finned cover with a fill plug, but I’m a tight ass. And already had this one.
Bandit Billy put a cool (but rare) Donovan fill elbow on his valve cover. Hero.

 

Love the oil filler! Looks totally at home on the valley cover. The leash is cool too.

 

And you thought I had thrown in the towel! Or thrown in jail!
Nope.
We took an 5700 mile "Last Hurrah" driving trip out West. Grandson is in USAF at Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, MT.
Went to 5 National Parks in SD, WY, and MT. Absolutely stunning scenery!
Got home to no water and a fence falling down. It's never ending!

I had just about forgotten where I left off on the pile-o-parts pickup.
Oil pan was next up on the engine, but I was worried about sufficient break-in lube on the cam. You just can't call Summit and get a new cam for a big D..
Necessity being the mother of invention, I used a narrow artist's brush with a "custom machined" brake line handle extension. Piece of cake to reach the lobes from the bottom with the journal at BDC. A couple of rotations and everything is slathered with the Melling lube.
Peace of mind, if nothing else.


Also got the rough cast valley cover fins sanded down and polished some.

Next the pan.
Hope that these are the "Best".


Stay tooned!

 

Slow day today.
Started on the pan after the cam lube job. Decided on studs and nuts instead of stock bolts.

Finished with the oil filler after a little more polish. Ready to bolt on when I upright the engine.

 

I hit the button but I had to comment as well, I love that valley cover.

 

Thanks, BB!

 

Slow progress. Wife has had vertigo for a week, so no Nats, and not much outside time.

I did manage to bend up a one piece front brake line while I had room with the engine out.
One to go, past the box to the m/cyl.


Also got the pan cinched down for good.
Time to roll her over!
(Not that, you pervs!)

 

Couple more pieces going on for the last time (hopefully!)

 

Coming along nicely! Keep up the good work

 

Yep, screw patina.

 

Not much to report after dealing with two shop window sill replacements, a wife with vertigo for a month and me having cataract surgery! Enough already.

But a few things got done to the pile-o-parts pickup in spite of life’s toe stubbers.

Got the HH modified harmonic balancer on for the third (!) and final time, along with their bottom pulleys. Also took @dave g in Gansevoort’s advice and sent the water pump off to Howard Stewart for their rebuild. Dial indicated TDC and set the timing mark and glued the tape on.


Found out that the Mallory flat top I had was the wrong rotation, but after checking in some other Mallory stash, found the one with the correct part number and rotation. The first one was for a BB wedge motor, but fit perfectly.
Quite the difference in height also.


The correct one also has the vacuum advance/retard setup, so that will be a plus.

I also stole @BanditBilly’s idea and moved the HH bottom mount alternator bracket to the top, but
since it’s for a GM, and I wanted to use this early finned Mopar unit, it was fork in the road time.
Do I go with the GM or fab a bracket for the Mopar? It’s been totally rebuilt and bumped to 90A.
We shall see.





Maybe a little more progress next month.

 

I prefer the look of the mopar alt too!
Sorry about the wife's vertigo. I lost the hearing in my left ear suddenly years ago and in return I was blessed with vertigo that I had to deal with for a long time. I still get bouts of it, bad enough I had to sell my Harley. I hope your wife's passes., no fun.

 

Thanks, BB.
She’s out of it now. Finally, a friend recommended physical therapy for it, and sure enough there is a series of exercises they put you through. The first day after PT she had serious nausea, second day almost no vertigo!
Miracle! Who knew?

 

Yep, build her a balance board out of a 24"X 24" plywood and a ball in the center so it pivots on all axis. She should only do this in a door way, hanging on at first and less as she masters it. Then with eyes closed. I learned that from a book Michael Jordan co-wrote about balance. It can be learned, or re-learned and even made better than before. Jordan had perfect balance but that wasn't enough for him, he wanted superhuman balance. He achieved it.

Build on brother! We got trucks to finish!

 

Looks like the alternator's penthouse, or basement, home will have to wait until the Desoto is back in the frame. Mocked up as intended by HH, and it looks like it won't clear the stock 40 crossmember.
I thought I could adapt the Mopar piece to the HH bracket but it's a larger diameter.
We shall see.

 

Wow!! Talk about GREAT SERVICE! (And pitiful service!)

Stewart Components received my Howard Stewart water pump on Monday.
On Tuesday Meghan called and said it was totally rebuilt, Stage 3, and shipped back! For $92 total!

BUT it was delivered Friday by FedEx Ground to somebody who lives 3 miles (!) away, even with MY address on the label! WTF?
The folks who live there were kind enough to drop it off today instead of returning it to FedEx.
Just a small town courtesy. Thank you!

So KUDOS and THANK YOU! to Stewart Components (Jeff, Meghan, Kevin) for a great job!
And to @Dave G in Gansevoort for the tip!

And a YOU SUCK! to FedEx Ground for complete ineptitude, including the inability to read.
Oh wait, they did find Rogersville, small as it is.
Thank God they didn’t get it back.

 

After burning limbs and trash all day, I was whipped, and went out to the shop for a breather.
Got the pump mocked up (again) because the new fan hub was pressed on way too far, so I got that pulled out to line up the pulley sheaves.

HHH pulley comes 5/8”, so I had to bore it out to 3/4”.
Easy enough to do, thanks to the antique Craftsman lathe.


If I can find some pump gaskets (not included), I’ll put it on for good tomorrow.
Another piece to the puzzle.

 

Well.......no progress. For several reasons.
Shut down, cleaned up the 40, and went to Shades of the Past run in Pigeon Forge for four days
Got home and had my second cataract surgery.
And now my wife’s brother died suddenly yesterday from a heart attack.
Rest In Peace, Richard “Bones” Keough, you were a good guy.
Be going to a funeral, I’m sure.
Hopefully back at it in a week or so.
Stay tooned!

 

Sorry to hear of your loss.
Car will be there, when you're ready.

 

Sorry to hear Bill. We'll be up for the F100 meet in Sevierville next Thursday and Friday but sounds like you've got a lot on your plate.

Lee

 

Yeah, we will probably be at the funeral. Could be Nashville or College Station, TX where he lived.
Sorry to miss you!

 

Family First Bill.

 

Sorry for your families loss sir. There seems to be a lot of that sort of thing going around. Take care.

 

Thanks, guys.
Looks like we’re going to have an old fashioned Irish wake/celebration of life in Nashville, so no long trip to Texas.

 

Well, we got back from a long, tiring weekend and have been having some decompression time with the wife before I can get back at it.
I've found out, unfortunately, that as you get older it takes a whole lot longer than it used to to recover from hard physical work, long trips and emotionally draining events.

All I've gotten done is run some more brake line and found out that it’s virtually impossible to get to the master cylinder with the cab on. Those last bits may have to wait.

I did manage to change out the stock 350 trans pan for this shiney ribbed aluminum number. At least the wayward chicken, possum or squirrel can check his appearance one last time.



Got other STUFF to do this weekend so I'll see ya when I can.

 

Welcome back!

 

Thanks!
Finally got a little time in the shop today after a week of recovery and honey-do’s.

Couldn’t run the brake lines when the cab was off since the brakes weren’t on, and now I paid the penalty.
It was a REAL PITA getting underneath and connecting the m/cyl. to the line and residual I had run back from the left front. Tube crossmembers and no room made it worse.
A coat hanger helped to make up one out of some scrap tubing (don’t throw anything away), then the final piece which fit perfectly. Front system is DONE!