Projects My 57 is home

I have to agree Dan,... I found the whole process quite enjoyable... albeit..slow.
Yes...We are approaching the finish line.... Just like a Tortoise.
ha ha

 

Well, the battle continues.....

.....about 3 weeks ago... I was all set to hit the exhaust shop then to the bodyshop.....
And of course.. a massive hiccup..... no.. a mule kick right in the B***s.
I notice a slight amount of coolant leaking just under the thermostat housing... not a drip... just a wetness.....I figured it just needed a 1/8 turn of tightening and paid no attention.A very good Ford Pal dropped by to double check my wiring and other progress....(I believe in have a fresh set of eyes roll over prior work... just to make sure)
....Mentioned the coolant"wetness" and he said.. I should use a flat water instead of a lock washer around the thermostat housing.... because a split washer tends to seep and leak.
Ok... no problem.... I put it on the "to do" list... which never seems to decline.

Drained the coolant, removed the housing,...cleaned,new gasket and applied the "Right Stuff" RTV(I love that product)
Let it cure for 24hours(which I do with anything)
Next day... fill the system with coolant and..... I have a massive leak coming from the housing and intake underside.
Great.. now what.....?
Drain the coolant again(of what left) Slowly und to 2 fasteners,.. and as I remove the top bolt ...I feel a "pop"... a big chunk of my NOS intake snaps off.

Well.... now what?
I have 3 options..... buy a new intake,repair the unit or find a crappy boring 4 barrel unit.
You must understand this intake has NEVER been on a car.It was a service replacement unit and date coded.

To say I was heartbroken was a understatement.
Back to my options.....I looked up and searched what the cost of buying a new intake was..... 900 USD - 2000 USD..... and combine that with present exchange and shipping.... I was looking anywhere from 1500-2500 bucks ...And with no reassurances a new intake would not be square..shaved ,... already welded upon,...etc.etc.Too big of a risk.
I need to repair what I have..... so,...I have another acquaintance .. who is an EXTREMELY talented welder... who after I presented the problem...said he could fix it.

So.... I then removed the fuel system.. and all linkage,etc.etc, removed the upper valve train. the shafts and such.... pulled the intake very very gently.

After doing some research..... I found that this was a very common occurrence with these factory intakes....didn't make me feel better.
So.. off it went...... he told me he was so busy and it would be a month.....
ugh.

Wait wait wait.

Then..I got the call and I was down at his shop and got it.
Absolutely...PERFECT.
I wasted no time this weekend with the help of my friend Terry and got it all back together.....

NOW..... I am going to the exhaust shop.

So.. thats my sad story.... hahahah

And thanks guys for the kind words in the previous posts..... The war continues and we will persevere.

 

Yes Dan,..... and it was better to happen in the shop than some 500 mile tour....(oh god!)
We studded it and I feel confident......
Not sure how or when it got Helicoiled.... or by who... but we have resolved the issue.

 

Thanks guys...Grant Schwartz did the repair. Uber talented local and I am very thankful for his work.
I have know idea to any of the above questions... but i can tell you it has never been on an engine.. no marks or gasket stains ,.. no coolant disintegration around those ports or burns on the blocked off heat crossover areas.....whatsoever.... Super clean as far as I can see internally and the bottom splash pan looks brand new. Took that off too to inspect and nothing but ever so slight condensation rust.... 2 tiny spots.
....... strange indeed.. but.. we are a go.....

 

Yes,... Grant was in Bloomingdale... but now has a shop in Elmira.Very talented guy.

 

Well. last night---Success!
Went over the entire systems.. checking for any potential leaks.. after a few hours .. with the help of my friend Terry Redmond(Ford Tech guy)
we fired the car and it ran perfectly.
Oil pressure was at 65psi cold,. and then at 40-45 Hot.... engine is very responsive.... so much so Terry just smiled and said"She sure is snappy".... he is a man who says very little.
....all electrical is perfect,system was charging and all systems are functioning.I have fired the engine only very briefly, but never for more than a 30 second interval....
The FE is new and tight... not in a bad way... it just needs some hours on it.Tuned a wee bit but that will come a little later after the exhaust is done(which is the next move)
Set the idle around 800-900 rpm.... the cam gets too choppy and rough under that... again... the car needs to be fine tuned in the future.
Could not yard drive it.. it was too late and dark.... man.. with no exhaust... that thing is L O U D ! I don't think my neighbours would have appreciated me rolling down our road last night.
Heat rose to 180 and stayed... after the first fire up(15 minutes of run time) did it again for 20 minutes and the heat was still at 180.

So.. it was a very happy evening.

 

@wood remover .. send me a DM.

 

Just a heads up for 57-58 folks and tall tires.....
My car runs a 235-75R at the moment in the rear.... love the look due to the height of the tire..29 inches tall(or more) with a 9 inch footprint.... problem is.... when running a stock 57 style shock.. the rear doesn't drop far enough to remove the rears without deflating the rear tires first.
Just a pain..... You need to jack the car from side to side and tilt it to get the space you need.I run a 15 inch 55-56 Ford rim now and 57-64 Fords came with a 14 inch rim.... the low,long wide look.
Anyhow... there was discussion on the 57forever message board about 56 Ford shocks and the added length.
I picked up a set(cheap, $35 bucks each!) and installed.... the rear completely falls down giving access to remove the rears easily. Don't worry my traditional friends. I have a full set of Bias Plys to install on the the 57 after I get Paint.
Maybe someone else out there will run into this problem and its a simple fix.

 

So... I couldn't resist..... I had to road test.
No plates,no glass,no exhaust...... but lots of bugs.

Hopefully next week I will be at the exhaust shop.

 

got it made.....

 

Thanks Bill

Yea... it was pretty visceral ..... It was hard to contain a grin... but insects were bombarding me... (thank god I wear glasses)Pretty hard to watch any gauges or Tach... but I did manage to keep an eye open to the oil pressure......Pounded at 55 constant.

I plan to get the exhaust done this week, but I got a heavy work week coming.. but we will see... then off to Paint Prison....

 

And thanks to all for following along this goofy thread.... and to all my American pals.....HAPPY 4TH!