A driver Dino

Thanks for the encouragement chips and dings are all part of the ownership experience. I will correct the side marker lights whenever it does end up getting painted. Truly that's the only thing I am really unhappy about with the car. I have made my peace and will live with it.

As I have said before and will say it again "My estate is welcome to do with it what they will"

Nice looking car. I had forgotten how good the Campy's look.

 

Thanks Alberto....

 

I have spent the last week or so thrashing away on the Model A with my son, in other words Dino got neglected.

Last night I got back at it and accomplished what I had wanted and even got started on the next step.

First pics are the old and then new clutch lever boots
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Bellhousing pics pre-clean.

When cleaning machine aluminum surfaces I use a razor blade 90% of the time. I never use any kind of abrasive discs that are very popular in many production shops as I find them very aggressive. Even in the hands of a careful and experienced operator they can do lots of damage in the blink of an eye.

I do know that GM and Honda had banned them from use when working with Aluminum cylinder heads and blocks for that reason. Its also hard to ensure that you have cleaned up all of the gasket debris from the nooks and crannies. Not good stuff to end up mixed with fresh oil or coolant.

I use the razor blade like a bearing scraper, about 20 to 30 degrees off of vertical and it works quite efficiently. By doing it this way you can't ever gouge a surface or create a divot.

The blue sealant last used is a product made by Permatex called "Ultra Blue" and was one of the first RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) sealants to come along that was safe for use with engines that had oxygen sensors.

It works well in most applications although, it wouldn't have been my choice to use in conjuction with O-Rings and/or gear oil
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Before I go any further let me say that as a professional tech I have used Permatex products virtually exclusively. I have used other products such as Hylomar that worked in applications that had to be disassembled frequently (competition pieces) but I don't work for, or have any affiliation with them.

That having been said I have a favorite product that came out about 15 or so years ago called "Right Stuff". It is a non RTV sealant that has several advantages with the greatest feature being assembly time. Right Stuff has to be assembled with 5 minutes of initial application, so in other words have everything lined up and in place(dowel pins and sleeves) before removing the cap and starting to apply. On a large piece I am sure that you have a little bit of leeway but probably not a lot. Although I have never had an issue with it, I don't push the envelope when using chemical products.

Here is the side cover all cleaned up and ready for installation
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Before re-installing the bellhousing I also removed the clutch cover, clutch disc for inspection and also removed the flywheel to have a look at the rear main seal. All were in decent shape and the driven disc looked almost new.

The observant among you will notice a black arrow made with a Sharpie on the face of the intermediate cover. I put that there before removing the flywheel. The Dino engine is externally balanced and it is critical to put the flywheel back in the same spot. 10 seconds of planning can save days of frustration.

I didn't take any pictures while everything was off as I was motoring along and quite plainly forgot. Here is a picture of the clutch alignment tool in place as I was tightening the clutch cover
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Between the bellhousing and intermediate housing are 3 O-Rings.

Here are 2 pictures of the old and new side by side.

The bottom O-Ring has quite a small cross section and is quite a bit smaller than the squashed seal that I removed. I can only assume that the last time this was assembled that they used the wrong part as there is no reason for it to be deformed like this.

The new O-Ring fit the housing perfectly.

In an application when using O-Rings I have been using a product called "Flange Sealant". It is made by several manufactures and the tube in the picture is clearly from "Loctite". I have used it the one made by Permatex as well and I have come to believe that they are both the same product in different packaging. They both feel and smell identically and also work equally well.

This sealant is anerobic, meaning that it will cure in the absence of oxygen. I have used it successfully in place of paper gaskets on severely pitted surfaces such as water pumps mounted on timing covers.

I used it in this application just to give the O-Rings a bit of back up.
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First pic is the Bellhousing installed, torqued down, starter bolts back in and tight.

The gears are installed, torqued and the locks have been re-peened (no, I didn't replace the nuts as they were in good shape)

Here is a picture of the transfer gear cover before and then cleaned, sealant applied, ready for installation.

As a quick aside, who here has used RTV sealants only to have them leak? C'mon hands up !!

I had a few 'come backs' as an apprentice but was fortunate to have a great teacher in trade school called Mr Conker and this guy was the kind of tech all of us young guys wanted to be. He taught us how to use RTV properly as it was a fairly new product on the market and it was failing everywhere. He asked us how we used it and everyone said "put it on the surface and assemble it". Well that's where it all goes wrong, RTV needs time to 'skin over' before assembly. The skinning effect is what gives it strength, without allowing it to skin, you are doomed to failure.

If you read the instruction on 'modern" RTV you will see that it is suggested to apply the sealant, assemble the parts, install the fasteners loosely (finger tight) and wait for at least an hour before final torquing. In a hobby shop this would be fine but in a production shop that just wont do. This is one reason why we started using "Right Stuff", although it costs almost 3 times what RTV does the amount of time that is saves is well worth the initial cost.

When applying any sealant I always use a 1/8" bead, you don't need anymore than that.

Remember, when you tighten the parts and sealant oozes out between the 2 parts the same amount has ended up inside. I cant tell you the number of times I have picked cured blobs of sealant out of oil passages or oil pump pick up screens. Need to be careful with this stuff.
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Here are a couple of pictures which illustrates my point of the 1/8" bead being adequate.

Minimal sealant ooze out, which will be trimmed off once it cures.

The 7 camshaft end cover gaskets are next and I have a few comment on successfully sealing them (go figure)
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The corresponding mark is on the flywheel underneath the pressure plate/clutch cover as that is the alignment that matters. The flywheel is held on by 8 bolts so it can be installed 8 different ways, not just 2.

I haven't rebuilt the engine yet but internal vs external balancing isn't a choice as it would require a crankshaft change.

Externally balanced engines are fine below 7000rpm in my experience. Internally balanced engines allow the manufacturer to use more universal external components

I am simply trying to get the car to a baseline level so it can be used as a reliable driver and enjoy it for what it is

 

Sorry about the bump but 2 thumbs up on the driving !!
Enjoy it with good health

Jamie

 

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes.

I was away for a couple of days over late last week and weekend and probably just as well. I came home to a small puddle of green on the floor. Where was this liquid that couldn't possibly be coolant coming from?? Take a guess..
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If you said water pump, you would be 100% correct.

Here is a closer shot, right out of the air circulation hole.

It is quite possible that I could have left it as these types of seals sometimes leak just from sitting but I couldn't live with that so further in we go
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So here is a beginning shot of what has to be removed. I will go a bit further as I want to pull the alternator to be sure it isn't saturated with oil. I will also replace the tensioner o-rings and gaskets and install the drip tray I got from the lads.

While I am at I will pull the a/c compressor, replace its front seal and check the compressor and clutch. The a/c system was empty when I got the car.
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This job wouldn't be too bad if not for the a/c compressor. What a pain, I can hardly wait to put it back in !!

For those that understand the a/c system is not open to the atmosphere, although I suspect that the dryer is already pooched. I front seated the valves before I pulled the compressor. I will pull the system into a vacuum with the valves shut and monitor to see if there is a leak. The car has a brand new condensor in it so who knows?? The front seals on these knock off York compressors are a lousy design. I will most likely replace the compressor with a York r210 variant.


I will replace the front crankshaft seal. The front of the engine will get a bath before re-assembly and all of the coolant hoses will also get replaced.

Distributor gaskets and seal will also be replaced

Measly pile of parts for 3 hours of slogging
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Last couple of pics of the ugliness.

Water pump has been degreased and is ready for blasting and disassembly
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Before I install the rear headers I figured it would be best to repair the worn out parking brake pivot bracket.

I did a similar repair on 03666 which was easier because the body wasn't in the way.

My Mig crapped out so I decided to Tig it instead. My preference is always Tig but upside down isn't my favorite Tig position especially when filling in.

In any event here are some pics. The initial build is pretty ugly but after a couple of passes I was able to add enough material to be able to drill it to 5/8" and grind it flat.

The biggest issue was awkward spot with not place to rest you little finger for support, I am not nearly as steady as I used to be.

I also cleaned up the brake levers, pivots and cable, lots of grease and not it pivots without rubbing on the exhaust.

Next, install the new headers and heat shields

Thanks for following along.
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Compressor I have, please tell me about the water pump

 

Over the last couple of short evenings I installed the new headers and gaskets, cleaned the a/c, alternator brackets and hardware, serviced the shifter box, installed the shifter linkage and new rubber sleeve.

Tonight I installed the alternator and the various new heat shields. What an ignorant job !!

Installing the alternator and lower front heat shield must have been the job that you got if you annoyed the foreman. This kind of stuff doesn't usually get me excited but lets just say it was a bit challenging.

I will post some pics tomorrow.

G'nite