Awesome find Bruce! I will be following along on the project. Congrats on the new project..
Tim (SoCal1) came over this morning and we proceeded to remove the motor. Once the car realized it was getting service, she regurgitated that motor like a cat pukes a hairball. This nasty lump will get some love and a bath before it goes back in. Hopefully soon! A big thanks to Tim! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
are you going to do cylinder liners , valve guides and headers while its out? oh that's right, its a 348 , doesn't need . LOL nice car, good luck !!!!
Congratulations Bruce! Saw your slightly bent 348 at the Wounded Warriors Drive on Saturday. We tried to get the gas door closed to make the car a bit more aerodynamic, but no luck. Missed seeing you though. Next time I'm down visiting Fastcars I'll give you a call. Seriously wouldn't mind donating some time to your project. It would be a great learning experience for me. Henry
Bruce First off looks like you got yourself a nice car.you did a great job with out a lift and I'm sure you stopped for lunch and still posted by 3pm.Let this be a lesson to ALL the next time a shop tells you they need 8 or 9k to change your belts/tensioner bearings and water pump rebuild something I've been saying for years.Keep up the good work.
Saw this thing in real life. Bruce made an awesome purchase. In fact, I think he is going to end up keeping it despite him saying he will keep his options open. You might notice that the gas tank is missing in the picture above, testament to the fact that this baby was a dedicated trackster formerly. Oh, and it has a fuel cell currently. Amazing the engine got dropped so quickly, I need to get over there and get my hands dirty soon or I am going to miss out on all the fun. I do know I have a later appointment with the car's exterior.
I got a strange feeling you are right. But the car is for sale. It is just not listed anywhere and the price is a lot. So I think the "wounded warrior " is going to take a back seat. If his best bud has a smoking Nero 348SS with hot motor how can Bruce live with just a regular 348? Who wants to bet me that this time next year Bruce will still be driving the Challenge car?
Bruce, heard the story of the "pick-up" here in AZ from John. Please do not park this one under a tree. Your new car looks great.
Well, 98451 is about ready to drive like I stole it, which I did. All I've got left to do is put the exhaust system back on (as soon as I get it back from "on loan for smog"). We'll see if it has any leaks as a result of sitting up for so long. I shoulda changed out the crank seal, but wtf, it's done now. It's still yellow. Does anybody know how to route the bonnet release? The one in the car had been rerouted, and not well. The brains were chipped. It's going to be interesting to see if it'll smog like that. It's gonna be nice to have a car I can drive on the street again. I've got 2.5 348s, live in the land of good weather, and haven't had one to drive since December. Talk about "first world problems"
Saw th einstallation of the engine. Looks great and way better than when it arrived. Heck, it looks better than mine. Of course Bruce had the cam covers repainted and that goes a long way. Still got to install the gas tank. It was sitting on the driveway the other day. Fuel cell getting a new bladder and going into what car I wonder...? Let's get that beast running!
Hey Bruce. If your 348 and my 95 F355 are the same, the bonnet release cable goes from the release handle, back under the carpet/sill and then into the air intake area. Once there it's held to the body by a small retaining clamp and then winds it's way up into the engine compartment along the drivers side rear quarter panel and finally through the enclosed area above the rear grill (or where the challenge grill would go) to the latch. I put in a new cable when I replaced my left side radiator. Honestly not sure how to do it without that step. The retaining clamp I mentioned can only be accessed by taking out the intake louvers and if I recall correctly, those can only be removed from the rear. Hope this helps... Henry
Thanks, Henry. That explains why mine was routed under the body and thru the gas tank well. Musta broke then been replaced without 6 hours labor! Gonna cackle the b*tch tomorrow. Then I'll see what I bought!
