April 6, 2009

4.4.09 (posted out of order)

Jim started the day by removing  the oil pan. It is designed for cars and…surprisingly…holds less oil.

4.4.09 023Then he adjusted the valves and checked the head bolt torque. 4.4.09 038The new cover did not have a necessary fitting …so Jim cleaned and shined up the old one…it looks pretty good.4.4.09 045

The”auto” oil pan was put back on to keep everything clean while he gets the original marine pan ready for installation.

4.6.09 putting it back together…minor problems

The blocks are different years so there are a few minor details that have to be taken care of….first….the oil pick up is mounted and the oil routed thru a different spot. On the old block it had a shorter pickup tube and it mounted near Jim’s R finger….the new block’s pickup mount is near his L finger…so an extension had to be made. He couldn’t just use the middle mount because that part of the block hadn’t been bored out for the oil to run thru. He loves to be innovative…so he made the extension for it.4.6.09 009 Once that was done …fitted and sealed….he had to modify the oil pan windage tray. Here’s how it looked before he started.4.6.09 010

And this is how it looks now. Most of the “fit” isn’t obvious..but if you look closely you can find them.4.6.09 oilpan,thermostat, birds 005 Now it fits perfectly.  This took the better part of the day. A little grinding and filing here and there…but only a little at a time until it was just right.4.6.09 oilpan,thermostat, birds 007 Finally…..its back together. 4.6.09 oilpan,thermostat, birds 012 I’ve made this all sound rather simple…it wasn’t. It all had to be well thought out so there wouldn’t be any problems later.