The first job that I was tasked to take on was the removal of the engine along with the strip down and disassembly along with Riley and Adam. This was a challenging task due to the fact that the nuts and bolts were often rusted and seized on. The first step in removing the engine was to disconnect the engine electrics then followed by the coolant hoses and radiator. For this particular car we needed to remove the radiator in order to pull the engine. We unbolted the engine from its mounting bracket on the front suspension and decided it would be best to remove the engine without the transmission. The transmission bolts were extremely difficult to remove and it took us over an hour to get them all out. With the engine loose it was simple to use the engine crane to lift it out and mount it to the engine block stand. With the engine mounted we could get a good look at the condition of all the various parts for the first time. With a light wash with a brush and cleaner we could start to get a feeling for what all needed to be done in terms of the extent of work that would need doing. Almost all the nuts and bolts on the engine assembly were seized. A can of break away later we managed to remove the manifolds, carburetors, water pump, generator, various coolant hoses and the pulleys and timing covers. With all the parts removed, bagged, and tagged we could move on to the long block disassembly. This includes the cylinder head, pushrods, rocker arm, camshaft, crankshaft, oil sump, engine bearings, and tappets. Once the engine had been completely disassembled and ready for the machine shop I made sure to organize the parts that would not be sent in order to ensure that whoever was to work on it next would not have a nightmare waiting for them.
Pistons along with connecting rod and big end
Camshaft (right) and Crankshaft (left)
Engine Block with all components removed -except camshaft
Engine on block stand
Removing timing cover
Engine block showing oil cooler
With the engine work finished for the time being I moved on to the car electrics with Konrad. Working on the electrics was probably to most daunting task that I took on during the course of the whole project. The Lucas Electrics wiring harness system used in this car, notorious for being extremely unreliable and developing gremlins in old age, was old and tatty and often led to nowhere so when it came to labelling and mapping out he harness it became a bit of a headache. In addition many of the wires were insulated by cloth unlike modern systems, which by now had started to degrade and corrode making the process of removing the harness in one piece very difficult. The process was slow and involved us starting with the gauges in the dash. Carefully removing the gauge, mapping out the wiring contacts and labelling the harness followed by the disconnecting terminals and removing the gauge from the dash. We did this for all the gauges and we ended up having to completely disassemble the steering wheel linkage in order to reach the last gauges. With all the interior wiring disconnected and the rear harness disconnected and pulled through we moved to the engine bay to undo the last few connections and to open up the main grommet so that the whole harness would be able to be pulled through in one piece. With the wiring harness gone we removed the four bolts holding the dash in place, granted it was quite snug we were able to hammer it out carefully. Once the dash had been removed the rubber seals were cut away and glass carefully lifted out on back and front followed by the brake and clutch pedal assembly. The interior and body of the car at this point had now been stripped and ready the body prep for sandblasting.
Steering column showing turn signal wiring
Dash with steering wheel and electrics removed
Gauge in dash wiring
Under dash wiring
Chipping and scraping rubberized coating
My last job of the project was to work on the transmission. This included disassembling the transmission shifter linkage and cleaning the exterior of the gearbox casing along with testing the overdrive. After tearing apart the linkage we discovered that new gaskets were needed. Once we received the new gaskets the transmission went back together fairly simply with new oil seals, gaskets and a new rubber shift boot. Testing the overdrive was fairly simple by hooking up the solenoid to a battery then checking to make sure the solenoid engages forcing on the hydraulic pump. The last job for the transmission was to re-paint it red. We did this with a rattle can and it went very quickly.
Over the course of this project I learned a lot about not only cars but also to expect that things will almost always go wrong when you don't want them too. Meaning in a project like this you just have to go with the flow because plans will most likely change day-to-day. I also learned that helping others is a very important thing when working on a project like this. When nobody works together things will either not happen very fast or not get done at all. Another thing I learned is that its very important to listen to others and hear them out as they might know something that you don't as well as you could learn something new. The biggest thing I learned was to take your time, figure out what you need to do, and work on the task as a team. If everyone is on the same page and works hard then you end up with really good results.
The main skill that I learned was that I learned how to weld along with several other practical techniques that are useful while working on cars. Having some of these techniques under my belt gives me some experience and will be helpful down the road when I am working on my own car. Overall I had a good experience with this project and look forward to working on further projects in the future. Along with the various small projects I got to work on I also got many experiences, tactics, techniques and problem solving skills to go with it which has made this course a very rewarding one.
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