SO when we drove the car back it basically wasn't holding ANY coolant pressure and it was pinging like crazy. Yeah, obvious head gasket failure and the coolant system had just been worn down over time. Luckily this little guy is just a simple pushrod engine that has a very minimal amount of accessories attached to it. My only problem is that I have a hard time not tearing the whole engine apart and doing a complete restoration. But seeing as how we need this car back on the road I'll just be doing the following:
- Pulling the head for a complete valve job and resurfacing
- All new gaskets and most hoses
- Contemplating a set of ARP studs
- Using lifetime silicone breather gaskets
- Degreasing the whole engine
- Replacing all the crappy clamps with quality ones
- Properly routing all the wiring with new connectors/terminals
- Sand blasting and coating the manifolds black
- Threadlocking crucial screws in and around the carb
- Replacing various nuts and bolts with proper grade bits
- Safety wiring vacuum lines
- Resurfacing all adjoining surfaces and using proper sealers
- I also wouldn't mind converting it to a digital electronic ignition!! But that's more time and money... maybe later. :lol:
Here is what I had to start out with.
