The Floyd Brothers 68 Barracuda Fastback

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Fri Mar 27, 09 3:00 pm

Yeah they will clean up. Polish them as highly as you can.

Post by **TyreFryer** » Fri Mar 27, 09 3:01 pm

If I was you Stu, I'd by a bench grinder and a steel brush to go in it. I clean all my valves, bolts, etc with mine and it won't cause any damage. Unless you catch it and it flies across the room.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/searc ... any/page/1

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri Mar 27, 09 3:43 pm

Funny you should say that Martin, it's on my list!

Might as well have a quick aside. (Well, it is "The Workshop" section...)

As we've been clearly bitten by the "build it yerself" bug, I decided to build my Workshop whilst in limbo waiting for parts. Can't keep my Father-in-law's garage full of stuff much longer and it's hard to get half an hour in when you have to drive there, so took a couple of days off and transformed the massive mess in the garage into my new workshop.... Had to evict the current resident, (which involved a keystone cops type couple of hours chasing the darn thing round) and of course Sal was chuffed to bits when she saw that I'd been re-arranging the garden!

Still, all built out of blagged stuff, so didn't cost me owt but graft and blagging time, I now have somewhere to go when Junior strikes up a chorus.

Once I've been to the tip with most of that stuff on the right, hung up the rest of my tools and uncovered the sink unit / parts washer that's buried under the junk, progress should get much quicker!

A man's garage is his castle.

It's all Blue's fault...

Ivor · Post by **Ivor** » Fri Mar 27, 09 3:51 pm

Stu, I hope I'm not teaching granny, but don't bother grinding any valves that are going on seats that need cutting...give me a shout when you are ready to come down.

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri Mar 27, 09 4:05 pm

Cheers, Ivor.

Gareth's going to bring them down to you. We're going to be changing the front end bushings this weekend (

) so he'll bring them back with him.

Won't do any more on the valves until you've had a look at the seats, cheers.

In the meantime, spent a couple of hours on the pistons last night. Very theraputic too, as Kev said it would be.

Lots of carbon deposits behind the old rings, so took some cleaning up before re-ringing. Really enjoying learning all this, I have to say.

Finally learned how to gap rings. Can't see what all the fuss was about after all that worry!

One piston caused a problem though. Stuck fast at the little end.

Just starting to lose hope and think that more money was on the cards, when Fatha-in-law wandered in with a cup of coffee and a brilliant suggestion. (Both welcome!

)

One bucket of boiling water later, little end as free as a bird, credit card breathing a sigh of relief.

As an old electrician I know says: "They don't teach you that at college!"

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri Mar 27, 09 11:48 pm

Gareth arrived a while back with the V8 K in the back of his car and boy has it changed since I last saw it!

I reckon he threw it away and bought a NOS one while I wasn't looking.

Just goes to show what good old fashioned elbow grease, a grinder and a tin of smoothright can do. What you reckon?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat Mar 28, 09 12:05 am

Last bit from during the week, so you can stop swearing at me for all the useless boring photo's!

Hadn't touched the block since honing, so got busy with the wire brushes and drills, cleaned the outside off as best we could, to try and get ready to take paint as well as it can without hot tanking or pro-prep. That done and it was time to hose it down one last time. The cause of much merriment as I got more waterlogged than the block and it complained about it's bath by way of a "Dirty protest" from a water gallery that had been blocked beneath a head gasket...

Is that normal to do that, or had someone just not holed it right do you reckon?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat Mar 28, 09 12:14 am

Dried off and essential parts oiled up, new bearings went in, followed by crank and cam. Need to ask a question at this point. The cam thrust plate on this engine was just retained by four bolts, but we had what we think is an oil feed plate that we'd spotted attached on a different block.

1st question, is there a reason there wouldn't have been one on this particular block?
2. Is it best to fit it or not?
3. Have we got it on right? (Block shown upside down, obviously.) This is how I remeber it being on, but it means using one of the bolt holes to prevent the plate from moving. Is this right? Does it compromise anything by doing this?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat Mar 28, 09 11:07 pm

Dear Diary.

Day 27, Things aren't going quite as we hoped. Set about renewing the front end bushes today. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bananarama! Bananarama! of a Bananarama! job, Bananarama! arse Bananarama! Bananarama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat Mar 28, 09 11:26 pm

Easy peasey when you know how

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat Mar 28, 09 11:30 pm

Not so easy if none of the bolts have been moved since 1968 and have spent their whole life in a wet climate.

The biggest pain in the arse job ever.

Spent an entire day shearing bolts, shearing knuckles and fingers and getting Bananarama! nowhere!

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat Mar 28, 09 11:38 pm

Next question... How the hell do you get the sway bar bushes on? Got all rubber set, except these which are polly. Can't see how the blob of grease that came with them is going to help though. How do they go over that end?

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Sun Mar 29, 09 12:42 am

Slit it through the top with a Stanley knife, spread, fit, eyethangyew....

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sun Mar 29, 09 9:21 am

Oh, ok.

That's what Gareth suggested, but I was convinced it shouldn't be cut!

You live and learn, eh? Cheers Blue.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sun Mar 29, 09 10:47 am

What's a "Sway bar" ????

First thing in the bin for a strip car

Good luck