Junior2561

Project has really slowed down - house is for sale and we are moving everything out to declutter it. I did find time to metal treat the little bit of factory flooring left. I soaked it down in POR's Metal Prep and gave it a coat of red oxide looking epoxy. Next will be to do the same to the rest of the floor. I looks like a rusty floor, but its not... Also taking a slight beating with the timing chain cover rubbing on my fuel pump eccentric. I was rotating the engine lastnight to measure for pushrod length and became very disappointed, very fast...

Ha - thats call denial! I think its part of our sickness.:whistling:

So wait, it wasn't even welded down? Just glued?

gotta love new parts

wow - looks great

For perfection, you would want the new full pan. I still kick myself for not going with the entire pan, but my budget didn't allow $650 for a full pan. Surprised by the expander foam though, that is pretty butcher.

looks bad! Congrats!

turns out - its suppose to be that way! who knew.

i kind of thought the same thing - They are Felpro's and they are listed for this engine. I got them from Summit. One thing i did not do, was come pare the gasket to the head yet. Which i would expect the he to match the block.

Getting into more of the mechanical end of it... Heads are back together and ready to bolt on. I lapped the valves and installed new seals. No porting or anything fancy. I'm also starting to bust apart the front suspension. The lower control arms will be replaced, along with the uppers. A new shaft kit for the uppers is $60 and a new control arm is $70...who knows. I did run into a snag installing the head gasket, so I'm researching if this is correct. It looks like the gasket is cover two coolant passages. I know the engine needs blown off...I plan to paint the engine once the heads are on and everything is buttoned up.

If you do bedliner, you can still get moisture developing under it, so be cautious of that. Looks great though!

Pay 1000$the and get it media blasts. Speaking from experience!

What brand paint? Looks good!

i've thought about making the drive out for the swap meet...is it normally worth it?

that would be a night mare! I love looking at the car all flat black looking, almost makes me not want to sand on it lol Reviewing my progress, I think I will be better off getting the car on all fours, engine bay painted and motor dropped in. I'm deathly afraid of getting the car painted and then nicking it up while installing hard parts. Valves are all lapped on the heads, they should be going back together completed over the next week. Then they will get painted and installed on the shortblock. REALLY considering going 4spd also. T5s just break too easy and I do not have $2500 to drop on a TKO setup.

The engine block is a 351w roller block from a 95 lightning. Still torn on what to do for the trans. A t5 that blows out or a good 4spd. I don't have funds for a 2000$ trans plus small parts

i recommend the air craft stripper only if you wash and dry right away. If nothing else, it gets you to a good point where you can run over the panel with 150grit and clean it up quicker.

ouch, wet sanding the bond would without a doubt kick your backside. I could see where it would just hold the moisture in there. For Featherfill, it is not required to etch unless you are doing a large, bare metal panel. So if the hood was completely untouched, bare metal, than I would have. Its almost like a liquid icing - sands really smooth, self levels, doesn't shrink up. This morning though, I did start lapping the valves in the heads. I figure by friday the heads will be ready to go back together.

If I had to guess...600lb? I can move it around with ease.

Thanks - I'm hoping that during the house project, i can still put some effort towards the car. I am shooting to be able to drive it 2014.

Best of Luck!

thanks - it makes a HUGE difference. really gets me excited

Big Mile stone - I hit primer with the car this weekend. I hammered on two good coats of Evercoat FeatherFill....I tested a spot with 180 and this stuff sands like butter. The car is going to hit the back burner for a little while though, we have put our house up forsale and i need to keep the garage neat and presentable lol I will be getting the heads cleaned up and back together though, so i can put them on the engine. After two coats of Black Featherfill Getting the E7TEs cleaned up. I'll lap the valves, put on new seals and get them back together

Looking good Mike!

Did a lot for our hobby...