Ash

I got told "there is no rust in this car" too, Mal. About 7 years and double my initial investment later, I'm still rebuilding.

Cheers guys.
Earlier in the week I tig welded some plumbing fittings to pressure test the evaporator core.

No joy...two slow air leaks

I had to go to out of town to collect some new A/C parts for my Amarok and while there I discussed some options. There were a few that are similar but it'll come down to a cost comparison to whether redoing the original is cost effective to the Vintage Air options which is roughly $1100 Australian delivered.
I was told to soak the timing cover in the waterborne wax and grease remover to treat the cast alloy for paint prep. I couldn't figure out a way to do this without wasting a lot of the fluid. I've only got the one container and getting more is not a quick option. So I got a spray bottle and sprayed it over and over for a couple of days.

It's not a perfectly smooth finish as the surface was not smooth with it being cast, but I think it's fitting with the cast block. It's my first attempt at spraying the epoxy, I've only brushed it on up to this point. We've had some beautiful days weather so it was good time to get it done. Am pretty happy with the result.

Time well spent on the engine, it looks very tidy. I love those rocker covers too, I once had a similar set on a 351C that had "CLEVELAND" embossed in the top.
 

Looking more and more like a car again, Mal. Your goal is becoming very close to completion.
Just to let you know, flashing red tail lights are fine. Mine are and I have full NSW rego. If I were driving in Sydney like yourself though, I would change them too. To many people on those roads with no common sense.

The dash looks good. I like it more so than the wrinkle. Nice work.

Mine did that too when I removed the bar. But I've read that it is pretty common and some do it a lot more.
A mates XP was repaired the same way and he's having all kinds of fun cleaning it out.

MIG welds sanded down. I had several low and missed points.

So I touched them up with the TIG.

And then smoothed down and finally sanded with 80 grit on the DA. Still a few very low points that the 6" pad didn't touch but they are very shallow.


By the time I brushed on 3 coats of epoxy to seal it, it was dark. Sorry for the crappy photo.

I know my work is not up to others who do this often or have lots of experience. But I am pretty happy with the outcome. I think it is quite solid and pretty neat. I've very little experience with this and am still learning as I go. Rusty and Brian, I am sure others will know who I mean, give me lots of inspiration to produce the quality they do. I'll get better at it.

Wow, it's been a few months. I still haven't achieved much of anything except getting all the pistons back out and adding the complete set of spiro locks to the gudgeons. Of course by the end of that I had it down to a pretty quick repetition.
I have been getting lots of car stuff done, just nothing done for myself. Have also been doing the odd TIG job for people here and there which has been lots of fun and useful. You learn something new every time you pick up the torch.
Last week I scored some more parts for my other distraction(dust collector). I got a bargain. It's not pretty and has some rust but it'll stay looking like that, I have no intention on changing. Plus it matches the colouring on my cab that I picked up some time ago.

and this is the cab

Great stuff.
Good thing you got the engine bay sprayed yesterday when it was warm. It's bloody freezing today.

That must feel like a massive step forward. Good stuff.

That's it, snake hunting in the Mustang! You might scare them off though when they feel that rumble coming down the road. haha
You can keep the browns though. I spend too much time each summer keeping them, well trying to, out of my yard and house. The joys of living rural.

That is a very nice photo, your friend has done well.
As have you with the build. The underneath is looking great!

Good to see you're still at it, Mal. Keep it up.

Wow, it's been a few months. I still haven't achieved much of anything except getting all the pistons back out and adding the complete set of spiro locks to the gudgeons. Of course by the end of that I had it down to a pretty quick repetition.
I have been getting lots of car stuff done, just nothing done for myself. Have also been doing the odd TIG job for people here and there which has been lots of fun and useful. You learn something new every time you pick up the torch.
Last week I scored some more parts for my other distraction(dust collector). I got a bargain. It's not pretty and has some rust but it'll stay looking like that, I have no intention on changing. Plus it matches the colouring on my cab that I picked up some time ago.

and this is the cab

Gees I wish my wife got that excited about buying cars. All I get told is that I have too many! ha

You may not reach the goal you had wished to in this time but I can tell you that you've achieved more than many of us have in years.

You may not reach the goal you had wished to in this time but I can tell you that you've achieved more than many of us have in years.

New bits going in instead of cutting old out is always a great feeling. Making progress now!

From memory there were 3 spot welds on each fold.

Yes, that's what it is, Mal. There are two vertical folds on both sides, left and right, where the gearbox cross member is spot welded internally to the frame rail. Not easy at all.

Mine did that too when I removed the bar. But I've read that it is pretty common and some do it a lot more.
A mates XP was repaired the same way and he's having all kinds of fun cleaning it out.

While you're in the office, check out this site. It is brilliant. Jody is great at explaining, well just about everything, in an easy to understand way. There is so much info, it'll make your head spin.
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
Get yourself some acetone and a stainless wire brush and keep it just for cleaning the aluminium. Clean everything as much as you can before sparking the TIG. Impurities are your enemy with alloy. Even down to cutting wheel particles or paint off a saw blade. Nailing a sexy alloy weld sure is rewarding. My wife loves it when I bring some hot freshly welding metal inside to show her a nice weld.....not really. haha
Nice. My A-pillars were pretty average. Around my rear glass was worse. But I suspect mostly it was due to people screwing around with the moulding so much trying to stop window leaks.

Look at the clarity in that door reflection. Amazing!

Hahaha, not sure about Keith Urban. A mate and I were actually on our way to a Cog concert. If you are not familiar with them, they are not quite in the same genre as Keith.

I can't even comprehend what that would be like to live in, such a different climate to here. But we are hoping to experience it before too long, looking at doing a road trip in an RV across a fair chunk of your country, either in Nov/Dec but is now looking like it'll be Feb next year as it's a fair bit cheaper to travel at that time.
 
Hope the good weather continues for you anyway, get lots done!