As the motor is gaining more and more weight and all the underneath work has been completed, I took the decision to remove it from the Empi stand and rest it on my own dolly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the precision coded welders at Empi’s China division are at the top of their game and are turning offers away from submarine contractors on a daily basis, but…. You get the idea.

The rear tin was next up for a bath and with the usual amount of scrubbing in various mixtures, came up well. I sprayed the rear of it with the sealer spray to cover any areas where the paint had chipped off.











Note the little hole in the bottom corner that the solid fuel line passes through. This has a rubber grommet to stop the fuel line getting damaged. I’ve seen some cars with this missing and wince, where otheres have jury rigged it with a small section of flexi hose on top of the solid one as it passes through the hole. I’ve got a new proper grommet to go in there.

At this point, there is no particular build order as such and parts can be added to taste, so I gave the oil filler and breather a bath and fitted them next. The plastic grommet where the breather drain exits the tinware has survived very well indeed, as had the seal where the filler bowl fits the genny stand.







The oven cleaner did a great job on the oil filler cap, but sadly the original cork gasket was more brittle and fragile than my last bank statement.









I’m sure I can stretch to a new one….





I next turned my attention to the fan housing and ancillaries which thankfully weren’t as dirty….. well, that’s what I thought until I took the fan out and saw inside the housing!









I can now confidently report that cleaning the inside of a fan housing with all it’s vanes, nooks and crannies has now made it into the top ten of my all time least favourite things to do – even surpassing such classics like licking up spilt battery acid or an letting my wife pluck wayward eyebrow hairs whilst wrestling with me in a head lock…

At one point I found my self wearing rubber gloves and up to my elbows wincing and straining, glad that I didn’t choose gynaecology as a career.

The results were worth the effort though.













This was all achieved with the jet fuel, bucket and a variety of peculiar looking brushes that would look more at home in a vending machine repair man’s tool box than mine, but it got the job done.

To remove the last traces of fine matter along with the smell and greasiness of the jet fuel, I gave it one last scrub and soak in a hot and soapy ‘bin bath’. My wife took one look at me and suggest I’d better jump in there with it before she’d let me back in the house….





The air control ring got the same treatment.







As did the fan and backing plate…. Fan took some scrubbing to get each individual blade clean, I can tell you!













I’ve still got the dynamo to clean up so assembly will have to wait a little.


Next up was the intake manifold – which brings me to a quandary….. From the factory they were either a grey or black finish. Mine was black judging from the few tiny little dots of paint that were left on it here and there. 99.9% of all the paint had long since burnt / flaked / worn off over the years and left it looking very sorry for itself – just like pretty much every other inlet manifold I’ve seen.





None of that stuff is ‘lovely patina’ – it’s just grime and rust, plain and simple and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t leave it that way, and there wasn’t enough original black paint to try and save.

I decided to give it a bath in the oven cleaner, which for the record does a fantastic job of clearing the insides out as the foam action expands and creeps from one end to the other like drain cleaner.











I let it sit for a while with a few more applications of the foam and then gave it a good hose down outside which left me with this little beauty.









Now, the question is what to do with it…..

As I say, there was no paint left to save – do I leave it to rust and tarnish, do I give it a light coat of satin black high temp paint, do I get it blasted and powder coated in original black ????

I welcome any ideas and feedback.

What I don’t want to do is have this immaculate ‘restored’ inlet manifold sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the engine bay….

---

Manifold looks very nice and rust free to, super job !.Personally i would get the manifold stove enamelled black as powdercoat will burn off at the preheat tubes,it will soon dull up to match the rest.On my own car i just used a 2 pack black over an etch primer but the shiny finish was'nt a problem as i did the rest of the tin as well.You may find that transit spray you put on the lower tin will smell really bad when you use the heater,they do get quite hot .

Mike

Cheers Mike, I only used the sealer spray on the outside of the channels - the insides are degreased and clean.

I don't mid if the paint burns off and tarnishes - it'll look authentic then! :lol:

I thought stove enameling was just another term for powder coating???

What's the difference?

---

I use PJ1 fast black engine and case paint, it does not need undercoat as it cures on and dries semi flat. I have found you can polish it to an authentic aged look.
It is normaly aimed at the motor cycle market.
They do a matt exhaust version to (higher temp)  PJ1satin.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

---

For powder coating the part is statically charged to attract the powder which is then heated to melt the powder and form the paint.Stove enalling uses traditional solvent based paints but is cured in an oven.Powder coat is cheaper but results seem to vary on who you take it to and what preparation they do.Its really a matter of choice but no matter what you do, get it blasted first especially if you are using stuff from a rattle can .I relise it will be frustrating after the time you spent cleaning but it really does make the difference to whether the paint stays on long term.The last manifold i sprayed i used an etch primer ,and a bog standard two pack black.The etch primer really helps keep the paint on the ally jacket which in the past always seemed to come off first.

Too many choices i know but whatever you do get it blasted first.

Mike

Thanks for the info.
As daft as it sounds - I'm not looking for a perfect finish, nor one that will stay looking new for ever.

A tarnished, peeled and aged look is actually what I want and I guess that'll hapen sooner with less prep and a more normal type paints. :lol:

If it all goes wrong, it;s no big issue to get it re-done in the future.

---

I’m pretty sure the alloy jacket should remain alloy. I’m not sure about the black and grey debate on the rest of the manifold.. as you say it will be a shame to have anything overly ‘’clean’’

Lovely work!:d

---

I think you should leave it as it is!

If you were rebuilding the motor back in the 60's I think you would have probably cleaned it and put it back on, because as you would have witnessed from the factory, all paint just burns off and looks rubbish.

I would have thought the alloy would soon dull down when fitted to the car.

Manifolds were painted black all over ,its just that the ally bit looses its paint first so it appears that it was never painted in the first place.Not sure though when they changed to grey i have never seen a 30hp engine in original paint that had a grey one but thats not to say that spares made in the 60s were not.

Mike

I'll give it a quick blow over with some primer then satin black like I did with the coil, then let exhaust heat and nature take it's course.

Spent the last two days unblocking the heat risers!

Don't even go there with the old clutch cable technique lark.... :shock: Having one snap and get stuck in there is no fun at all. Getting it out afterwards is even less fun. :roll:

---

Right then – the last few days…

The big hold up initially was the heat risers on the inlet manifold. I’d have loved to use the clutch cable technique, but sadly didn’t have one lying about so improvised instead.

I took a length of piano wire and bent the end over a little to act as a ‘spade’ and rounded the end off so it didn’t damage the inside of the tube on the thinner bends etc.





I tried the other end in the drill chuck but it wouldn’t grip tightly enough so I died a thread on the end…





…then drilled and tapped a thread on the end of an old exhaust stud…





…which gave the drill chuck something to grip against. I also made sure that the drill turned in the direction that only tightened the threads up.





I then inserted the rod up the rise until I found the blockage and set to work.







This was going great guns, apart from all the black soot that poured out….. right up to the part when the rod snapped as I’d gone too fast and over heated it!

Did it snap on the outside where I could grip it and pull it out?

Nope.

All I can say is that I tried very hard to get it out and initially failed. I even tried poking more stuff up inside to push it out the other side and broke something else off in there too!!!

I really wanted to cry, but me being me, I got my “Absolutely will not stop!" Terminator head on and eventually (like after two days) got them out. This was a very exasperating and tedious task but I got there in the end and after a few swills with oven cleaner, followed by celly thinners, got it clear as a whistle.

I didn’t get andy pics of my efforts as I’d have likely just thrown the camera over the fence in frustration!

Anyway – I decided to give the manifold a light coat of etch primer followed my some satin black which I’m sure with the hot and oily environment of the engine bay will weather in very quickly! Here’s the result.









Before I could start mounting the manifold, I needed to get the exhaust mounted – tissues at the ready guys, here it comes!







It was a most ‘convenient discovery’ to find a NOS fitting kit to go with the NOS exhaust and heater boxes!!!









NOS tinware screws anyone!!!!!





The real deal!





How cool was it to find an old part number written on a piece of paper stuck inside one of the heater boxes!





Actually, other than the repair pipes being welded on, the rest of the original heater boxes are perfect, so one day I’ll strip them, get them blasted and powder coated and rebuild them.





And so – back in the garage…


Nice new gaskets and some anti seize copper grease, which I’m sure will just burn off and become useless, but I’m in the habit so what the heck.







Correct spring washers and on she went!





Ta-da!





Savour the goodness…..





I simply couldn’t resist a shot with my genuine TDE tail pipes (wonderful quality items and better than ANY I’ve seen from anywhere else)





Next up was the inlet manifold which uses a crush gasket on the inlet port, and a normal gasket on the heat riser. Note that the correct order is to tighten the heat riser bolts first, then the actual manifold bolts to seat the crush gasket.











It’s much easier to get access to the rear carb nut with the fan housing out the way so my previously rebuilt carb went on next – starting to take shape…





Next up I cleaned, but resisted the temptation to polish, the three service lines – 2 x fuel lines and the vacuum line and fitted them up.





I made sure I fitted the correct and very important rubber grommet that stops the fuel line chafing as it passes through the rear engine tin.









I cleaned up the ignition wire rail and holders and fitted them next.







Which finally allowed me to install the dizzy cap and ignition wires, making sure the spark plug dust caps were neatly in place.







Won’t be long before this little lot is covered up for good…





And this is how I left it for tonight…





Last few jobs are to clean up the rear tin, strip clean and inspect the dynamo, reassemble the entire fan shroud and ancillaries and mount to the motor, fit the heater boxes, clean and fit the rocker covers then give everything a final check and ‘once over’ to make sure I’ve not over looked anything silly.

Not long now chaps!

---

Looks fantastic! Dont know if you have heard of Gibbs Brand Penetrant? i found out about it through some of the US hot rodding sites, there are now UK distributors - is incredible stuff, not just as a penetrating fluid but for protecting original finishes, im using it on master cylinders / brake lines etc, also inhibits rust.No affiliation to it google it and see examples of its use if youve got a minute.

Great attention to detail as ever LT.

I'm sure this thing will fire up within seconds of fuel getting to the head's.

I do hope so....

I must admit I've got huge anxieties about the first fire up - I dred it making a horrible knocking noise, or leaking loads of oil from somewhere etc...

I'lll do a full video and post it if people would like to see?

---

Absolutely! :wink:

Mike

---

x2

Bit of today's action...

Cleaned up the rear tin and fitted it - looks a lot more complete now, although I'll have to take it off to fit the motor.







Next up was a job I'd been putting off for ages as I knew it was going to be even less interesting than 'Cats'.... the rocker boxes and that damn stuborn gasket that simply wouldn't budge.

I eventually hit it with the oven cleaner which to be fair did soften it a bit allowing me to get most of it off afterwards with a brass wire brush and pan scourer.





The rest came off with simple abraision, and lots of it - nasty stuff.

Here are the clean and prepared covers and bales.





I hung the new gaskets off the cupboard door knobs and coted one side with the K2 sealant.....





Which once has gone tacky, allows it to stick to the cover whilst you line them up for fitment.





Just before I fitted them, I re-oiled all the rocker gear to give it a head start at initial fire up, then degreased the mating surface of the head where the gasket sits.





Bingo - safe and sound.





Next up was the dynamo. I decided that it'd be rude to just clean it and re-fit it, so I stripped it down for a look see.





Pretty grotty in there so glad I did. Getting the bearings off was a real pain in the ass. The one on the fan end is locked into the end plate with a spring washer, so comes off as an entire unit - with lots and lots of force.... I had to support the end plate from underneath between two blocks of wood, then drift the armature shaft out after heating it with a heat gun.

Came out eventually.

The bearing at the pulley end was not going anywhere. There is nowhere to lever, hammer or pull, so I fiddled and scratched around for an hour or so, then resorted to the best tool I've ever had - I rang Dad.....

Great thing about visiting Dad is that I always come away with more than I arrived with and my tools department swells further still. I must pop round more often.

Anyway, after taking some heavyweight fatherly abuse for a while, I produced the armature complete with stuck bearing and watched his brain grind into RAF style action. No sooner had I swiped a few more tools, he'd reached into one of his many drawers and pulled out a device that must have been made when Ivan Hurst was a lad.

Anyway - off came the bearing, making me feel useless and small at the same time.

Back home, here is the exploded view of all the components that make up the armature.





For some comedy value, check out how 'seasoned' the comutator is!





I think, maybe at some point in the past, a little tiny spec of dirt might have crept in there along the way!

Not to worry - plenty of meat left on the bone and I have plans for it tomorrow which should see it all fit for service again.

Before I sign off - the bearings are long past their best, but I can't imagine that their open design is still the best route these days?

Surely a 2SR double rubber seal or a ZZ fibre seal bearing would be more suitable?

What do people generally do for replacement (upgraded) bearings?

---

Of all the threads that I've read on this and other 'lesser' sites, yours sir is by far the finest.

:beer: :beer: :beer:

I have used 2ZZ C3 bearings.The C3 basically means it has greater radial clearance for the balls(allows for expansion) for high speed applications.

Mike

Why thank you old bean - might one of those beers be for me? :lol:

---