Thread: Followed Me Home II

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Even tho I've had many green, black, red, vehicles----------my favorite color is blue-----and probable half the worlds population that like any type of motor vehicles know that!!!!!!!!!!

I've got a new level of respect for those guys on the car building TV shows who clean up the engine and mask it off to be painted! The ZZ4 engine was sprayed black from the factory, but after 13 years sitting around the exposed machined surfaces had some surface rust, and there were several places where the paint was gone so I made the decision long ago that I would shoot the engine & tranny black to match the rest of the drive line. I quickly decided that I needed to put the engine on a stand to be able to get to the lower parts and of course both engine stands are in rotisserie duty for the frame so I had to deal with that. Finally got the engine on a stand and started cleaning it up and masking off the heads and intake which are bare aluminum and will stay that way. I decided that I would pull the water pump so that I could get good coverage on the front cover, and made another discovery. The PO bought a big set of ARP "Dress Up" bolts, and there were two polished 12 point head bolts holding the water pump in place. Yes, only two with one on the top and one on the bottom. Worse, rather than taking out bolts one at a time and replacing them he removed the pump, destroying the gaskets, and simply pushed it back in place with half the bolts, and put them in finger tight. First he installed the crank pulley but left off the balancer bolt, and now he destroyed the gaskets and just left it for later without even cleaning the surfaces! ARRRRGH! What a guy!

New gaskets for the water pump is no big deal, but having the pump on there with the two most visible bolts in place, but only finger tight is like the guy was trying to set me up! I'm thankful that he wasn't enough of a mechanic to drop the pan, pull the intake, etc so I'm fairly confident there's nothing amiss there. Regardless, I'll be checking every bolt before the engine goes back in the frame.

I had intended to paint the engine today, but by 3pm I was drenched from the temps in the upper 90's. The engine is ready for color other than hitting it with wax & grease remover, but I'll get the tranny into the booth tomorrow, hose it off and wipe it down, mask off the front and any holes and shoot them both. Baby steps, but each step forward is progress.

Originally Posted by rspears

Worse, rather than taking out bolts one at a time and replacing them he removed the pump, destroying the gaskets, and simply pushed it back in place with half the bolts, and put them in finger tight. First he installed the crank pulley but left off the balancer bolt, and now he destroyed the gaskets and just left it for later without even cleaning the surfaces! ARRRRGH! What a guy!

Regardless, I'll be checking every bolt before the engine goes back in the frame.

Baby steps, but each step forward is progress.

I hear you on that!
After discovering finger tight bolts I'd be wary of anything/everything he could possibly have touched. It might even be prudent to go back to the chassis again; there may be some small thing you missed while assembling it. What had he put on that you didn't take off?

Baby steps?
Nah...ducks in a row mate, ducks in a row...

Originally Posted by johnboy

I hear you on that!
After discovering finger tight bolts I'd be wary of anything/everything he could possibly have touched. It might even be prudent to go back to the chassis again; there may be some small thing you missed while assembling it. What had he put on that you didn't take off?

Yep, he'd never put the IFS together, and the chassis is bare now so every bolt & nut is mine to do. I swapped the tranny for a 700R4 so he never saw that, and I changed gears in the rear and assembled the rear brakes myself. The only thing left is that he could have dropped something down the intake so I'll least pull the plugs and blow compressed air in each one....

In his defense, he'd go to a Goodguys or NSRA show with his pal, the guy who was helping him build his car, and they'd walk around the vendor area with him drooling, and buying stuff - different styles of 3/8" tube clips (different shows?), 3 different packs of header bolts, 2 styles of strapping to put between body and frame, chrome alternator, chrome fuel pump (when he already had an Edelbrock HP), and dress up stuff. Once home he would be itching to see how things looked, knowing his pal would help fix anything he did later so he'd cut open a package and play...... but then the pal moved away.

I hope that it wasn't stainless steel nut/bolt----------normal steel can be retreived with a magnet but not stainless----

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

I hope that it wasn't stainless steel nut/bolt----------normal steel can be retreived with a magnet but not stainless----

Yep, and hopefully it was just "could have" and didn't happen!! Truthfully I hadn't thought about the possibility until I was typing that post.

I never use stainless fasteners for mounting carbs, etc

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

I never use stainless fasteners for mounting carbs, etc

There are some that say the stainless conducts less heat than standard fasteners and they say it helps with heat soak at the carb.

Jerry you're wisdom tells all! A dropped bolt retrieved magnetically or a pull it apart to retrieve the stainless! I'll live with a little heat soak, thank you!

Got the power train shot. I hope that the water pump doesn't end up being the best paint on the car....
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WOW! Looks great! Wish I could give multiple likes!

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

WOW! Looks great! Wish I could give multiple likes!

I hear you on that!
There are many pics posted on here that show such amazing skill and craftmanship that make me feel inadequate.
And I too wish I could give multiple 'Likes'.

I decided to make a run to the auto parts store to get transmission fluid for the torque converter pre-fill and some water pump gaskets. I decided on O'Reilly's because they seem to have guys that actually wrench some, but just to be sure I carried my pump along. I set it on the counter, all shiny and tell him it's a GM crate engine, so pick any Gen I small block 350 and it'll be good. "OK, like maybe 1995?"
Yep, a 1995 350 Chevy, any model and we'll be good. After far too many key strokes, "That's a 5.7, right?" Well yes, a 350 CI engine equates to a 5.7L, you're good with that. Key strokes continue, "What type pump is that?" With a look that he couldn't have misunderstood I replied, "That would be a water pump." What other choices does it give you? He brought back the single gasket with the two ports, one large and one small and we ended up saying just give me two of those and I'll cut it down.

At home, I went on their website to the "Order Online, Pick Up in Store" and they only have the one with the two ports! The kid was right, but had no idea what he was doing. While he was gone looking I'd asked one of the other guys about a big washer for a steering support joint, and he said, "We used to sell individual nuts, bolts, washers and other stuff, but now all we have is the HELPs blister packs. Some guy at headquarters decided it wasted too much time..... The days of a full service parts store with real parts guys are gone!

Parts jockey: "Does that have power steering? Does it have air conditioning? Is that a two-door or four? Is it a hatchback? 15 or 17 inch wheels?"
Me: "It's a small block Chevy. They're all the same."
Parts jockey (undaunted): "What color is it, sir?"

That has happened to me more than once at Advance, Autozone, and O'Reilly's. We used to have an old NAPA store here with counter people who had been in the business for years, but it closed about a year ago when the owner retired and sold the property. I only go to the parts store if I have to these days. I get almost everything online whenever possible.

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

We used to have an old NAPA store here with counter people who had been in the business for years, but it closed about a year ago when the owner retired and sold the property. I only go to the parts store if I have to these days. I get almost everything online whenever possible.

We had the same here, Jim, an old guy who had had his NAPA store forever and only had one guy who worked for him on Sundays and if he happened to need to be away. He only used the computer to generate the receipts, and to alert the warehouse on what he'd sold. He just used his books, and he knew them like the back of his hand. When I was doing the '33 I stopped in and told him that I had a heater hose that came off of a bulkhead, turned 90 and then reduced from 3/4" to 5/8". "How long do you need it after the 90? Gates makes that hose, but the reduced straight part is only 24" long. Will that work?" Not only would it work, it was made to order! He retired, shut down the store and another guy brought in a "new NAPA" that's OK, but not near the same. The books are only good if you know what's in them!

While we're doing the "lamenting ol' guy" thing it was always nice to go into the familiar store with a wire form template for a molded upper or lower radiator hose (hate those ribbed things) and have the guy say something like; Go in the back and find what you need.