Gearbox refresh

The 4-speed gearbox & clutch was in sad shape. The peddle box spring was broken, the master cylinder was full of cheese,  the slave cylinder looked beat up and two circlips fell out of the bell-housing when we pulled the engine. Time for a refresh:

• Removed and disassembled the peddle box assembly. Sanded and then painted with POR-15. (See below)
• Made trip to transmission shop, pressed in new front and read oil seals. 
• New clutch master & slave cylinders installed.
• New fork boot installed.
• New fork & release bearing clips installed.
• New throw-out bearing installed.

Engine done, adjusting twin cam valve timing & DIY zinc plating

Engine is done. Assembled by Van Holst Automotive in Kitchener.

Ordered two RAMFLO air filters. Should give us some extra room in the engine bay.

Good article on setting valve timing:

http://elantrikbits.com/lotus-elan-blog/adjusting-twin-cam-valve-clearances/

And Eastwoods Media Tumbler & DIY zinc plating system to make your nuts & bolts looks spiffy:

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-18-lb-tumbler.html

http://www.mustangandfords.com/parts/1310-eastwood-tin-zinc-electroplating-system/?__federated=1

Engine machine work done

Thanks Twin City. Solid advice, attention to detail, exemplary internal balancing job. Located in Kitchener, Ontario. (519) 745-6196

Notes from the original owner

• Was Barry's classmate in grade 5!
• He first saw the car driving around downtown Toronto (circa mid-1970)
• Noticed the same car advertised in the newspaper the following day
• Purchased the car the next day (Coventry Motors?), used his BWM 1800 as a trade in
• Car was the dealer demo and had 11,000 miles on it
• Owned the car 11 years, occasional use only, dry storage in the winter
• Purchased a service manual and did all the servicing himself
• Spent several weeks converting the car from positive to negative ground (after connecting the battery the wrong way and burning out the wiring system)
• The car had one small accident - a lady clipped the driver side door in Paris, Ontario
• Traded the car in on a Volvo in the early 80's

Transmission seals done & front suspension inspection

New front & rear oil seals installed in the transmission.

News from machine shop. Crank, rods and pistons have been balanced. Waiting for new thrust washers.

Barry added black accents and polished cam cover. See below.

Front anti-roll bar needs new bushings. Ball joints are shot as well.

Soda-blasting and painting valve cover and oil pan

Finally - a proper day working on the car!

I soda-blasted the engine pulley, valve cover and lipseal pan. The process is a little messy, but it gently removes oil and paint. See attached pictures.

Barry cleaned and repainted the front anti-roll bar.

Then a welcome surprise - the original owner of the car dropped by... had a good chat for a couple of hours. More on this later.

Went hunting for engine paint. Found a perfect match for the sump - "Dark Grey" at NAPA Auto Parts. And "Wrinkle Red" (Canadian Tire) for the valve cover. Did final sanding & cleaning - then repainted.

We hope Twin City machine shop will finish the engine block on Monday.

New goodies in the mail, front bumper reinstalled

Stainless steel header and idler sprocket arrived.

The Dave Bean header looks fantastic. It's a two piece, 4-2-1 configuration, flowing into a 2 1/4" (wide bore) pipe. When you compare it to the original 4-1 OEM header, the new one should help the engine flow much better!

Barry reinstalled front bumper & painted transmission.

Twin City called to say the head is done.