Highway Thunder

The [mostly] reassembled engine, ready for installation
(click to enlarge)

Recent progress was marked yesterday when my brother Erik and I moved the engine from the sunporch in my house to the work area next to the car.  Moving the stripped engine block to the sunporch had been a relatively easy one-man job.  But after installing crankshaft, pistons, heads, intake manifold, et al, the combined assembly weighed considerably more.  Strapped to a hand truck, it required the use of a floor jack just to tip it back so it could be rolled outside.  Then we used the floor jack to tip it back upright.

Other progress has been made prepping the car for the engine installation.

The interior of the car has been scraped, sanded, primed and sealed.  Special attention is being paid to upgrading the soundproofing using modern materials.

We  removed the doors to make access in and around the car easier.  It’s also easier to work the doors on a bench surface rather than on the car, and makes it easier to prime and paint the door jambs and fenders.

The old heating unit has been removed and the combined air conditioning/heating unit procured and awaiting installation.

The gas tank was removed for cleaning and sealing. The tank drained a few gallons of decades old, rusty gasoline sludge.   The sending unit was rusted out and will be replaced with a new one.  I’m cleaning the inside of the tank by inserting a heavy chain and sloshing it around in muriatic acid.  When the rinse comes out clean, the tank will be dried and sealed with a product called Red Kote.

Removal of the fuel tank allows access to the car underside so that rusty surfaces can be treated and sealed.