But Ma, it followed me home

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

The answer is always Miata…

I was extremely disappointed with my Miata.

[otto_kretschmer]

ugh...

One broken head stud in the block and its not coming out without a fuss.

It was unavoidable. That stud was stuck and not moving. The EZ out tool wasn't working so I'm either going to put it on the mill or take it to a machine shop.

[wdfifteen]

Jealous here too. I have my own Speedster project that I’m working on now that I’m being too much of a perfectionist on. It takes some of the fun out of it. A Sprite - I could really cut loose and have a ball with it.

[otto_kretschmer]

Got a call from the machine shop. They inspected the block and crank and told me what parts to order and I went over to British Auto Service to order pistons and bearings.

So the ball is moving, slowly.

In the mean time I painted the hubcaps and wheels. This is a budget restoration so I rattle canned the hubcaps silver and shot the wheels with Rust-oleum gloss black.

I bought tires from Walmart. I found 145/80R13 on their site and they fit so they fit my criteria for tires (round and black).

All four hubcaps were dinged, scraped and rusty. New run about a C note so I ground down the flaky chrome, filled the dents with JB Weld and painted them silver.

[WPOZZZ]

Those hubcaps look great! I saw a Sprite at my home improvement store last week. It is so tiny!

[porsche tech]

The college kid across the street from me had a white one when I was about 15 or so…I was so jealous! That and the TR3 were my faves at the time. Have fun!

[otto_kretschmer]

I stopped by the machine shop last week and they are done with the block but still need to grind the crank.

Slowly chipping away at this car. I got the engine tin painted and I went with Rustoleum forest green from the local hardware store.

I got the axle primered yesterday and going to give it another coat of black this afternoon. The axle had 65 years of crud that needed to be scrapped off and that took a couple days.

[LWJ]

This is awesome. I am living vicariously here.

[otto_kretschmer]

Removing the old bushings. I first tried a torch and got the first one out but cut thru the ring that seats the bushing. For the 2nd I used a hacksaw and that did work but was tedious and took a while so for the last two I used the mill for a broaching operation and got them out EZ.



New bushings are coming and I'll paint the links tomorrow.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by LWJ

This is awesome. I am living vicariously here.

Me too...fond memories of times spent in a deceased buddy's '60.

[Steve Carlton]

What color are you going to paint it?

[otto_kretschmer]

going for a pale primrose

[yellowperil]

[QUOTE=otto_kretschmer;12214262]going for a pale primrose

Your car looks great, I wish one would follow me home !

[otto_kretschmer]

Got the block and crank from the machine shop today.

Anyone have any tips on post machining cleaning? I took a pressure washer with soap to the block and scrubbed all the surfaces with a nylon brush. Then blew it dry with compressed air and soaked it with WD40. I want to paint the block so I'm going to wash it again tomorrow and wipe down the machined surfaces with a clean oily rag.

[gary1101]

I have a left-over bottle of this from my British car days.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

Those hubcaps look great! I saw a Sprite at my home improvement store last week. It is so tiny!

My buddy who owned one had an "in" with the operators of highway use scales...think it was 1,400 pounds. Yes, they are tiny..and light.

[otto_kretschmer]

Checking the machine shop's work. I'm going to get some plastigauge and check the clearances and probably measure the bearings for redundancy.

So far so good.

[otto_kretschmer]

Crank going in today. Still have to check end float so I can't torque it yet.

[otto_kretschmer]

Had too much end play. Book calls for .002-.003 and I had .005 to .006.

So new thrust washers were in order. British Auto Service was closed today so I used the lathe to make one. I didn't have round stock big enough (2 1/2" dia) but I had scraps of sheet metal that were thick enough so I used that.

[herr_oberst]

Fantastic! Is the factory thrust washer aluminum, too?