More Rehab/Rebuild Progress

[OK-944]

To add to earlier CV-joint post:

Engine Almost Ready! Apologies for not having kept up with posting progress…but have just completed a pretty complete rebuild - rings, all bearings, AN-30 (silicon paste) cylinder reconditioning (not for the faint of heart!), valve seats lapped, complete reseal, new Sachs clutch kit, water-pump, belts, rollers, auto timing belt tensioner spring setting re-adjusted…Just need to send the injectors off to have them cleaned and flow-tested - but will install engine (next spring) before reattaching intake manifold/injectors/etc:


Tranny’s Out! Have cleaned it up since this photo…and will replace axle (under the coupler) seals, plus some linkage upgrades from Only944…can’t wait!:


Painted Intake Manifold, Headers, and Coolant Pipe, with headers (and rest of exhaust) done with flame-proof primer and paint, and manifold/coolant pipe with engine paint:


Remainder of Exhaust System. And that early engine tray? I have no use for this (won’t fit my ’87, which already has the later tray), but it is such a great piece of sculpture that I cannot bring myself to sell it!:


Painted Brake Parts…brake cylinders all gently honed, will soon replace all seals:


Painted/Polished Front/Rear Brake Dust Shields:


A-Arms and Hubs Polished (mag wheel cleaner works great…but be careful with this stuff!), Spindles Cleaned Up and Painted. Have new sets of bearings to go into the hubs, new hardware for spindles/struts. The bushings on the A-Arms look good, but one of the ball joint boots was cracked so I pulled it off to get a better look…and it seems fine (no galling, firm but smooth resistance) so I’ll likely just add some grease and install a new boot:

[mytrplseven]

Isn't it gratifying to have taken the refurb project to this level? Very well done.

[pfarah]

Very nice!!

[jjeffries]

Good job. Thorough and organized.

Next job, insulate your garage? Or is that a fool’s errand in a place as cold as Vermont? Just cease operations till March-April ... ?

John

[OK-944]

Thanks guys...and John J. - re insulating garage...yes, I'm considering this. Studs (2x4) are 16" O.C. - electrics are elevated by 1/2," and windows are double pane Anderson's...so its really set up to do this.

Most likely scenario would be to fill stud bays with plain-jane kraft-faced fiberglass...cover the whole thing with green sheetrock - and do something with the ceiling...which is a fairly standard (circa 1990) prefabbed braced framework - all done with 2x4's...so I would likely just run some sheetrock under this and loose-lay some 12" fiberglass above. Want to keep things relatively simple.

I would not keep this space continuously heated - but more likely would install a ceiling-mounted 220 volt electric heater...with which I could quickly/easily blast everything to about 55 degrees f when needed to work on the car, and just leave it shut off otherwise.

[Fast Freddy 944]

Lookin good! Keep on going...

[SilverLined]

Great progress, OK-944!

And nice paint job on that coolant pipe. Looks similar to the OEM zinc plating; what color did you go with?

[Ernie944]

Oh! man you went deep diving ,very nice work .

[mazdaverx7]

Very nice work! I'm also wondering what paint you used on the coolant pipe! It looks fantastic!

[Stoneguy]

OK-944,
I've been through everything you're doing, on mine, and then some. I commend you. It's a lot of knuckle busting work. Aggravating at times but very rewarding. You gotta love these cars. Take it from someone who has been through it( and still doing stuff) You will take a lot of pride in your ride! Good luck, looks great!

[OK-944]

Thanks Folks! Truth is…I’d be more than happy to get anywhere near the high bar you guys have set! In fact, I’ll be quite happy, when I finally get to turn the key (sometime next spring) to have my car actually start, and then not self destruct during the break in process!

In the meantime…I am thinking that I might merge my current project rebuild/rehab threads to make it easier to follow, as much for myself as for anyone else who might want to check in.

Mr. Verx (I think I almost sold you an 85.5 once, but I backed out…apologies!), and SilverLined - the paint in question is VHT Engine Metallic - SP404 “Gold Flake.” Temp. rated at 650F. I also used this on my calipers, feeling reasonably confident to do so after noticing that lots of other folks seem to do this as well, after having no luck finding an actual caliper paint color that they liked. I’d worry more about this if I were to track my car…but I doubt if I ever will, so the only way I could see my calipers reaching these temps. is if one or more of them started to lock up.

[Stoneguy]

I couldn't help but notice the infamous 1-3 header tube crack repair weld. I did that 3 times on mine. Split again every time. (Aluminum head expansion and contraction)
I haven't seen one of these yet that hasn't cracked. I ended up biting the bullet and getting a set of Billy Boat headers. Bolts up to existing exhaust. No modifications or maybe you could source a later model 1-3 pipe from salvage with the expansion joint on the # 1 pipe. Might be worth your while as long as the engine is out. Just sayin'.

[Stoneguy]

My bad,...Thats's the 1-4 pipe!

[OK-944]

Good catch! The guy who welded my header happens to have a nice set of cast iron headers off of an '87 924Sn (which he'll let me have for next to nothing). I've heard that these cast iron pipes are bombproof...but that they might not breathe quite as easy as I believe that their inner diameters are just a tad smaller than mine...likely goes with what I've heard about the 924S engine being "slightly detuned" when compared to the 944's.

Any further info about this?

[Stoneguy]

I heard about the same. I believe the flow rate is not as good as the header style exhaust manifold. The later 944 addressed the cracking thing with a bellows type flex joint on the #1 pipe. The Billy Boat Headers were a little pricey, but the claimed few HP gain was nice, good flow and a neat slip joint on the #1 pipe makes installation a breeze on the car without removing anything. They bolt right up to the existing exhaust too.

[jjeffries]

My car (87) came with the late-style factory tube style manifolds; they’re nice looking things and I don’t believe they’re cracked. My replacement motor came with cast manifolds, and that’s what I’ve put in the car. If my late model manifolds would be of use, pls pm me. I’ll probably put them up for sales soon.

Best, John

[OK-944]

Thanks John...but I'll go with what I have for the time being - and somewhere down the road, after the dust settles (to the extent that this is possible!) from my current rehab/rebuild, I'll likely try to pony up the cash...either for a set of headers with the accordion tube - or maybe even a set of those Billy Boats!

[Stoneguy]

Here's a couple of photos of the Billy Boats