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Tuesday, February 26, 2008 |
| WinterFest 2008 |
 Hosting a car show by yourself is pretty much impossible, so when FlaCarShows.com announced it would be hosting WinterFest 2008 in Cocoa, the Old Guys jumped in, and did all they could to ensure the show would be a success!
And the Old Guys received lots of help from the membership of the Sunshine State Cougar Club, who brought sixteen cars to the show field, assisted with parking and registration, and made certain the lounge didn't close early!
The two things the Old Guys had no control over...the weather and the hotel's food, proved to be stumbling blocks.
There was a major weather system to the north, and although the rains held off until later in the afternoon, the skies were cloudy (and threatening) all day. The hotel's food was, well, not even what you would expect as hotel food, and you can be certain that, along with a couple other things, will change for WinterFest 2009!
In spite of the weather and the food, the show was enjoyable to those in attendance. Thanks for attending, and we hope we'll see y'all next year!
You can read the story, view the pics, and see who received the awards at FlaCarShows.com. |
| The Dump Continues...Lessons Learned |
The reason for the super rush repair was to be able to take the wagon to WinterFest tomorrow. That said, we all agreed it would probably be a waste of money to do so.
Regardless, the block went to the machine shop, the crank was replaced, the broken rod was replaced (overnight from North Carolina, of course), as was the piston, the bent pushrod was replaced, all new lifters were installed, a new rocker, and the engine got a general cleaning...all for about $800.
While waiting, I cleaned up all the pulleys and brackets, and painted them. And you already read about the sandblasting.
Rather than take any chances, when I picked up the block, I also got a new starter, fuel pump, oil pump, alternator, and water pump.
And after lots of assembly time (ever sat there and watched paint dry?), the engine went back in the hole last evening.
It pretty much started right up, and there were a few fuel leaks at the carb. Several attmepts to fix them proved the dual-feed fuel line was bad.
We repaired that, only to find the water pump was leaking! Yes, it was a reman, and yes, the leak was at the where-it-usually-is weep hole. And it means the entire front end has to be removed before it can be fixed. But it was still running, although a little rough from the one-reconditioned cylinder.
So this morning, I went in search of a fuel line, and by the time I got back, the engine was nearly disassembled. I finished it up, and was preparing to install the fuel line, when we decided to see just how good it was running.
It ran much worse than last night, and after pulling the plugs, and finding half of them gasoline-soaked, we pulled the valve covers, and found that it was now a V5! Yep, the cam cracked...almost in the middle, and the back half of the engine wasn't firing at all!
So here's the Lessons Learned...you can't do ANYTHING half-assed, such as repairing just ONE cylinder, especially when that one is dependant on seven others to work properly. And replacing used with even more used is not a good idea, either!
The bottom line...five full days of work (and I'm talkin' nearly twelve-hour days), more than $1000 invested, and I've still got nothing!
Well, not exactly! I've got some usable engine parts that I can use on the new reman engine I ordered today (at about twice the cost of repairing ONE cylinder), and will be here the first of next week. And from there, it's just swap over the tin, drop it in the hole, and start it up.
Had I done this in the first place, my blood pressure would still be about normal, I wouldn't have wasted a week's worth of my (retired, but still valuable) time, and I would have more than a couple dollars in my wallet! |
| The DUMP Continues |
Monday evening, the crew at Last Chance pulled the engine, put it on a stand, and pulled the pan, which was found to be full of metal that didn't belong there...NOT good! Even worse, the rod in number six hole was snapped cleanly in half...NOT good, either!
We all agreed there's NOTHING we could do, but send it to the machine shop. Tuesday morning, I delivered it. Bill checked it over, decided he would simply turn the crank, replace the bearings, hone the cylinder, replace the rod and piston, and put it back together. There was no damage to the block.
I had him go a step further...since the engine was bone stock at this point, and had never been apart, I decided to replace the timing chain with one that was made of metal instead of nylon, and while he was doing that, move the cam straight up, instead of the original-emissions-setting of four degrees retarded.
And well, as long as you're in there, you might as well replace the now-full-of-metal-shavings oil pump, too.
So I get the call late Friday evening...your block is ready! That means early Monday morning, I'll pick it up, take it back to Last Chance, and hopefully, during the day, I can paint it, reassemble it, and have it ready to go back in the hole sometime Tuesday.
Meanwhile, yesterday, I started to sandblast the inner fenders and part of the frame, and repaint it. I've never sandblasted in the open before, and I can tell you it's an experience! Sand everywhere you DIDN'T want it to be, and very little of it where you DID want it to be! And even after about five hours, I didn't nearly finish the job!
One thing I DID learn is that women can go to a spa and pay hundreds of dollars for a skin peel. Guys can get one for free using a sandblaster! A day later, I'm STILL trying to get the sand out of places like my hair, ears, eyelids, and another orifice we won't mention!
And if there's any GOOD news in all this, it looks like the wagon will be heading north for WinterFest in Cocoa on Thursday, which was my original goal! |
| The Wagon Takes A Dump |
 What would have been a 150 mile trip north to attend a local car show turned into much more when the wagon developed an engine knock just about a mile from the hotel in Palm Bay.
Thinking it might have been the A/C compressor, I pulled the belt, but the knock remained.
Sonny arrived, and using an engine stethoscope, we tried to isolate the knock. It wasn't in the power steering pump, the alternator, water pump, or anywhere in the valve train. And there was only a slight vibration at the tranny pan.
At this point, the weekend was already shot. No way to attend the show tomorrow, and without knowing what was wrong, no way to fix the wagon before the trip back home.
So the big plans for the weekend turned into dinner, a couple cocktails, and the Bud Shootout on TV, which we could just as well have done staying home!
Sunday morning, I started the wagon, and the knock was much less pronounced. I decided to head south, and see if it might possibly correct itself.
Twenty miles down the road, it did. The knock stopped, but the engine developed a vibration. I stopped to check it, and it felt as if the vibration was coming from the area between the block and the tranny.
I decided to have it towed the rest of the way home. With AAA picking up the bulk of the towing tab...would have been $505, but I paid $40...we were back in South Florida in less than a couple hours. And after removing the inspection plate, I could feel a crack in the flex plate.
This morning, the gang at Last Chance took a look at it. It may be the converter, it may be the flex plate, or it may be worse, like some damage to the rotating assembly. You know, like a piston separating from the rod.
We won't know what it is for sure, until it gets some lift time, which will be later this afternoon. Meanwhile, unfortunately but just in case, I'm already thinking the worst, and will be searching for a replacement engine. |
| Catching Up |
In January, a couple of the Old Guys attended the National Parts Depot Mustang and Ford Roundup in Silver Springs, and also the River Ranch Rod Run in Lake Wales.
We didn't take even ONE picture at either event, but thanks to Nancy Elder (soon to be former SSCC Newsletter Editor), I'll be able to post some pics of the Rod Run.
Real quick...the NPD show had just under 1000 Ford-powered vehicles on the show field, which may be a record-breaking number of attendees. I had an opportunity to spend a good deal of time with Mark Houlihan, Mustang and Fords magazine editor, and that's always a fun experience. Except for a driving rain storm that pretty much cleared out the show field early Sunday, it was another fantastic weekend hosted by NPD's Rick Schmidt and crew!
The Rod Run was also a fantastic weekend, with the Old Guys and the rest of the gang spending Friday and Saturday evening around the campfire, doing what we seem to do best...drinkin' cold beer and good whiskey, telling tall tales and occasionally, an outright lie!
Hosted by Rich and Linda Martin of Sunshine State Rodding News fame, this annual event always fills the Ranch to capacity, and this year was no exception, with about 350 cars on the show field!
Now that I'm pretty much caught up with putting the FlaCarShows.com WinterFest Show (February 23rd in Cocoa) together, I took some time, and uploaded the River Ranch Photo Album...sorry for the delay! |
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The Route 66 Cruise
Packard Bill Weekend
Cars of Dreams Museum Benefit Car Show
WinterFest 2010
2010 River Ranch Rod Run
NPD's All-Ford Show
Daytona Turkey Run
Daytona Beach Dream Cruise
Show and Concert In The Park
Tifton, Georgia
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