Cleaning the motor and transmission was a messy chore. I tried several different degreasing products, but ordinary oven cleaner seemed to work as well as any of them. The transmission had never been painted so I left it mill finish. I removed the distributor, generator, oil filter and adaptor, intake and exhaust manifolds, and oil pan. After all the cleaning was complete, I wiped down all the engine surfaces, that were to be painted, several times with lacquer thinner, applied masking tape to the parts that could not be removed and applied two coats of high temp engine paint. The engine paint was available through Moss Motors and one can did the job. I cleaned all the nuts bolts and washers with lacquer thinner and a power rotary wire brush. I also bought new lock washers...a good investment. Cleaning and polishing the fasteners gives the engine the "showroom" look. Attention to minor details such as this is the key to a distinctive restoration.
I decided to replace the clutch, pressure plate and through-out bearing. It appeared to have a great deal of "life" left, but I would be upset if I had to replace the clutch six months from now. There goes another $150.
I have refinished the generator, starter, oil filter adapter, oil pan and fan assembly. Now it's time to reassemble the basic parts of the engine. Do not forget the torque settings chart in your manual and your torque wrench.
The oil pan was installed first, fitted with a new gasket and new drain plug. Installing the clutch, pressure plate and through-out bearing is fairly straight forward. The clutch disc must be aligned using a pilot shaft configured to match the front shaft of the transmission. Then tighten the pressure plate mounting bolts one turn at a time, and check your manual for the proper torque wrench setting. Now the transmission should easily slide into place.
Next, I reinstalled the generator, starter, fan assembly, distributor, new motor mounts, oil filter adaptor with new rubber seals and exhaust manifold with a new gasket. The intake manifold and carburetor will be installed after the engine and transmission are back in place.
Check out the almost "finished" product. It probably didn't look much better when it was new!
Next I will be cleaning and refinishing the engine compartment.
Talk with you soon!
TD
