September 30th update....

Not much to report since last installment. My new Lares power steering pump arrived and after comparing it to my original....

I cleaned it good and got the first coat of paint on it.

The Super Clean Degreaser wasn't too kind to the paint on the reservoir, so I sand blasted it, the pulley and brackets and reshot them as well.

The replacement tailgate window channel for the wagon arrived as well, so I compared it to my old original to insure it would work...

before painting it and getting it ready to install. Need to get the window glass rubber retainer and two new rollers and then I'll get it painted and installed and put that little project to bed.

Don't touch that dial!....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

September 14th update

My carb guru finally showed up last Thursday to adjust the Holley and set the timing. Everything was going really smoothly.... got the carb adjusted, had great vacuum throughout the rpm ranges and as we set the timing and watching the time advance thru the engine range, suddenly something on the driver side of the engine erupted and began spraying fluid out all over the place. I immediately shut the engine down and quickly realized it was transmission fluid by the color (blue B&M Trick Shift). Seems one of the transmission rubber hoses had popped off the transmission line.

I was concerned that the transmission fluid would wick into the bare sheet metal and make final finishing a real nightmare, so Saturday I reconnect the transmission line and confirm all other connections were tight, wiped off as much of the transmission as I could....

moved the Torino to the top of the ramp...

and then drove her downstairs (the first time on the street under her own power in about a decade!!) to the wash rack.

I applied a heavy application of Super Clean Degreaser and let it soak for about 10 minutes and then hit it again. After soaking for a good half hour, I thoroughly rinsed everything for about 15 minutes to insure I flushed all the remnants of the degreaser everything and then dried her off.

Once dried off, I fired her up and let her run for a bit to get a little heat in her and under the hood to finish drying up the remaining water. After about 10 minutes of idling, I dropped into the driver's seat and returned her to the work area upstairs.

Looks like my worries were unfounded as the metal shows no evidence of the B&M Trick Shift transmission fluid.

With the carb adjusted, I now need to set the time, tighten up the alternator belt and check the rebuild of the power steering pump (I found I had NO POWER ASSIST when I drove the Tomato downstairs and back) before turning her over to the body shop once they have their new facility completed.

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT