Details 128...

To bring you up to date since my last post, nothing major has taken place.

Weekend before last, I helped a buddy with his car, so nothing got done on the Tomato.

Last weekend, I added teflon tape to the radiator drain cock to aid in sealing...

shot some paint on the core support petcock clearance relief...

finished fabricating a filler piece for the core support transmission cooler lines clearance cutout...

and then spent some time using my borescope to try and determine if the passenger side footwell dimple could be used as a wireway for the siren/police radio wiring. Couldn't be 100% sure, so I'll just wait until the car is apart in the body shop and then I can get a really clear look.

This weekend, I got everything put back together up front.

Next weekend I need to finish routing the trans cooler lines and get them connected then refill the radiator, check the power steering and transmission fluids and the ole girl can be lit off again after a few weeks being dormant. If all stays dry, then perhaps I'll set her down on the ground for the first time!!

Stay tuned and wish me luck!!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 127...

A little bit of metalwork this weekend. Added the clearance radius for the drain petcock wings...

and trimmed the core support for clearance around the transmission cooler hoses..

I'll have to leave welding it in to the body shop because the welder won't reach from where it's setting. Next weekend, I'll reinstall everything.

Stay tuned....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 126

Last weekend, I made a bit more progress... got the mounting bosses welded onto the Flowmasters this week at work...

so I hung then just to verify they work OK...

then sandblasted them so I could drop them off for powder coating once I determine how I want to do them.

Blasted the grill/header brace and shot it with a couple coats of chassis black...

and then pressurized the cooling system looking for the leaks. Only visible sign was a bit of seepage around the radiator drain petcock. Got a spacer to extend it out a bit farther beyond the core support flange and I think I'm going to replace the thermostat gasket and the mounting hardware with slightly shorter bolts to resolve that issue as well.

This weekend, I drained the radiator so I could see what the issue was with the drain petcock wings hitting the core support flange. Since I couldn't open the drain all the way due to the interference, it was a long and agonizing process that seemed to take forever!

Once the level got below the upper radiator hose level, I pulled off the upper hose and thermostat housing to replace the gasket. Evidently the gasket that came with the thermostat (or the one they sold me with the thermostat?) was a junk paper gasket that was totally mush when I pulled the housing off the intake manifold. I coated the Fel-Pro gasket with gasket sealer and stuck it onto the hose outlet housing awaiting re-installation. Also checked the thread depth on the housing mounts into the intake manifold and they're plenty deep enough for the stock hardware, so the issue was entirely that gasket.

When the radiator had finally stopped draining, I removed the lower radiator hose, transmission lines and fan shroud then removed the upper hold downs and pulled the radiator and drained the residual coolant into the catch pan.

Comparing the replacement radiator with the OEM radiator, I found that the drain hole was 1/2" lower in the new one accounting for the interference. I trimmed away a portion of the rubber lower insulator to clear the petcock wings and also plan on taking a die grinder and adding a slight relief to the core support flange for that extra little bit of clearance.

Once these two issues are resolved, I (hopefully) will have no further coolant leaks!! ... and by the way, that Evans Waterless Coolant is the oilest stuff ever. I thought regular coolant was bad, but this stuff is almost impossible to wipe up, but once my leaks are resolved, I should never have to deal with it again!

Details 125...

Not a lot to report since my last post....

The following weekend I had a funeral to attend out of town so nothing was done, but I did get the exhaust flex connectors dropped off at the powdercoaters and the new master cylinder arrived that week.

The next weekend, I visited a restoration shop and then when I got to the dealership, I went on a coolant leak hunt.... one is at the thermostat housing. The gasket is wet and squishy so I'll replace the gasket with a quality FelPro one as well as maybe a slightly shorter set of bolts. The second seems to be the radiator petcock drain barrel ever so slightly hitting the lower rubber radiator cushion and perhaps deflecting a bit causing it to leak a little, so I'll get a male/female nipple to extend it a bit past the cushion and hopefully seal correctly.

Last weekend, I spent about three hours wiping down the suspension and the underside of the car to clean off the exhaust soot.

Also had another funny leak show up. After cleaning everything up under the car, I cycled the steering thru it's travel lock to lock three or four times. When I went to close the hood, I noticed a couple spots of transmission fluid has leaked from the power steering pump. It threw me for a loop because the engine was not running, so it was simply moving everything stop to stop that caused the leak. My buddy Jim happened to be at the dealership so I asked him to come give me a hand for a minute. When I had him run the steering thru it's travel several more times than I did, not a single friggen drop appeared. I laughed and told him it always happens that way when I bring a car into the dealership for diagnosis.... NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENS!! The consensus seems to be it was an air bubble burp out the fill tube of the pump. Time will tell....

This weekend, I began the process of removing all the mock up assemblies to prepare the Tomato for her trip to the body spa! LOL, I removed the trans cooler and AC condenser and while I had the grill/header panel brace out, I took the opportunity to relocate the AC ambient temperature switch to clear the trans cooler hardware.

I also removed the muffler hangers from the frame and located the hanger boss locations on the Flowmasters so I can get them welded into place.

When I was under the car rehanging the muffler hangers, I snagged one of the collector V-bands and mocked together the collector/flex pipe/exhaust cutout to see how they were going to fit together...

Not a fan of the different finishes from the flex pipe back. I kinda like the polished stainless look, but the muffler isn't stainless nor polished, so I need to figure out how to make it all look good together... hmmmm.

Getting real close to turning her loose to the body shop....

Don't touch that dial!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 124...

Some progress Saturday. First thing was to wrap up the little project for the dealership of putting padlock provisions on the rear door to the ramp upstairs...

then reran the transmission cooler lines to fit the location a bit cleaner.

Should have the new master cylinder from RockAuto by next weekend so I'll be getting the brake system repaired, repainted and reinstalled then trying to tie up all the coolant leaks.

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 123...

Well not a very productive Saturday, but was able to determine the final necessities for the transmission cooler lines. Got the cooler put back together and installed what I thought should work for the hose run...

but after getting it installed and seeing all the other obstacles it needed to clear...

I've ordered another preformed hose to section up to get the run I want.

Looks like the lower hose run will work fine...

but need to change the upper run to kinda match the lower route to clear the AC dryer...

and transition smoothly thru the core support, which I'll also need to tweak a bit to get the hoses thru cleanly. Amazon shorted me a few Gates PowerGrip hose clamps, so I have to wait on those to arrive as well.

While looking things over for additional leaks, I noticed brake fluid had been leaking from the master cylinder and down the booster. I think I reused my original cylinder and just blasted it (I'll check my records to be sure) and possibly blew a seal when the proportioning valve was off center. Looks like a new NAPA master cylinder and a brake booster repaint are in my future as well.

Still searching for that third body shop to have a look at the car and give me an estimate so I'll have a better feel for what the final bodywork and paint should cost. Kinda getting the feeling the original price from Far From Factory was way too low.... but hey they did excellent work and it was their inspection and number crunching. Just wish I could have gotten my end of the deal done in time to allow them to perform their magic!

If I can get all these minor tasks sorted out and the undercarriage cleaned for the final time, I'm looking forward to setting her back on the ground and perhaps taking her for a little spin around the shop!!

Until next time....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Details 122....

Some progress Saturday... blasted and painted the transmission cooler bracket

and the cooler

installed the MSD spark plug wire terminal dies onto my Greenlee ratcheting crimper

dressed out the welds in the second collector reducer

and boxed them up to drop off at the powder coaters this week and also ran to the auto parts stores looking for a formed 3/8" rubber line. Finally ended up at NAPA who turned me on to the online Gates Rubber hose catalog that should help me to find the exact hoses to help me finish up the trans cooler install.

I still have a very minute coolant leak from the radiator. Looks like it may be coming from the drain petcock. Will check that a bit closer next weekend.

Until then...

ZEBRA 3 OUT