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Tags: gaskets mains oil pump seal sump

So it's been a while I posted on the ol' lead fella...

Well I was a bit disgruntled (would love to know what a gruntle is to be dissed with it... but thats another story) after the London trip, and so left him to sulk in the lockup, while I sulked and skulked in the house reading up, net surfing and collating a parts list.

A day spent in and under the beast removed the sump, & the headers (though not without removing the right front valve cover first for the header to come off!).

After a quick chat with Lance at Romance of Rust, I got a good blasters name and number: Elliot at Eltec in Uxbridge +447778 439 028.

Rang him to get an idea of price for blasting clean the headers, blasting and vapour finishing the Valve covers, cleaning the 3 original speaker covers and blasting and then powder coating the sump and plug.

On route up to Elliot I called a pal in the know with all things ford powered (stand up and take a bow Julian Balme), and discussed the plans for a windage tray and mains girdle. He managed to persuade me to forgo that roundy roundy racing gunk for a top end freshen up (I was just going to add K seal and water wetter to the coolant and be done with it!), so after popping the bits in to Eltec it was a quick sprint round the corner to Real Steel for a bottom and top end set of gaskets, some header gaskets and a set of Hi-Po spark leads in red, then £120ish lighter away I came.

Three days later and Elliot called to say that for £145 I could collect all the bits (there was a victorian radiator and some silversmithing tools in there that he cleaned for me too).

Considering it was a Wednesday I dropped em off and Friday I took the call, I was impressed.

The headers are having a few welds filed down (by me and by hand) and then will be off to CamCoat in Warrington for their CermaKoat chrome type ceramic finish inside and out (this will hopefully keep more heat in the exhaust and combustion chambers and prevent some of the heat soak I have been experiencing n the cabin).

Last weekend I got out and into the lockup, took off the number 5 main bearing cap, and pushed out the rear mains seal.

Now this engine was allegedly rebuilt 10, 000 miles ago. All I can say is if it was; I suspect it was a top end freshen up only, or was put back together without the block or components within being cleaned at all! The rear mains seal was the original rock hard ford two part rubber job, and although the no5 main cap showed even wear it was a bit scratched probably from crud in the oil (the oil pump was taken off, thoroughly cleaned, checked and a fresh set of oil pump gaskets installed before refitting this time around).
Anyway the new rear mains seal was lubed up and re-inserted with No5 being re-torqued back to 100ft/lbs of torque, and then with the bottom end looking well enough, the freshened up sump was re-fitted with new felpro gaskets: its a 4 part sump gasket with two rubber seals at either end of the the crank; and cork on either side of those at the block mating surfaces.
With fresh oil poured in (Classic Mineral Oil 20/50 thick green goop-lovely), and with the engine primed by turning over with the coil lead removed (It being an all mechanical oil and fuel pumping system), I refitted the coil lead and fired him up.

All the fluids seem to stay where they're meant to be, and although it was loud with no headers, he ran ok.

While I was out there I also fitted a new speedo cable bought off of flea-bay, a 66" long ford C4 compatible one that originally would've been for a Bronco. Went in a treat, and so much better than the lokar cut to fit thing that I had fitted for the MOT (and which was chewed up and spat out by the box within 20miles of leaving Croydon!).

So next its headers off to the coaters and a top end strip down to fit new head gaskets and get the heads freshened up (or even replaced with edelbrock alloy ones if work/money/life balance allows me to spend some hard earned).

The aim is to sort it all for the NASC Nats at Ipswich which is in August and the closest venue to this part of deepest Essex.

Hope to see some of you folks there. Will post some snaps soon.

TFN & Happy motoring/fettling,
MattSnap

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