ckessel
Well-Known Member
My oldest bro lives in Minni too. Bemidgi.
Winter Project - ‘69 GTX Engine Compartment Rehab
- Thread starter Black_Sheep
- Start date
Ever been there? Northern Minnesota is beautiful…
ckessel
Well-Known Member
Nope. Been to his old place in Albert Lea, just up from Iowa, in the late 80's. He had been working for Becker Arena Products doing remote work at his shop for the Zamboni's.
Header day, OMG there’s a lot of stuff to take off to clear a path for the old headers to come out. I’m a little concerned about the dipstick tube, the header will have to go up quite a ways to get the dipstick tube past the flange. I will have to remove the valve cover on that side to avoid scratching it up.
Coolant is drained, the column shift linkage and KD linkage is removed and the center link is off the pitman arm and idler. Plugs and header bolts are next…
Coolant is drained, the column shift linkage and KD linkage is removed and the center link is off the pitman arm and idler. Plugs and header bolts are next…
Easy side is done…
Side number 2 is out, it went a lot better than I expected…
Prepping the passenger side header for installation. Years ago my powder coater gave me a roll of “gaffer tape” to protect my freshly coated headers from getting scratched during installation. Peel the tape when they are in place, it comes off easily and leaves no residue behind…
Easy side is in…
Fit is excellent, plenty of clearance from t-bar and idler arm and the collector points at the trans crossmember exhaust notches…
Fit is excellent, plenty of clearance from t-bar and idler arm and the collector points at the trans crossmember exhaust notches…
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Mission accomplished, both headers are in without scratching anything. The driver side was uncomfortably close to the torsion bar although it wasn’t touching. I looped a ratchet strap around the opposite side torsion bar and cranked it as far as possible. When I released the strap the header sprang back a little but now there’s a half inch between the torsion bar and header.
The rest of the afternoon will consist of cleaning the garage and putting away my tools.
The rest of the afternoon will consist of cleaning the garage and putting away my tools.
After spending considerable time and effort reconfiguring the dipstick tube to fit my Hooker headers last winter, it was disappointing to discover that it was all wrong for the new TTI headers. Now I face the challenge of removing it with the engine in the car and installing the new dipstick tube. I’m hoping to do it without pulling the header back out, this could be interesting…
I ordered a new dipstick tube and rear shock hardware from MEGA parts yesterday morning and they were waiting for me when I got home from work today. Time to put on my garage clothes and get busy…
I ordered a new dipstick tube and rear shock hardware from MEGA parts yesterday morning and they were waiting for me when I got home from work today. Time to put on my garage clothes and get busy…
Well, I got the dipstick tube out without much drama. After tweaking the bends on the new dipstick tube, it clears everything and actually looks good too. My tube of orange high temp went missing so I didn’t get the dipstick tube back in. I’ll have to pick up a fresh tube on the way home tomorrow.
I made the most of my time and pulled the rear shocks, after a thorough cleaning I gave them a fresh coat of semi-gloss black for that “stockish” look. I’ll put them back on tomorrow night with the correct new hardware.
I made the most of my time and pulled the rear shocks, after a thorough cleaning I gave them a fresh coat of semi-gloss black for that “stockish” look. I’ll put them back on tomorrow night with the correct new hardware.
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Shocks were easy enough, it looks better without the silver paint and crusty old hardware.
I made a tool to try to drive the dipstick tube in place, I’ll give it a try after dinner.
I made a tool to try to drive the dipstick tube in place, I’ll give it a try after dinner.
My improvised tool didn’t work so I straightened the dipstick tube and drove it in with a 7/16” socket and extension on the top of the tube. I’m going to let the silicone cure until Saturday. Then I can put the bolt back through the motor mount to lock it into place. After that I’ll put a slight bend in the tube so the top is vertical.
There’s still a lot to do but this was the only real hurdle, the rest is just nuts and bolts…
There’s still a lot to do but this was the only real hurdle, the rest is just nuts and bolts…
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Dipstick tube is done, motor mount bolts are in and torqued, starter is in and the header bolts are sealed and torqued.
I was a little concerned about reusing the plug wire looms but it looks like they’ll work.
When my work light finishes recharging I’ll start reinstalling the KD, steering and column shift linkages. Then I can fit the mid pipe and finish up the exhaust…
I was a little concerned about reusing the plug wire looms but it looks like they’ll work.
When my work light finishes recharging I’ll start reinstalling the KD, steering and column shift linkages. Then I can fit the mid pipe and finish up the exhaust…
All that’s left is fitting the slip connectors that will compensate for the shorter Flowmaster mufflers. Once they’re in, I can get everything leveled up and tack weld the mid pipe so I can pull it back out to be fully welded.
I had enough of rolling around on the garage floor so tomorrow I’ll get the plugs and coolant back in the engine…
I had enough of rolling around on the garage floor so tomorrow I’ll get the plugs and coolant back in the engine…
ckessel
Well-Known Member
Creeper diving sucks. My lh thigh/hip can attest to that.
Plugs and coolant are in. Before buttoning things up, I replaced the driver side valve cover gasket. It must have shifted when I put it on last winter, it won’t this time…
New gasket right?
Of course, the passengers side did the same thing and actually leaked so it got changed out in June. For replacements I used Fel Pro “Marine” gaskets PN# 17941…
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I got the slip connectors fitted and everything sitting pretty well squared and level. I’ll double check one more time before tack welding the X-pipe sections together. The slip connectors will be welded to the mufflers and sealed with preformed band clamps. That way the X-pipe can be removable, just in case the transmission ever needs to come out…
I also got the driver side valve cover and plug wires in place. So far there’s no coolant leaks from the header bolts, that’s encouraging…
I also got the driver side valve cover and plug wires in place. So far there’s no coolant leaks from the header bolts, that’s encouraging…
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