The plan for the engine is as follows, replace the tired starter with a high torque gear reduction starter, replace the inlet manifold with an Edelbrock Performer EPS. Convert from the troublesome aftermarket Mallory twin point distributor to a stock factory HEI electronic ignition setup. Replace the hacked about engine wiring loom with a purpose made M&H wiring loom pre-converted for the new ignition setup and fit a set of Mickey Thompson alloy valve covers to dress it up a little.
Fabricate a new throttle linkage rod using some rod ends rather than the bent bit of rod currently in use. Fabricate an aluminium fan shroud and fit a new 18" electric fan from a Volvo T5 with a thermostatic controller.
I started work on the engine a week or two ago
New starter
Spent the day in the sunshine gettinga burnt neck and spannering away.
The scabby rusty engine as she stood in the morning
Start of the teardown
original manifold for a spreadbore carb with an adaptor to take the square bore Carter AFB
Pretty clean underneath the old manifold, just some crusty dried old oil from the bottom of the heat passage in the manifold
Lots of bits, hope I can remember where they all go!
Getting ready for the cleanup, I put a layer of foil over the towels makes it easier to clean up the crud and blocked all the water and inlet passages.
New gaskets in place and RTV silicon across the front and back
The new manifold, its about half the weight of the old cast iron one
New manifold in place
and with all the openings taped up whilst the sealant etc goes off overnight.
This was as far as I got, some nuts and bolts are soaking overnight in some of Bilt-Hambers deox-c solution to de-rust them and I hit a few snags
The first one is I'm short of a few blanking plugs as the new manifold has some extra holes that I don't need so I need to order some in.
The second major snag is that the stock HEI electronic distributor I was going to fit to replace the aftermarket Mallory twin point dizzy simply ain't going to fit. Its much fatter around and even with the cap off its fouling the bulkhead and won't drop in. I knew this might have been going to be an issue as the engine is set back slightly closer than stock.