72 3.0 CS 2240344 Restoration

Ahh, my other favorite color..

Where in Seattle are you you? I hooked up with JC when he was down here for Legends.. My dad lived in Sequim until he passed last year, so I get there reasonably often
 
Struts all together, waiting to be properly torqued. Front hubs and rotors go on this weekend.

I bought some 16 inch ply rounds from Walmart. Plan to drill them out for the lug studs and bolt them on to protect my pristine brake backing plates while the suspension is in transit to the car, and while it is being installed. I went to a lot of trouble to get those plates done, and I don't want them to get bent again!

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ScottAndrews said:
Ahh, my other favorite color..

Where in Seattle are you you? I hooked up with JC when he was down here for Legends.. My dad lived in Sequim until he passed last year, so I get there reasonably often
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I'm a bit north of Everett currently. I just came back from Sequim last week. Wonderful area as well.
I am from the Monterey area originally and get down fairly often also for family activities.
 
tdgray said:
I’ve got to get lowered springs… should have done it while I was in there.
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Pretty easy swap.

You just have to get past the trauma of using the spring compressor to disassemble the original struts. The CN springs go on with no compression until you torque the top nut down. Rears probably require a bit more compression, but they are more accessible.

One issue is the "while you are in there" trap...Bushings, ball joints, etc...
 
Homing in on having the suspension and steering ready to go in late November...

Tried my hand at powder coating today. Seems to have worked out OK. I like AJ's finish better, but these will do...and I didn't have to drive 75 minutes each way!

Sorting and bagging nuts and bolts for reassembly..So many different bolt sizes!!

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Z-Bars not yet baked...
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Scott, was the benchtop oven large enough for the parts? Great add to the shop for those of us with spouses who won’t let us bake our parts in the oven!
 
boonies said:
Scott, was the benchtop oven large enough for the parts? Great add to the shop for those of us with spouses who won’t let us bake our parts in the oven!
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I was JUST large enough for the Z-bars.

My gun setup is pretty old, so I toyed with the idea of upgrading it, but honestly after doing all the big stuff professionally, there isn't that much more to do. All of the other stuff, suspension bits, headlamp buckets, etc, would have been too big for the oven. And the pro finish quality is definitely better... This setup is great for the small random parts you forgot to take with the larger stuff to the pros...

I think the Caswell plating rig is a better use of space, since the zinc parts are all pretty small.
 
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Suspension is mostly done now. Just needs to be installed on the car once that is painted.
So, starting to move on to the powertrain, since that will be the next subsystem to install.

Dug out my Getrag 265/6, confirmed it has mechanical speedo drive, and is in fact an overdrive trans (check!, and check!).

Decided to also dig out my bell housing, which I had bought several years ago, and never opened. Test fit it and confirm that it is the right housing (check!), and then decided to do the same with the shift tower. This is a Hal Boyes stainless steel unit that also came with a trans mount, and various hardware. Nicely made! All of that fits, so next I am going to clean the trans and bell housing, and start making a cradle so I can install the engine and trans from below. Seems much saner than trying to wrestle the engine in from the top and then install the trans and headers all without scratching any paint.

Thinking the cradle should hold the front sub-frame at the front, and the trans just forward of the trans mount in the back, and maybe a couple of stabilizing supports around the bell housing. Figure I'll need some large casters tomato it movable and stable, and maybe work out some ability to slightly adjust height at each corner to help in getting the assembly aligned with the car.

I like the idea though, since I can install the engine to the subframe, mount the flywheel and clutch, and make sure all of that works before its in the car (where it is all a PITA to get to). Easier to mount the headers too!

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e9Leveque said:
The $100 transmission jack from Harbor Freight is your friend here…
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Great! I have that...

Is there a blanching act required when you have the sub-frame, engine and trans all married together? Seems like avery heavy, very long assembly!
Or are you suggesting doing the engine first and then using the trans jack to put in the trans?
 
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I didn’t remove suspension but if I were doing so starting as you are you have two basic options I think:
1. If like me you have an engine hoist but not a full lift (I have quickjack so equivalent to getting the car two feet off the ground), probably easiest to install subframe, lower engine in from above and then bolt in transmission and drivetrain separately afterwards. I have installed engine plus trans as a unit from above and it wasn’t worth the effort - trans is pretty easy to slot in with the trans jack
2. If you have the ability for greater lift capability then I can see the advantage of putting engine onto subframe and then lowering shell onto it, so engine is coming in from below. In that case you could have engine plus subframe plus trans as a unit and lower body onto it. Engine rests on subframe without any direct attachment to the shell so you’ll already have everything lined up.

Regardless there will be a balancing act, the trans jack and a bottle back along with a few jack stands will help it all
 
e9Leveque said:
I didn’t remove suspension but if I were doing so starting as you are you have two basic options I think:
1. If like me you have an engine hoist but not a full lift (I have quickjack so equivalent to getting the car two feet off the ground), probably easiest to install subframe, lower engine in from above and then bolt in transmission and drivetrain separately afterwards. I have installed engine plus trans as a unit from above and it wasn’t worth the effort - trans is pretty easy to slot in with the trans jack
2. If you have the ability for greater lift capability then I can see the advantage of putting engine onto subframe and then lowering shell onto it, so engine is coming in from below. In that case you could have engine plus subframe plus trans as a unit and lower body onto it. Engine rests on subframe without any direct attachment to the shell so you’ll already have everything lined up.

Regardless there will be a balancing act, the trans jack and a bottle back along with a few jack stands will help it all
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Yeah. Option 2 is what I am thinking. The M30 is a very tight fit in the coupe. The 635 has just a tad more room, but both of them are snug!

I am sure I can do it from above using my engine hoist. The real concern is that I will be installing Stahl headers, and I am pretty sure those will be a very tight fit, so going in from below seems like a better solution. Gives me a reason to buy a lift too!
 
Calipers all boxed up to ship off to CaliperHQ tomorrow.

4 week turnaround. About $700 for the set done in cad plate.

Man those old ones were DIRTY!

Need to source a fuel line and brake lines...and restore the harness...after assembling the powertrain (which should be pretty quick).

Off to TX for F1 this weekend, and then off working a trial for 2 weeks, so won't be making much progress for the next 3-4 weeks. Hopefully the car will be painted by the time I get back home...
 
These guys sent this quickly and the quality was quite good. Worth buying a pipe bending tool, it’s malleable by hand but will look better if you use the tool

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e9Leveque said:
These guys sent this quickly and the quality was quite good. Worth buying a pipe bending tool, it’s malleable by hand but will look better if you use the tool

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Did you use straight ends, or find a way to crimp a bulge into the tube near the end like OEM?

I suppose the alternative might be a wire wheel and then a 15 foot long zinc plating bath...using the old line, which other than looking like crap, is in good shape...
 
ScottAndrews said:
Did you use straight ends, or find a way to crimp a bulge into the tube near the end like OEM?

I suppose the alternative might be a wire wheel and then a 15 foot long zinc plating bath...using the old line, which other than looking like crap, is in good shape...
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I honestly don’t remember what the end looks like…on the fuel tank side i think it fed into a rubber 8mm hose? Can’t remember on the engine side. But yes it would be easy to crimp or to flare. I thought about refurbishing the old line and then figured after 50 years some new line was probably in order. I think this is more durable material than the original as well
 
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