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The winter storm in the mid-west made me shorten my Thanksgiving plans by a day, but I made up for it with some quality garage time.
This is the inside of the timing cover, showing the hole for the water pump drive that must be plugged. There are several ways to do it but credit goes to where credit is due and I liked the way the guy in Post #7 tackled the problem. With this arrangement the plug can't fall into the timing cavity or out of the timing cover at all doe to the fact that both sides are larger diameter than the hole through the cover.
Beer bottle cap before being hot glued into position. This will be removed once the JB Weld is dry but will give the inside of the plug a large diameter area.
Here the hole is carefully with JB Weld and worked into the hole.
I'll give it a good 24 hours to cure before I remove the beer cap and hot glue.
Next up was making sure I had the right length bolts to mount the water pump to the engine. I was not surprised when I found the exact length bolts I needed; that's the benefit of doing this a second time.
This pump was the one that came off the LT1 that went into my yellow XJ6; I cleaned it, painted it, and put it on the shelf waiting for a rainy day.
Currently waiting on FedEx and UPS to start sending me the parts I need to start reassembly.
Greg,
This is the stock LT1 water pump minus the front cover, impeller, and drive shaft.
This picture is upside down relative to the picture above, but this is stock LT1 pump with the internals and front cover in place.
For reference, this is the back of the stock LT1 water pump. You can see the drive shaft right in the middle.
This is the electric water pump that I will be attaching to the water pump housing in picture one. Once you remove the impeller and drive shaft you close off the hole in the back of the housing with the brass plug. The electric motor and impeller assembly bolt to the front of the water pump housing and replace the engine-driven pump.
I was hoping to use the electric water pump controller I had used with the XK engine, but bypassing the thermostat and bypass port are more difficult as it's all integrated into the casing. I will likely wire it up so the electric water pump runs whe the ignition is on and let the standard thermostat do its thing.
Today I was able to install the new oil seals and put the timing cover back in place.
The distributor goes in next but I am waiting on a E-5 socket to install it.
Next up are blanking plates for the EGR system. There are two ports on the back of the intake manifold; one is the intake port for exhaust gas from the exhaust manifold and the other is for the EGR valve which lets the aforementioned exhaust gas into intake manifold. Someone had already blocked off the intake port and had done a poor job. I looked online and LT1 EGR blank off plates are available from $25 to $50 but I thought I could do better. I fired up AutoDesk and whipped up a couple of plates. $15 to have them cut from 1/4" steel and I not only saved myself $10 but I kept myself entertained too.
Between trying to wrap up the end-of-the-year projects at work and the cold weather gripping the mid-west, I had a hard time finding time to get in the garage this week. I was able to make up some lost time tonight.
First up I was able to complete the modifications necessary to use the electric water pump. The brass core plug needed to be driven into the housing to replace the impeller shaft and seal.
I put a light coat of JB Weld around the edges before I pressed it home - I won't have to worry about it coming loose.
Was curious to check out the water pump and it's a perfect fit.
I forgot to take a picture, but I also replaced the rear main seal on the engine. It seemed like a good time to replace it.
Once the timing cover and rear main seal were replaced, I could install the new oil pan. I've been painting my oil pans black stainless steel for a few years. There's no reason other than I have the paint and I like the look.
An M20x1.5 plug fills the hole left by the factory oil level sensor. I thought about wiring it up but decided I wanted to keep it simple.
My signature zinc yellow-chromate hardware really stands out.
I picked up a set of rebuilt and flow-matched four-hole injectors to replace the ones that came with the engine. I put these on my yellow XJ6 and liked the way they smoothed out the idle.
I just noticed the Ford logo on the new injectors...
While the fuel rail was off the car I decided it was a good time to replace the fuel pressure regulator. The one that came with the car looked original and they don't last forever.
After popping the fuel rail back on the engine I decided it was time to work on the brake rotors. A local machine shop opened up the centers to 3.875" and I decided to save some money by drilling the lug holes on the back side to an ID of .625" to a depth of .125". This allows the disc to sit flat on the wheel hub; the lug studs have a .625" band that stands just under .125" from the hub.
I used a step-drill bit chucked in my drill press and carefully marked the step above 5/8" (.625"). I carefully counter-sunk all 5 holes - and was surprised to see the rotor would not fit flat on the hub. My step-drill bit was off by about .080" which was enough to cause problems. I will buy a better one tomorrow and try again.
I was only in the garage for about an hour today before moving inside. My new step-drill bit was properly sized and made quick work of all 4 brake rotors. It was the most expensive single drill bit I have ever bought but being correctly sized was worth it.
After that I removed the rear axle seal retainer and came inside.
I put the retainer on my scanner and made a JPG file, then imported the picture into AutoDesk. From there I was able to start designing the rear brake bracket but the important part - the size and alignment of the holes - was guaranteed by sketching the part right on top of the picture.
It's been a challenge to find rear brake calipers that meet all the criteria of (1) being small enough to fit inside the wheel, (2) big enough to fit over a rear vented disc, and (3) contain a parking brake mechanism. #3 is the whole reason I started down this journey. #2 would not be an issue if I had been able to find a solid brake disc for the rear. I think I have a candidate from a mid-1980's Ford and will find out soon enough.
No pictures today, but I did make a small pivot on the rear brakes. It was difficult to find a rear brake caliper with parking brake that would fit a 1.25" thick brake rotor. I can conclusively saw the 1988 Ford Thunderbird 5.0 rear brake caliper will not fit a 1.25" thick brake disc. Wilwood makes an electric parking brake caliper but those around $300-$400 each and were outside the budget and spirit of the project.
What I did find were steel brake rotor hats with a 5x5 bolt pattern that come with a bolt-on 11.75 OD rotor that is only .81" thick. I don't plan on using the brackets that come with the kit, but this kit was the most in-expensive way to pick up the hats and rotors. I will need to have the center hole in the rotor hats opened up but I found a machine shop near me that can do the work.
With a rotor that was only .81" thick, I had multiple options for calipers. Rustic Brakes has an option, as well as Lugnuts 4x4. To keep future replacement simple I picked up a pair of new calipers for a 1980 Cadillac Eldorado from RockAuto which came in significantly less than either of the first two options.
I am still looking for an S1 or S2 XJ6 rear end that would fit but it's been a challenge finding one near me.
Thorsen
Your Anglo-French followers are a bit confused! Post 449 above shows front rotors. How does the post above fit in? Or are you contemplating a disc braked original rear axle as an alternative to a swap to an IRS?
I do like the look of those park braked calipers you linked to. They would produce a far better handbrake than the Jaguar IRS OEM inboard-braked one. I wonder if they could be made to fit...
Greg
Greg,
The rotors shown in Post 449 were fronts and rears. I've spent most of my time focusing on the front brakes that I should have delineated better when I switched to the rears.
Posts 450 and 451 were about the rear brakes on the factory rear axle. I'm still holding out hope for a Jaguar IRS but am also hedging against the probability that I find one near me and in decent enough condition.
^^^
Yeah, you did make a bit of a hard left turn across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic without signaling, but as a mere woman I get used to dealing with that sort of thing.
Today was a pretty good day. I got the new distributor which let me re-assemble the front of the engine.
If you're not familiar with the LT1, the distributor is mounted to the front of the engine. The distributor that came with my engine needed to be replaced and although there are several options, the prevailing opinion is that most of them are bad. The exception is the Throwback Automotive distributor which looks to be a solid choice.
I went to install my new harmonic balancer/crank pulley and found the hub was cracked. I'm thankful I caught it before it caused a problem but it's a shame that brand new parts have issues. RockAuto has a new one coming my way.
After that it was time to take the engine off the stand and see how well things were going to fit in the engine bay.
It's a tight fit but better than I was expecting. I do not think there will be any clearance issues with the steering shaft which was a big concern of mine.
Clearance to the inner fenders will be tight but that is a fixable problem. I still need to get the transmission under there to finalize alignment and positioning but I am pretty happy with how things are looking at the moment.
Ohhhh, that cracked hub could have been a LOT of fun later. NOT!!
What a bummer. But as you mention, Good thing you were paying good attention and spotted it.
Was that one you took off or was it a new one?
Any tin-ware problems might be easily fixable with a BIG hammer and a few carefully placed smacks.
(';')
Posts 450 and 451 were about the rear brakes on the factory rear axle. I'm still holding out hope for a Jaguar IRS but am also hedging against the probability that I find one near me and in decent enough condition.
It meets the requirements that Thomas put in the reply, location and condition. Somethings you have to pay a bit more for convenience.
Thats about the correct price for a rebuilt rear suspension here. Now it’s up to negotiation to get a better price.
I would guess that there’s a pick n pull near him that would have one cheap…. But then that’s a crap shoot as to condition. It gets dam cold laying on the ground pulling it this time of year in Chicago. The high temp this Sunday is supposed to be 10F (-12C), low 0F (-18C) in Chicago. Choices, Choices, Choices, what to do ……..what to do???
I actually know the seller of that IRS; he hosts a Wednesday Night MG "club" where everyone comes over and works on cars. I've been there a few times. In fact, before I bought the Mark VII I was looking at and seriously considering an E-Type project he had but ultimately decided I wanted the 4 doors. I skipped over that listing because it's for an XJS and I thought those were wider. I've reached out to him and might go look at it this weekend. I agree with Greg, $3k is excessive and I'd prefer to put the sweat equity into one I rebuild myself. But if it is the right width and he can be talked down...
Like this one. It looks like it spent a decade in a Wisconsin lake but the price is right for something that's going to be taken all apart and rebuilt. The only problem is that he says the hub-to-hub is 59" which will likely end up causing problems with wheel fitment / fender skirt alignment.
