Rhett, the rockers for the "New" engine are all done, including the plugs which are a "Press" fit. The oil pump was built today, blueprinted with proper gear clearances, oil relief spring plug holder made & installed. All bolts cleaned & the nec. ones painted. I use the Eastwood stuff on exhaust manifolds. When you come down again remind me to show you how John's look & came out. This stuff lasts & can be touched up if needed down the road. Secret is they need to be heat cycled & they hold up fine. Tom T.
Thanks for the update Tom - On the rocker shafts, did you just use the standard Dorman expansion plugs? I'll probably come down next Saturday if you're going to be around. I'm cleaning up the exhaust manifolds as we speak, I was actually thinking of having them coated, there's somebody in East Hartford that does the Jet Coating for all the Supercar Shootout guys....I've used the Eastwood stuff on my Corvair and was having to touch it up a lot. I'm actually having great luck on the NOM engine over the last year or so with Rustoleum Grill Paint (!) It's too bright a silver, but it hasn't burned or rusted. Did the machine shop tell you what was up with the cam bearing yet? If it's all clear I'll get the rod bolts this week. Also happy to report none of my lifters in the current motor are mushroomed, they all slid out fine.
Another secret is soaking the manifolds in muriatic acid to make SURE they are ABSOLUTELY/POSITIVELY CLEAN. Then heated to dry them out, painted, heat cycled, painted again & heat cycled again. The more you heat cycle the longer/better the results.
