Hi all, I posted a while back about my 55 special. It was my grandfather's and I got it running, driving, and stopping back in November. At that point, it had a pretty good transmission leak; I added brake fluid to swell the seals, but it made minimal effect. A neighbor and I just pulled the engine and trans so the trans can be rebuilt (I have a guy getting ready to do it) and I put the engine on the stand. So the engine seemed to be running well and had good compression (120-140 on all cylinders BEFORE the first start), but I figured I might as well refresh the engine as much as possible while it's out. I believe this is the first time it's been out of the car. I definitely need new expansion plugs on the block because one has rusted through a bit and was leaking coolant on the floor. I figured I'd also drop the oil pan, clean it out, and put in a new pan gasket. I already replaced a lot of the ignition components to get it started (points, rotor, cap, plug wires, spark plugs, coil, ballast resistor, battery), but what else? I rebuilt carb and fuel pump too. Do I need to go as far as replacing timing chain cover gasket? I did have some hard starting when the engine was warm or after I took a short drive, and some have suggested new intake manifold gaskets to fix that (Best brand I think?) So I'm planning to: 1. Clean whole engine; degreaser and pressure wash? 2. Clean oil pan and replace gasket 3. New expansion plugs; hose out as much rust before putting new plugs? 4. Pull exhaust manifold, bead blast, and repaint (I have new exhaust on the way) 5. Change oil and filter (again; I did it before starting it). What else should I be looking to do?
change the timing cover gasket, much easier now than in the car. Don't make the mistake I made. While you at it change the front seal on it to a vinton or neopreme one from TA and stop that leak before it starts. Fernando
