I finally got it back together!!!!

   Yesterday was a good day. I went to the machine shop and picked up the head. Just to recap, I had the bottom, and manifold side of the head re-surfaced. I also went ahead and got a valve job done. I got it home, masked it off and painted it and the manifolds red. Stripped and painted the valve cover, and air cleaner blue. I cleaned the top surface of the engine block where the head will sit. Then I took the time to take all the nuts and bolts, and cleaned them with gasket remover spray. And then coated all threads in lock-tight(red high temp). Then took my new head-gasket, and sprayed with a copper based high temp gasket adhesive, placed it on the engine block and let it set for about 15 mins. That kind of lets it get a little more tacky, and less likely to slide when you lay the head on top of it.

When the paint dries remove all tape. And now it’s ready to go on to the engine. Try your best to get as close to perfect as possible when you lay it down. Thus requiring less moving around, if your gasket starts sliding it’s a pain in the ass to re-align it all. The head is really heavy. So at this point you need to have available the correct information for pattern and torque for tightening the head bolts. Then properly tighten all head bolts. Once completed, remove the set of bolts and holders to remove the rocker assembly. Make sure you keep them organized and put them back on in the same order, with holders facing the same direction. You’ll need torque specs on these as well. You’ll be able to replace all the push rods now, making sure they go in exactly in the order and direction(top/bottom) they came out. Now you can replace the rocker assembly. At this point your head should be completely installed.

 You can now start putting on all the little things you may have removed, such as the coil, cable holders, and thermostat, etc… Next will be the manifolds. Once again using the copper based gasket adhesive to help hold the gasket(s). You can then put the manifold in place. I found it helpful to start the 2 outside(end) bolts just to hold it in place. Then I made sure it was coupling to the the tail-pipe correctly. You can start your specified bolt pattern using correct torque.

 So, now we’re almost there. Next you can replace the valve cover, and mount the carburetor to the manifold. Following that you can re-connect all hoses, vacuum lines, etc….. Also replace spark plugs if they were removed. Replace all spark plug wires. Next you will need to add antifreeze back to the radiator. And check your oil as well. Do a final idiot check, and re-install your battery. Now it’s GO TIME!!!! When starting the car just let it turn over a couple of quick times, and listen for any pinging or knocking. If thats all normal sounding, go ahead and start the engine. Do not rev the engine. Just let it idle. Get out and listen to the engine up close. Listen for any unusal sounds, and look for leaks around the head gasket area. If you hear anyhting odd turn the car off. lets it sit for abit and try it again. If it continues you will have to start back tracking, and isolate the problem, not fun!

 Let the car idle and get up to normal operating temp. Now it’s time to test drive. Initially you need to take it easy. Slowly accelerate and listen closely. If all sounds good, you can drive normally. Drive for about 20 minutes, staying near home just in case. Now you’re done. All thats left is to drive it for a few days, and then pull the valve cover off and just check the bolts to make sure nothing has backed out. Also check the manifold bolts. Remember to also check the bolts that hold the tail-pipe to the manifold. You might even double check the spark plugs. Also check the fluids again. If it’s all good, then you’re all good. Cruise on!

Straight Sixes and manifolds.

 In this installment I will be addressing an issue I had with my exhaust manifold. And by reading this you could save yourself a ton of time. The engine in my Rambler is a 232cid straight six cylinder Torque Command. It is of the over-head valve variety. The block and head are both cast iron, and it puts out about 145hp at optimum tune. It is a very simple engine and is not too dissimilar from other ohv sixes of the time. It is a very reliable engine, the design lasted from the mid 60’s until last year(2007). It survived in the Jeep after Chryslers take over of AMC in 1987. And that helped in my decision making in buying the Rambler. An engine with a 40-plus year production run is easy to find parts for. Everyones comment when they realize it’s an AMC is…”You must have hell finding parts for that.” …. thus far they have been plentiful and cheap. Now on to the the manifold issue I was having. I began to notice a ticking sound about 2 weeks after buying the car. After a process of elimination I realized I had an exhaust leak. I took it to my good friends at JT Automotive for a second opinion and they agreed. So I bought a new manifold gasket set and proceeded to remove all the necessary parts to replace it.

Now this blog is intended for the shade tree guy who wants to do as much work as possible himself. I had 2 years of auto-mechanics in high school, and worked as a mechanic at Pep-Boys during and just after high school. So I am by no means an expert, but I do know my way around. And I do know that many other straight six engines have similar problems, so whatever your make, this may be helpful. In most of these engines their is a fuel line to the carburetor, a vacuum advance line from the carb to the distributor, a line of some sort for a heat source to the choke coming from the exhaust manifold to the carb. And a throttle linkage to the gas pedal. All these things will need to be removed. If it’s not obvious where it’s going to go when it comes time to put it back together, mark it with masking tape and a sharpie.

 Now the carb usually has a couple nuts screwed down onto studs sticking up from the intake manifold. By removing those you can remove the carb, and keep in mind there is still fuel in the bowl so don’t tip it. Hold it flat put it somewhere clean and dry and protected from debris. On the AMC 232cid, both manifolds are held on by the same set of bolts. So you simply remove those bolts, and the two connecting bolts that connect the exhaust manifold to the tail-pipe. Then it should be free and ready to remove. Inspect the flat mounting surface and you will likely determine the source of your leak.

There is usually some sort burn indication where the exhaust gasses were escaping. Also the gasket will probably be burnt through in that same spot. If the manifold surface has deteriorated you will need to replace it. I got a brand new manifold on ebay for about $100 with shipping. Next, inspect the side of the head(engine) and look for any damage there. Now that may not be as simple as looking at it. The best thing to do is get a piece of fine grit sand-paper(230 grit is good) get a flat piece of wood or something equivalent, about the size of your palm, wrap it in sand-paper. And then run the sand-paper over that falt mounting surface. The color of the sand-paper will show on the good spots, and not appear on any low spots. So if you see a low spot you will need to pull the head off, which I will address later. Now lets assume all surfaces are ok, then you basically slap on the new gasket, and re-assemble what you’ve just dis-assembled. But chances are if the gasket burnt out, there is a reason why. Those surfaces basically have to be perfectly flat, or the exhaust gasses will eventually find the weak spot. Now here is a list of things NOT to do. TRUST ME!!!

I found a gouge burnt into my manifold, and had the bright idea that I would put some JB Weld on it, put it back on the car with the new gasket while it was still wet. And therefore it would dry replicating a perfect flat surface. I was a genius! I let it sit for the rest of the day until about lunch time the following day. I went to start it and VIOLA!!! NO leak! I drove around town with my head high and swagger in my strut. That lasted for about 48 hrs. I was cruising on the highway and thought I heard a slight tick, I wasn’t sure though. Once I exited onto surface streets and stopped at a light, I still heard nothing. The light turned green and my heart sunk. The leak was back! So I pull it apart again and decide to buy a new manifold. Ebay was the best source, and the most economical. But I’m sure any decent parts store can score one for you. Thats the beauty of this engine, that manifold was used forever on a series of vehicles. You guys with other makes, good luck!!

 So the car sits for a couple weeks and I finally get the new manifold. I put it on with new gaskets. Drive it for 48 hrs. and the leak is back. I am heartbroken….. But I come up with the idea of using two gaskets and a tube of form-a-gasket. I slathered the form-a-gasket all over everything, and put it all back together again. Test drove it for about 2 hours. And it was good. Got in it the next morning, got out on the highway and there it was again. I was just plain pissed off at that point.

So, I take it apart yet again, go buy another gasket set, and stare the car wondering why I’m going to just stick another gasket set on. It will just leak again. Thats when I decided to do the sand-paper trick. It worked and I could see the imperfection, and it was in the same spot that matched the burnout on the old manifold. I then pull the head, which is really self-explanatory. I highly recommend a good torque-wrench for removing and installing the head bolts. And I left the valve train intact. I left the push rods in place and just lifted the head straight up. Also prior to removing the head, you will have to remove several small items that attatch to the the engine(coil, temp guage cable, thermostat housing and thermostat, etc.) I took the head to the best machine shop around, High Pursuit Engine Rebuilders in El Monte, CA. For about $185 I had the head resurfaced and a valve job done. When I pulled the head I flipped it over and noticed quite a bit  of wear on the valves, hence the valve job. So I should get the head back in a couple days and I’m confident that will fix the problem.

Now just to round out the assembly process…. When re-installing the head. You will have to remove the push-rods, make sure to take that masking tape and sharpie and mark each rod. They have to go back in the same spot. TRUST ME!!! As for tools. You will need a good set of sockets, both shallow and deep. Plus short and long socket extensions, just to work around all the stuff that gets in the way. Plus a good set of medium length wrenches. And set of regular old pliers. And if you got’em, a set of flare-nut line wrenches too. So the moral of this story is, when you have an exhaust leak, get a new manifold, machine the head, and use new gaskets. Do that the first time around and save yourself a bunch of money and disappointment. It will set you back less than $300 if you go ahead and do the valve job. Which I highly recommend, because when are you going to want tear all that apart again? And in doing this yourself, you have saved yourself many hundreds of dollars in labor cost. Just getting a new gasket put on will be $250-$300 at a garage with parts and labor. And if that doesn’t work you just wasted $250-$300. All of these things are fairly easy. And in the Rambler I could get to everything without much effort. So, stay tuned for the final result of the menacing manifold! Thanks for stopping by!

The Beginnings Of My Rambler

So…….. My current focus will be on my 1969 AMC Rambler 4-door. It is the base model with dog-dish hub-caps, and not so much as a cigarette lighter. I bought it back in September of 2007 from an 18 year old kid for $900. It had current tags(with original black plates), and in fair mechanical condition. It was covered in heavy metal stickers, and had an 8 ball on the cloumn shifter. But the car was pretty straight, and original. It still had it’s original AM radio(working), and hadn’t been altered or cut up. The funny part was when I saw the pics on the internet it looked like a shiny red paint job. But when I showed up it was a dull red primer. He just wet it down with garden hose to make it shine in the pictures. So I drove it, crawled around, under, and over it.  I got him down from his original asking price of $1,400, and drove off into the sunset. I had always been a MOPAR guy, and had just started reading old articles and became interested in all the 60’s American compacts….. besides the Valiants and Darts, I started looking at Nova II’s, Corvairs, Falcons, Comets, Larks, and Ramblers. Upon further investigation, i decided to go with one of the independents. I found a 1961 Studebaker Lark for $600 and went to check it out. It was worn and faded, but equally so all the way through. It was complete and had been sitting, but the owners son had freshened it up and it started with one twist of the key and purred like a kitten. It was the flat-head six, and flat heads just have such a cool sound. It had a ton of records, some spares, and original owner documentation. I was really excited as I checked around the car. But sadly, upon inspecting the under-carriage, it was riddled with rust. And it was pretty severe, so I passed on that one. Maybe a week later I stumbled on to the Rambler that is now parked in the drive-way. I was happy with the purchase and went immediately to my favorite garage in the whole world…… JT Automotive in Azusa, CA. I had them give it a once over and make a list of to do’s, had the oil changed, radiator flushed, and the driver door(which I had to hold closed while driving) fixed. I got it home and started doing furhter checks of the mechanicals, and found it to be in really good shape. One highly annoying factor was that the kid had put one of those noise maker mufflers like you see on the little tuner cars. But it was a drivable car for sure. The kid had done a fair amount of body prep to the car and had it in the, previously mentioned, red primer. Although he had failed to fix a lot of the little door dings, etc. I had decided I was going to paint the car white. So I set out sanding, filling, sanding, filling,sanding, and more sanding. Then I primed it white and sanded, then I sanded agian, followed by more sanding. Around this time I got my hands on the now famed Hot Rod magazine Body And Paint special winter 2007 editon. And read the article about painting your car with a roller, using Rustoleum acryllic enamel paint. I became fascinated and read all the related forums on the net, and was really pleased with the results people were getting. So I’ve decided thats the road I’m taking. Now I still have some more sanding, and priming touch ups to do, but I hope to start that process soon. Well, this is a good place to conclude my first entry. Next time I will be addressing the saga of the exhaust manifold. The bane of my existence. I will give a detailed how to regarding the issues I faced with that. And hopefully have an update on the paint and body progress. Thanks!