John,
I can only reply to your first item - the "dreaded" thrust washer. I bought
a 6 last summer and it had this problem, I was going to restore it as a
father-son project so I figured not a big deal. Anyway my TW was in the pan.
The costly part of this is that you have to pull the engine and transmission
to get the crank out. Once out and disassembled, I took the crank, block
(with cap) and specs from Bentley to a auto machine shop. They built up the
crank, cap and block and re-cut the TW land for a standard size TW for around
$350. OK, no big deal. Well put in a new thrust washer, valve job (new
valves), clutch, throw out bearing, reinforce the fork, new rod and main
bearings,
rings.... (yes there are always other things you ought to do while the engine
is out). Put it all back together again with new gaskets and "drop" it back
in the car, then of course readjust carbs, valves, etc. I did the pulling
myself but its a good 2 full weekend project or more if you run into problems
(out - disassemble - assemble - in - adjust). So figure at $50-$60 an hour
for someone to do it...added to the machining cost. So even if you have it
done, be prepared for the price to go up as the mechanic finds other problems
in
a 30+ year old engine.
Priority wise I would definitely do the TW before substituting a
transmission assuming you are not having tranny problem as, yes the engine
(block) will
eventually be a total loss if you don't.
JMHO ( just my humble opinion), Good luck on the car and a speedy recovery
for your wife,
Lou
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