After 16 years, my 69 BGT is moving under its own power again. Every
single nut, bolt and screw. The only parts I misplaced are the ones
listed in the Moss catalog as NA (Not Available). Two houses, three
kids, a college degree several refrigerators and two cats. I was
driving this car when I met my wife 22 years ago. We drove it on our
wedding night. Well now it's very nearly done.
What an ordeal the last month has been.
I invited a couple of former friends to help put in the engine and
that went pretty well. At least we got it pointed the right way
around. Got everything hooked up. Invented a few new four-letter
words getting the manifolds in. I cadmium plated all of the hardware
and it looks great. Painted the engine with gloss-hardened enamel and
it really shines.
I pre-oiled and turned it over to build oil pressure before firing.
No oil pressure, but I has a gasoline sprinkler from the new fuel hose
from Moss that has a nut that is too long to seal properly with the
fuel line. A little machining fixed that right enough. I did a
search on the mailing list archives and found mention of putting in
the 3-main bearing oil pump gasket instead of the correct 5-main
gasket. Checked my gasket set and sure enough! Got that fixed.
Removing the pan with the engine in isn't too bad. Except for the
four bolts above the cross-member. If you are rebuilding your engine
there is a valuable lesson here.
I tried the pre-oiling procedure again and got lots of pressure.
Until the engine fired and warmed up that is. Then the pressure
dropped to zero. This led to several sleepless nights.
Not trusting the electrical gage, I plumbed in a mechanical gage.
Works great. Lots of steady oil pressure. The $130 electronic oil
pressure sending unit is fritzed. I think there is a Murphy's law
about the most expensive parts failing first or most often.
So, on Sunday, away we went for the first drive. What a blast! I
nearly forgot how much fun it is to drive one of these. My 11 year
old daughter who has been helping me got the first ride. Everything
works pretty well too. I need to replace the brake light switch, but
that's about all. Not bad after having the whole thing apart and in
boxes for over a decade. It sure gets a lot of attention on the road.
Thanks to the list members that have passed on their help and info, it
sure helped keep me going during the last month.
Randy in Portland, OR
|