RodFru2u

Thank You Everybody , Dropped the Head off Monday morning, Picked up the Head gasket Monday afternoon. Picked up the head Wednesday afternoon (resurfaced ) and 10 Headbolts , Let oil drain for 3 hours Thursday.morning, picked up the 11 missing headbolts and then torqued the whole mess down. Followed the repair manual's instructions that Hank was kind enough to copy for me. Took a few cranks of the starter and she fired up, smoking & burning off all the oil and crud. Brought it up to temp, Hit 190 before the 160 thermostat opened and down to 160 ran for 15 min. Then Torque again. This morning I will drive it some and then tighten again.. Total cost : Head Gasket $ 31.00 Head Bolts 21@ $2.00 $ 42.00 5 Qts. Oil $ 24.00 Anti Freeze $ 10.00 Copper Spray Gasket $ 8.00 My Pop and Hank working with me PRICELESS !!!. Thanks again everybody for the information about the replacement Head Bolts, Saved my bacon and lots of time. Rod

Don't know the name of the business but heard of a good old time mechanic in Culver City. Have not tried him yet, Back behind Anderson Plywood near/behind Sepulveda Blvd. & Washington Blvd. Good Luck to you,these guys are getting harder to find. Rod

Thanks all for the replies, Dave, I will give those a shot and see which size the same. Jeff, I am cheap and want to get the truck back on the road asap and not wait for parts. I still have to get the busted bolt out of the block, Just more good times in my future. Thanks again.

Well it had to happen, I blame it on the newly mounted, swap meet scored, pretty chrome used hub caps. Truck started to run like it was missing, back fire thru the carb and just no power. A good friend Hank ( HanksB3B ) and I put our heads together ( Cuz 2 minds are better 1 ) and since I had never done a tune up on 'ol Bessie we figured it might help, Sure couldn't hurt. Hank had a few used but serviceable parts and I had time and a place to swap things out. Swapped out everything tried to fire her up and nutting. Took a look at Hank's extra DIst. with marked wires and found out I miss it by one. Fired right up, still missing Took the truck to Pop's shop to do a compression test got the darn adapter stuck in cylinder # 1 ( 120 psi ) Tried to pry it out, Tried to air drive under pressure to catch a thread. Wasted over 2 hours without any success. With Hank's help we decided to pulled the head off, I was able to remove from the head/block 20 & 3/4 bolts. NOT HAPPY ! Well turns out had a blown head gasket anyway, so the head was coming off anyway. The busted bolt is being soaked with liquid wrench and has been drilled for an ez out. Head gasket is ordered and will take head to machine shop for a surface grind in the AM. I know from searching the posts grade #8 bolts are not used and Chevy Bolts are one option to consider. I plan on using copper spray on the head gasket and thread sealer on the NEW bolts, I've got a tap to chase the threads of all holes before I install them, The question is what year Chevy? I am guessing I go to the local parts house and just size them up, but if anybody knows an exact year it might help. I do plan on doing the torque settings and only want to do this once. Thanks for any help and advice.

Hey Hank, Had a great time digging thru the piles of " Junk " at the show. Not sure about nice things and good guys thing, LOL You don't know me very well. Just got lucky and saw them first, but at $ 10.00 each I couldn't lose. They look great once I took some steel wool and chrome polish on them ( only time that will happen ). Now I have to find rear rims with clips to show off the full set. Great score on that distributor, looked in great condition.

Sorry to hear of your loss, Good shop pals are the best at distracting us when the project goes sideways and we need a break.

Your Truck, Your Money. Go Mopar more Fun !

Have to be for the GUN shop Dav, Cars and Trucks built before 1975 are smog exempt or have to meet year of manufacture equipment still installed and working properly. Have had to deal with the clean air people many times, some good some not so good.

Bill, Your project will sure be a Head Turner at any show you bring the Beast to. Can't wait to see the flames and hear the thunder that will come from that Monster.

Very Nice, any under the hood pics ?

Wow, You crawled thru the DEEP end of the muck pool. Glad to hear you are well on the road back . Soon well enough to be back behind the wheel of your favorite ride.

Great Story of a friend and fellow car enthusiast (nut) helping another. Yeah these old Mopars are GREAT at dragging vintage British Steel back to the barn hot,wet and broken.

Wow, Very Cool sketch of your car. I had a guy at a show want to do the same of my old truck, He " Hot Rodded" it up. Wish he would have just drawn her as she sat there.

Mike, LOL thanks for the link. Nice seeing you & your truck in person.Too bad all you found at the swap meet was a picture of an old truck, maybe next one you'll find a Gem & maybe next time more will join us. Rod

Hey Mike, I figure to get to Glory Days Sports Grill around 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM. I talked to Hank and he might make the trip in his truck. If you are going to the swap meet or find yourself in the area THIS Sunday, I'd sure enjoy seeing your truck. If stuff happens, I've made it as far as Huntington Beach in my Beater, So Costa Mesa is just a few miles down the 405. Just heard Gas is cheap again LOL See you there.

Jeff, Enjoy the day on the open seas. Looks like a great weekend again in So Cal. Have Fun and enjoy your time with your friend. We are getting to an age that we start loosing them way too fast. Can't get that time back.

Heck Ya ! Count me in. not sure about the swap meet , Breakfast and checking out cars and trucks I'm in..Don't have to be a Car Guy or Gear Head to LUV old iron ( but it helps ). Name and Address of the Greasy Spoon was : GLORY DAYS Sports Grill, 4132 Woodruff, Lakewood 90713 . Just let me know what time.

just remembered an other source, Fromtheframeup.com Doug Penelton is a good guy . He might have it in stock

You might try Mossmotors.com . They are in Goleta, CA and have another location on the east coast. I am sure they have "stock:" parts for almost all British Cars. We restored the '51 MG using their free catalog for some new parts;started ordering parts from them in the 70's & I still order from them, Great Vendor for LBC's ( Little British Cars ) .

Nice Leather/Gasket Punch kit.

Great Picture, Looks like those bugs were just dieing to get a closer look at your Beautiful hood chrome.

I found a perfect in the box AC fuel filter at a Packard Swap Meet. If you don't want to buy off of Epay you might find one at one of the Big Auto Swap Meets ( Long Beach, Pamona ) They are out there, I think they were all universal and just have to plumb them in the line.

Thought I'd get a jump on the weekend, So Friday hunted down some special needles needed to sew Naugahyde. I have been wanting to recover my seats since I first drove it ( over 10 miles ). I had no idea what was under the sweat stained, sun faded blue(ish) sheet / fabric that I've been sitting for over two years. Turns out I have one of them Air-O-Ride Seat Bottoms and a non original seat back. Took some 3n1 oil and a few wacks to get the slides open and the vanes to move, Now once I get the fabric I'll see what I can do. I took them to a shop and was quoted $ 300! I have a machine strong enough to handle the vinyl and I am fearless, I've ruined better stuff then this. Saturday was a GREAT day for me too, My Pop has been complaining about the steering on the '34 Packard. We tore into it, Had the front end gone over and checked out by the local specialists. Other than needing new front tires she is true and straight, Pop is still not convinced. I jacked up the front end and we checked the steering box, Pop is 81 years old but the old man said " Yupp, back off the adjusting/tighten bolt with jam nut 3/4 turn " BOOM ! He says " IZ GOOOOD " I tighten her all up, drop her down. We go for a 3 hour cruise! Had a GREAT DAY with my Pop.

Bill, Interesting idea about the drop out for pulling the pan. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Nope, Looks like a Triumph from the wooden shifter knob and maybe a Spitfire from the chrome hood (Bonnet) clips/locks. Nice Video. Thanks for posting it. Wish it were that fast and easy to do.