So I finally got the paint I used back in 2011 to paint my block and trans. I had to order it off Amazon since the local auto stores don’t carry it anymore. I don’t have a photo of it but it’s Rustoleum Engine Enamel Aluminum Color
I got my engine back all wrapped up ready to respray the block and trans tomorrow (if the weather holds out)
It’s not even that dirty, but I’m very picky and even this amount of dirty bothers me.
My Hasport hydro to cable conversion thing has always had these little spots all over it like water spots. I’ve tried all sorts of normal cleaning methods to get them off, but nothing ever worked. Well I decided to put the polishing wheel on my dremel and go to town on it.
It’s hard to see the spots on here, but they’re there
Here is the after. Again hard to see, but it’s all nice and shiny and clean now
The head is ready to have the valves lapped, but I still need to get the tool and the compound to do it. After that I’ll put the new valve seals in and send it off to the machine shop. Once I get it back it will get resprayed just like the motor and trans
I took all the tape and paper off the other day and the paint came out great. It matched perfectly with the old stuff and blended perfectly with the back of the motor as well. All is clean and looking fresh again.
I’ve been busy trying to lap my valves, which for those of you who have never done it. It’s a major pain in the ass. Very time consuming and it wears your hands raw. Maybe I’m just weak I don’t know, but my hands and arms are extremely sore from doing it…and I’m not even done yet =[
This is the valve lapping tool and compound I’ve been using. The compound doesn’t say what grit it is, but it seems very coarse to me.
The little suction cup kept coming off every 2 seconds so I took a piece of double sided poster tape and used that to hold it on there which worked really well…sometimes
Compound applied to the valve
Tool attached to the valve
This is how the valve looks after being lapped. The valve on the left has been lapped, the one on the right has not
I tried going to Napa to find some fine grit compound, but all they had was 150 grit which is way to rough. I probably don’t need to go over them again with something like 1000-1200 grit, but I want to make sure these things are completely smooth so as soon as I can find some of that compound I’m going to do this all over again…joy…not =[ Some people have mentioned using a drill to lap them, but that seems sketchy to me so for now I’ll keep rubbing my hands raw
So today after going around to several auto stores I finally found a place that had some fine grit compound…O’Rileys of all places lol. My friend came over to help me out and we finally got it all done. All the valves are lapped and ready to go. Next step is to do a final cleaning on the head inside and out, put the valves and springs back in, then go get it milled =]
Finally got the head put back together. All the valves have been thoroughly cleaned, lapped, new valve seals installed and it’s ready to go off to the machine shop to be milled as soon as I can afford it. Unfortunately I cracked my tooth last night and I have to get a crown put on which is $853 because I don’t have insurance =[ I was hoping to have the car running by the end of February, but doubt that now. Oh well, just another set back
Went ahead and made a new gauge holder with 3 holes instead of two. I figure I might as well have all three gauges in the same spot so I wont have to look left and right of the steering wheel. Just need to sand it down and clear it, and I’m FINALLY going to get my boost gauge tomorrow =]
Got it all sanded down and cleared the other night
Then move don to trying to figure out how to get it installed in the dash panel. I used rtv on the old one so I knew good old hondabond would work just as well if not better which it did
Got it in there and this is how it looks
The only thing that bothers me is the direction of the carbon pattern is opposite of the other pieces. It’s a minor thing and it’s gonna drive me nuts, but I’m not about to make another one so I’ll live with it. I just need to replace that driver side vent and it’s ready to go back in. I might just make another piece and block off the driver vent. I still have function of the air and temp of it, but I’ll just have it on my feet so it’s not blowing air on the back of the gauges.
Went ahead and put the ARP Head Studs in today. They didn’t need to go in yet, but figured it wont hurt anything. One step closer
This is how it sits =[ Everything is pretty much done and taken care of until I get some money. I need to get the oil pump seals, water pump gasket, thermostat gasket, and get the head milled. Hopefully I can get all that done and running before the end of the month, but not holding my breath on that
Yep, hate the cold !!! I never seen so many ppl freakin just panic & crash yesterday cuz it started to ice up on the way to work lol
also you DID screw the arp bolts all the way down bottom out then back them off 1 full turn right??? Hit me up if ur near ft worth dallas if u need some help
[QUOTE=SlowB20z;2309550]Yep, hate the cold !!! I never seen so many ppl freakin just panic & crash yesterday cuz it started to ice up on the way to work lol
also you DID screw the arp bolts all the way down bottom out then back them off 1 full turn right??? Hit me up if ur near ft worth dallas if u need some help[/QUOTE]
Oh I know, people are freaking out here in Austin about the ice and for what? There was absolutely nothing yesterday or today. Everyone started work late or cancelled school for nothing. It’s ridiculous. About the studs…no I did not back them off one full turn. I just put them in hand tight like the instructions said. They didn’t any anything about backing them out. The instructions I’m going off of are what came in the box with the studs…so I assumed I’m doing it right but I’ve never heard about backing them off before
[QUOTE=charlie moua;2309587]i like the gauge pod you made.
why didn’t you just take out the motor to paint it?[/QUOTE]
Thanks. The motor was pulled out back in 2011 and completely cleaned and painted. All I did this time was just put another coat on the front to cover up some scratches and stains that had developed since 2011. I can’t find the photo of it right now, but this is a slideshow I made back when I did it. Skip to 1:50 which shows how dirty it was when I pulled it out, and at 2:25 is when I cleaned it all up and painted it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBxJVbG4X44
Figured out a way to make my stock ac fan fit in between the radiator and the intercooler. Wired it up backwards as well so it’ll work since it’s flipped around from how it originally sat. I just need to make some mounts/brackets for it and that’s one more thing to cross off the list…oh and clean it as well
Just another random shot of the gauges, just cause I love how they look lol
The fan is mounted in there and doesn’t move at all =] I also put some electrical tape around the edge of the fan shroud so that the steel and aluminum don’t touch each other. I’ll clean the intercooler up in the future when everything is ready to go
So today I went to Acura and bought two new seals for the oil pump. I got the seals and pump installed, kind of nervous about the oil seal that goes around the crank though. It was such a tight fit, I’m worried the little spring on the seal might of come off. I wont know if that’s the case until the car is running again. If that seal leaks then I’ll know that’s what happened. I really really hope it’s ok though cause I don’t want to remove everything to get to that seal again.
The thermostat and water pump gasket will be at the dealer tomorrow so I’ll go and get that and get those installed as well. After that, it’s time to get take the head to the machine shop. I know I’ve been saying that for awhile now, but things have kept coming up and money has just been tight, but I’m finally ready for it. I WILL have this car running before March is over
