they knew exactly what they had and didn't tell you probably not a scam or an honest mistake.....just ****holes to be avoided at all costs
At worst probably a scam considering the sequence of events, at best they are incompetent and careless.
Thanks for the interest/concern guys! Everything is fine so far, just going painstakenly slow getting the replacement engine ready to go in. So much time spent cleaning, refinishing parts, etc. This project is fighting me tooth and nail, seems like. Yesterday, for example. Finally got to the bottom end of the engine, removed the oil pan and oil pick up tube, to install the front sump stuff that I pulled from my old '95 engine. The oil pickup tube I discovered was 1/8"smaller on the '94 engines, so what I needed to go on there wouldn't fit. I guess I lucked out when I originally changed to the front sump stuff on my old engine, because I'm not sure what year Continental the pan and tube came off of, but it fit nicely. I resolved the problem by cutting off the mounting flange and a few inches of tube from both pickup tubes and welding something together that would work. Got all that put together last night. In view of the idling issues I always had with the old engine, I spent alot of time working on all the components that control air flow and are hard to get to unless the engine is out. Finally got things figured out on how the engine operates on 8 intake tubes until 3k rpm, then opens up the other 8. I got all the stuff under the intake that controls that cleaned up and checked out, and now I know what to look for when the engine first starts to visually SEE if that system is functioning. If it's not, there would be too much air flow at idle, and thus possibly the idling issue I was having. Had lots of stuff powder coated, and I'm waiting for the last batch as we speak. The engine is going to look quite a bit different than what it did before. Tomorrow, I'm going to start working on stuff in the engine compartment that I want to modify/change while the engine is out....steering linkage for starters.
Ha......just read my last post. re: last line; I'm surprised no one came back and said they didn't know starters had steering linkage. Another example of how this has been going............after finally getting my oil pickup tube and pan put on, next up was installing the new PS pump I bought. One of the final things to do (I think) My old one was fine, but, well, old, so I replaced it with a unit from Rockauto. I get most my parts from Rockauto, but never had to return anything so I didn't know how that would go. Anyway, I opened the PS pump box to find it was damaged. I could have fixed it had I been able to remove the fluid tube from my old one to replace the damaged one, but I couldn't. Here's an example of GREAT customer service: At 2 pm yesterday, I got online and filled in the info to get it returned. I had to answer a few questions, but I had a choice between return for replacement or refund. They ask if the part is repairable, and if it is, get this......they ask if you want to fix it if you're reimbursed for your time! Finally, a company that actually employs common sense once in a while! In less than 10 minutes on their website, I had a prepaid shipping label. I had the box packed and delivered to FedEx by 3pm. Rockauto tells you the replacement will ship out as soon as tracking indicates the returned item is in transit. At 9 am this morning, the door bell rang, and it was FedEx with my replacement part!!!
rock auto is a great company to deal with.I am glad your experience was good looking forward to updates
Good going all around, slow and steady wins the race. Been hot down there yet? I'm trying to get things done on my car before the heat sets in. Rain has been the biggest hurdle this spring.
Hot? No, just mid 80's. Sporadic though, and lots of rain. Hail yesterday, today 82. Engine is totally ready to go in. Cleaning up a huge mess, then starting on other engine compartment projects.
Good deal. Been raining since Sunday here in NY, on the cool side which is okay. I'm doing yard stuff between the drops, got a laundry list of things for my Ford, trying to borrow a lift in a buddy's shop for an afternoon.
Update. I can't believe 10 days have past since my last post. I'm soooooo slow, but I am close to starting the install on the replacement engine. I got the steering linkage reworked, and I'm happy with the looks and feel of it as much as I can tell without driving it. I had a bit more angle on the lower double joint than I needed, and almost none on the top joint. The fix for that was to move the "column" up 2 1/2" from where it previously exited the firewall. That put more angle on the top joint, and lessened the angle on the bottom joint by the same amount. My late model steering "column" is articulated rather than a solid shaft like the oem's, so moving it up required no mods to the column at all. It did require a modification to the firewall bearing support bracket that is hard to get to with the fenders on..at least for an old man. I also had to modify the firewall opening's cover, the lower heim joint bracket, and make a new lower ss double D shaft. At my pace, all that took a week. I've also fixed a pesky brake fitting leak. The problem I had there was a metric to sae adapter that was made from br***. It needed to be made from steel, or have a deeper threaded hole where the brake fitting needed to crush down the brake line on the 45*. I found the fitting was only engaging about 3 threads when it contacted the reverse flare. Not enough meat on the br*** threads to tighten...only snug without stripping the threads. I found an Earl's part that was the same but made from steel and was able to tighten up the line as needed to seal. I trimed my firewall weld flange back about 1/2" in the area where the throttle body is. It was always difficult getting the intake plenum on and off it was so tight. I had an issue with paint peeling from the firewall right behind the engine. Not sure what was the initial cause of the separation, but the engine heat is obviously coming into play. When I did my entire undercarriage, it was totally sandblasted down to bare metal, treated with zinc phosphate etch, por-15'd, Bulldog adhesion promoter, two coats of paintable latex undercoating and the final coat of single stage torch red. What's weird and unexpected, is the separation is between the two coats of undercoating. The bottom coat is still on the car, and the top coat is coming off with the paint. With the por-15 base, I'm not concerned about a rust issue, it's only cosmetic, and only right behind the engine. It's very hard to see the area when the engine is in. Yesterday, I peeled off anything I could reach that wasn't firmly sticking, cleaned up/ prepped for paint and resprayed the area.
cont.........I also trimmed the control arm frame brackets back a little. something I had forgot to do before my original install, which made getting the engine out with manifolds attached past the control arms very very tight. With fenders on, the manifolds definetly want to be attached when you put the engine in. After hours of searching online for something to replace the radiator/heater hose worm drive clamps that would never stay tight, I finally found some great clamps at an industrial hydraulic hose company. I also found a radiator hose adapter for my 2" lower radiator outlet that will simplify the connection.....one piece instead of liner/insert to get it down to the 1 1/2 (ss flex hose)engine side. That was also a source of leaks. The clamps, btw, are a bit pricey if you need as many as I do....10 @ 5. each average. I can post a link to the clamps if anybody is interested. I had noticed one of my lower control arm bolts was backing out, so got them all tightened up. I changed the holes to open slots on the bracket for the egr valve sensor. It mounts on the back of the head up against the firewall and the mounting bolts couldn't be removed/installed with the engine in. Changing the bracket to slots allows the sensor to be removed by just loosening the bolts. I started cleaning up the rest of the engine compartment yesterday.........sure gets yucky on a driver. details, details.........lots of work, but good to get done while the engine is out.
motor looks like it came straight from the factory....cool... those hose clamps if they are the ones i am thinking of....i think it is worth noting that they have specific sizes that they fit to....meaning that they only expand and contract to suit specific diameter hoses...unlike normal hose clamps that will close down to a fraction of the open size if needed
Por-15 can be difficult to work with sometimes. seems like it works best on rust that has been wire wheeled. I guess it has a better grab and chemical adhesion to rusty metal than clean metal.Plus it seems like you really need to do a lot of prep work with etching and cleaning the metal. Ch***is Saver works great too, and i have had great luck with Ace brand spray paint. not sure who actually makes it, but that stuff is tough and i love how it sprays out of a can.
I would be interested in a link for the hose clamps. Looks like your making good progress. You'll be back on the road in no time.
www.austinhose.com They have 6 locations..Tx, Ks, and OK direct link to the clamps. Unfortunatly not listed in order for some reason. https://www.austinhose.com/products/search/?Keyword=T-bolt hose clamps Yes, very limited clamping range. Less than 1/4". I'm going to exchange 2 today as a matter of fact as the ones I picked up, on one hose, tighten up just as the clamp bottoms out. They are made in Spain. Not sure if they are ss, but they are magnetic. Also, they are much bulkier than what we are use to, especially on the width.
Talked to the sales manager there yesterday, he told me they were in fact stainless. He also told me the Amarillo location is the main location, so all of the website orders go thru here. Ha, he referred to these as their cheaper versions.....he talked about a constant torque clamp the truckers liked to use on their intake systems that are a lot more $. In case anyone was curious why I needed 10 clamps, not including the smaller heater hoses, my engine actually has 4 rubber hoses on the coolant system, and the one hose I am using a ss flex hose on requires 2 on each end.
Update...........got all the engine compartment stuff finished up, so time to get the engine in. I had never installed an engine before with the ****** already in the car, so another learning experience. Being an old guy and working alone, I spent some time planning and making sure I was attacking this correctly. I have the car sitting on jacks so I can get under it. This added some height of course to how high the engine would have to be lifted to clear the sheet metal. I had bought a lifting strap for the hoist rather than chains so it wouldn't screw up the powder coated valve covers. That worked out well except I couldn't use a load leveler, so it took some figuring out on how to manipulate the engine and ******. I had replaced the front seal on the ******, so got the torque converter reinstalled making sure it was seated all the way in, and setting a mounting bolt on center. I knew my engine was going to sit at 3* at road height with my rake, so approximately 5* at level. (Sitting on jacks of course)leveled the car out. I borrowed a ****** jack from a friend, but the ram wasn't holding, so after I got it jacked up and set at 5*, I put a bottle jack under the bellhousing to hold it there. I put one loose bolt in the ****** mount to keep it from possibly shifting too much. Next, I realized the engine was swaying around too much while I was trying to move the engine hoist, and it was also too low in the front. After some thinking, I attached two ratcheting strap hold downs to the engine. This not only kept the engine from swaying as I moved the lift around, but it let me raise the front of the engine as I needed. Once I got the engine sitting on the mounts, but several inches forward from home position, I used my hydraulic spreader to support the front of the engine and adjust it to 5*. I was really expecting a huge problem trying to get the ******/torque converter and engine lined up, but as I slid the engine back, I was shocked to find the two alignment tubes on the engine were lining up perfectly with the alignment holes on the ******. I ran to Ace harware and bought a few longer bolts, and used them to start pulling the engine and ****** together. This was the tough part for me....constant up and down from under the car making sure the torque converter bolts. were lining up with the holes in the flex plate as I was pulling things together. I really have a hard time getting out from under the car. That's where I am now. The bolts are thru the flex plate, and I'm working my way around the bellhousing gradually tightening the really hard to get to bolts.
Isn’t it amazing what we old farts can accomplish by ourselves when necessary. You will be back on the road soon.
as okie said age and cunning usually come through the tortoise wins.just be careful as we do not heal as fast anymore
Engine and ****** are bolted down, electrical is done, exhaust hooked up, vacuum lines/controls are in, fuel and A/C lines connected, relocated some egr stuff, PS lines hooked up. Tomorrow is radiator, fan and hoses and hopefully new ujoints for the driveshaft. Then I'm on hold until new dipstick / tube ***y comes in. I need to get that in before I reinstall the rack. The rack needs to be in before hydroboost, etc etc. Total of 15 things left to check off my to-do list. I'm also waiting on some oddball stuff I finally found for the heater hoses.
The Jalopy Journal
