Event Coverage The Rambler Adventure-Up The River

Jim, you need a hobby. Too much time on your hands.

 

yup! being retired is rough

I got new rings in the mail today, NORS on ebay $30 for the set, standard size cast iron Sealed Power. They fit, so I put them in.

I put the exhaust manifold in my mill, and sort of surfaced it. It was really really not flat. Now it's pretty close, I'll try running it without a gasket, as designed. I had a graphite gasket in before, that worked ok, so I can go back to that if needed.

still waiting for engine gaskets to arrive. I also ordered an NOS clutch disc, and the flywheel is out getting reground.

 

Most impressive @squirrel , that the intrepid " SUPER RAMBLER " is getting the royal treatment!
It will live to compete again in another Lemons rally, or what ever kool new adventure you have in mind!

 

Long skinny rods... Heavy crankshaft weights reminds me of my 235 chevy 6 engines..

 

yup, it's pretty similar to a 235 in some ways.

 

Jim, I´ve rebuilt quite a few engines the way you are doing it on your Rambler six and caught quite some flak from a few locals that thought I was making shortcuts.One of these engines was a Ford 300 six that burned and leaked lots of oil. The bores were already .40 over and the engine was running pretty well besides the oil consumption. I only had a little ridge at the very front of #1 cyl which I did wonder about but also ignore successfully. So I put new bearings and a oilpump in it , honed the bores and re -ringed the pistons. Over the last 10 years the new owner has since put another trouble free 80k miles on this engine and whenever I run into him I ask him how my shoestring repair is holding up. I usually jokes back and tells me not to say this out loud in front of his truck, as he might hear me and decide to start burning oil...

 

This is how engines were built back 50 or 60 years ago. Nothing fancy, just the basics. And they would go another 30-40k miles without a peep. By then the rest of the car caught up to the passage of time.

 

I applaud you for bringing her home and giving the love she deserves. My first car was a 59 Rambler I bought when I was 12 for 5 bucks. Paid 25.00 for a transmission . Traded that for a 61 Belvedere.

 

Got my gaskets on ups today, flywheel is done I have to pick it up, clutch should be in the mail today also.

I put the pan on...what a fun gasket! try doing this in the car, standing on your head. No thanks.

 

Definitely a chick magnet!

 

I took my wife for a ride into town in the car, she hasn't moved out yet.

 

25 years ago my buddy at the time was daily driving a 1968 Chevy HandiVan. His wife hated it. It was in pretty rough condition. They had to go somewhere in it to pick up something large and he came out to leave and she was sitting in the passenger seat with a paper bag over her head with eye holes.

 

I use to overhaul them the same way. Hell we always did before they told us it wouldn't work that way. If everything looked good, just wore out rings and bearings but everything else was fine, which usually they were. Ring and bearing it and go. It will still be around when we are gone.

 

This one didn't need bearings.

 

I've taken apart a couple old Chevrolet sixes that someone had tied the oil pan gaskets on with threads through each bolt hole.

 

Jim, don’t you know you can’t take an engine apart and only replace a few parts, you need to bore it replace everything, probably with forged parts!! Doing it the way you are it’ll probably only run for another 50,000miles…

 

I've done a hundred this way. They all lasted longer than I kept them.

 

Try coming home with a hearse fresh from the funeral home with a casket in the back. I lost that fight with the ex old lady. Had to put for sale signs in it the next day. Then sold it to my buddy the day after that. But I still got to play with it though.

 

I came within a hair of buying a '62 Caddy hearse in 1975. $600 burning a hole in my pocket... it was purple with a white top, still had the side drapes. The carpet was purple and the casket rollers were still functional. I got talked out of it by EVERYONE. I wound up with a '65 Chevy C30 panel truck.

 

Did that all the time 70 years ago.

Ben

 

That was a GOOD trade!

 

I got enough of driving a hearse a few years ago....

 

Well, it's all back together. New rings, new gaskets, new clutch disc, new core plugs, new park plugs and points, resurfaced flywheel and exhaust maifold, lapped valves and honed bores, new oil filter and oil, that's about it. Pretty cheap engine "overhaul".

Runs same as it did before, so far. I'll have to get some miles on it and see how the oil consumption is.

 

Bravo !
Glad it's all back together and it still has the look of an engine that earned its patina!
It will be interesting to follow along on its evolution of where it goes next!

 

I just noticed the downdraft tube on the side cover. Never seen one there before.

 

I took a little test drive over to Bisbee. Lots of tourists since it's Saturday afteroon. Visited my favorite "antique" store, there were a few neat things in the basement. And got into some rain on the way home. Car ran fine, although I'm still adjusting to the new clutch, have to give it more gas and slip it a bit more to get moving uphill. No big gush of oil off the front of the engine when I parked, which is a welcome change, I think the front of the oil pan was leaking before.

 

PLEASE... Tell us that you brought all that cool stuff home with you!

 

nope, none of it. I got rid of most of my cool stuff when I moved a couple years ago, no need to start getting more of it.

 

Reminds me of Miami Arizona but nicer.

 

Of course you know this but stay out the washes when you're out in the Rambler. AZ monsoons are pretty nasty this year.