Rust Revival Recap.

The only show I planned on going to this year was over the weekend and going in a daily beater wasn't something I wanted to do.

After this fiasco:

 http://datinmanspeaks.blogspot.com/2013/09/anyone-got-any-luck-i-can-beg-borrow.html

I was hoping to gimp the car to the show by adding a high volume high pressure oil pump and some prayers to the applicable deities. Well that was more than a miserable failure. Leaving me with a car that still had no oil pressure when warm and it now had a rather disturbing knock in the bottom end.

Monday left me feeling that something equally stupid and drastic was needed,

 So I yanked it out thinking that if the bottom end wasn't to bad I could order bearing and slap it back together good enough for the trip.

 

 

Late night but I felt like I got something accomplished even though it was going in the wrong direction. I had been looking for a replacement powerplant for a while but the closest ones were 6-8 hours away and that wasn't going to happen on my "Oh shit the show is THIS weekend?" schedule.

 

 

When I got home I started looking at what stuff was available the fastest to make sure I could get it going again and something told me to look on Craigslist to see what I could find. Lo and behold there was a 65 Buick 300 in a small town 45 minutes or so from here!

 

Not sure what the odds are on finding a 50ish year old somewhat rare motor in running condition local are but it happened.

 

 

First thing in the AM I phoned and txted to see if it was available and the condition it was in. The replies were somewhat strange in that they had attempted to clean the outside of the motor by sandblasting it.

 

For those of you that aren't mechanically inclined we don't sandblast motors for the same reason sex on the beach isn't what its cracked up to be.

 

I whittled the guy down a bit on price, ran and got it, while I was there he showed me video of it running right before they pulled it for its "bath".

 

 

Once I started pulling it apart things were not looking good, there was a beach in the heads,

 

Lifter valley was a little better but still not looking all that promising.

 

Once the head were off though things really started looking up, no noticeable wear in the bores and they hadn't turned it over since they filled it with sand so no scratches or gouges either.

 

 

The bottom end was nearly perfect very little wear on the bearings and the crank was perfect.

 

 

Since my top end was fresh and this one had a good bottom end I was one gasket set away from a runner!

 

I spent an hour or so at the car wash blowing all the sand out of the block and off the internals and being the genius I am I had ordered a gasket set on Tuesday so Wednesday at 5 PM I started putting it back together, by 2 am I had the motor assembled and back in the car, minus the intake, one lifter (bad waiting on replacement) one valve cover and the exhaust manifolds were loose.

 

No pix, I got busy and spaced it.

 

Thursday I finished it up and pre-oiled it, fired the old gal up by 2 PM. Drove it to the gas station and then to a friends house to make sure it was doing what it should.

 

I had time to bang out a couple items for the charity auction and went home to get some sleep. First time all week I was home before 2 AM.

 

Friday comes and I'm driving a 50 year old convertible with no heat and a lot of air leaks so how was the weather?

 

 

Yep, cold and rainy. Woohoo. Froze my ass off all the way there and it didn't get any warmer that night during the preshow festivities.

 

One of the things we had planned last year was our own version of bingo. We brainstormed for a most of the weekend to come up with suggestions for what to put on the card. Yes we are probably going to hell for this and we really bad people.

 

 

Each card was different and not all items were the same. Breeder is the guy putting on the show so he was the free space. This was started at 8 PM Friday and was supposed to last till Saturday at 8 PM.

 

At 8:12 on Friday I won the first round, donated some of the prize money back and we decided that filling the card was the way to win for Sat. I came in second. 

 

It was cold enough on Friday evening that we absconded with a metal trash can and a pallet or 2 and set up a hobo camp fire which gave us a place to sit around and make fun of one another.

 

Saturday started with the sun shining and while chilly it was going to be a fairly nice day. Parked the cars and enjoyed the day, our Buick parked so it was the first thing you'd see when entering the show, next to it a Rambler belonging to Todd the newest member of the Vagabond's CC and behind it was Grayson's pickemup  also a member.

 

 

One row back was Sam's 63 Riv, 56,000 mile mostly original 2 owner survivor. I lowered it and changed shocks and such, added a better carb and ignition. Also a Vagabond. 



 

Another Vagabond's truck, Brian and D.W. from Wisconsin,

 

My friend Mike's 40 Ford, another one of the willymakeit club, this thing was still in pieces when I was pulling my motor. The hood is finished but they ran out of time.

 

Not sure who's this was but man is it right. I spend a lot of time around old cars so unless its my Buddies car or something special I pay little or no attention to it, this one made me stop in my tracks.

 

This is what a flatty should look like. If'n I was to build one it would be a lot like this one.

 

Magnet's Impala, nice solid car every bit as nice as it looks.

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of other cars there but you'll have to come to the show to see em.

 

Charity stuff sold around 4 PM, did ok wanted more but happy with what it brought, top piece was striped by the Evil Step Dad.

 

 

 

 

Sunday we got back on the road to come home,, This is more like it.





 

 

I was even able to put the roof in the trunk where it belongs, it was still a bit cool but I'd rather be a bit chilly with the roof down than comfy with it up.

                                    

Got home with out much in the way of issues with the new powerplant, until I got into town 13 miles from home, stopped at parts store and changed fuel filters and somehow lost high gear in the transmission.

Drove the rest of the way home at 30 mph and now I get to start a new adventure chasing that fiasco down. Rest assured it will be fixed, spring has sprung and nothing beats a topless cruise anywhere you need to go.