Prep Your Classic Car Before Restoring It
by
Carl A. Phillips
It is no doubt a fact that to rebuild and restore any type of classic car engine will involve a great bit of your time. Even though, admittedly, it may provide you with great personal satisfaction. And if only to reduce the amount of hours that you spend on your project, it is worthwhile to do as much prep work before you begin to disassemble the car. Keep in mind, however, that specific engine removal procedures are not the same for all cars. And if you are in doubt don’t hesitate to pick up the service manual for your specific type of auto.
Engines from the classic cars of yesterday consist of many fewer components than even the simplest of today’s engines. Even so, this doesn’t diminish the importance of taking great care when disassembling a class auto engine. Before beginning, video tape or take pictures of the engine and all components connected to it from every angle. And document anything about the engine that is unusual.
Keep in mind that when you start the restoration project, you never know exactly how well the restoration project will develop. Inevitably, there will always be surprises. You may have the engine in pieces for day, weeks, or even months. It’s very easy to forget where certain components of the car came from. And there’s nothing more frustrating than having one or more parts left over when the re-assembling is complete.
It is important that you do not throw away any of the original parts that you have removed – until the refurbishing is finished. This is true even if you already have a replacement part for it. Save all of the parts in a box until the engine has been completely reassembled and is running perfectly. It helps for you to label the parts as you remove them. This way you avoid confusing similar looking components. You can use tags to label them or if the part is not an internal engine component, you can inscribe them with identifying marks or labels.
Personal safety is key. So, before you start, ensure that you have decent protection for your eyes. In addition, you will most likely discover that if you wear a good pair of mechanics gloves, it will help to save your knuckles. And, make sure that you check the engine before touching it to prevent burning yourself. Also, sometimes you may have to remove the car hood in order to get enough clearance to remove the larger parts of the engine.
As you take apart the car engine, be careful not to harm any of the engine components that you are working with. A tip for doing this is to start by taking out all accessories from the engine block. Begin with the exhaust and intake manifolds. Now you can begin the work of taking apart the engine block. The crucial point at this stage is to not force remove any part unless you absolutely have to. Anytime that you use brute force on any part of an engine, you take the chance of possibly doing more harm than good. So, if studs have rusted try using a rust penetrating lubricant before attempting more forceful means.
If the penetrating lubricant does not work, try a stud remover. Tap the head GENTLY but Again, don’t force them. It can’t be stressed enough that you should be as gentle with the stud as humanly possible. As a last resort, if the stud still cannot be removed, you may have to find someone familiar with arc welding techniques which can be used to remove studs.
As part of your tagging, number all of the piston tops, connecting rods, rod bearing caps, and other components that come in multiples. Tag other components such as the valve lifters, push rods, and valves as to their position.
If you properly do the auto disassembly prep work before beginning your engine restoration, you have just made your restoration job immensely easier.
Carl is a classic car enthusiast who writes articles on restoration issues of interest like
car paint colors
and
classic car price guide
. Please visit his site for additional articles.
Article Source:
ArticleRich.com
