Couple of key things I learned today:
  1. I've been doing some work on my garage and installing some new LED lighting that really gives some great light. It has let me take a really good look at this engine for the first time.
  2. I had an OK set of tools. But prior to starting this project I knew I would need a lot more and a new toolchest. So far I have spent about $1400 in new tools alone and it has been worth every penny. Doing today's work I was able to instantly reach for things I needed to finish out specific tasks and it kept me going. Really glad I prepared that way.

The plenum, the intake and fuel rails are now completely off and I will do the intake tomorrow. Most of the plastic pieces, hoses, tabs, etc. on this engine are as brittle as can be and would basically fall apart in my hands as soon as I applied any kind of pressure. Made today's work easy but a little messy.

Next Up:
  • Remove the intake manifold
  • Inspect the valley.
  • Remove all the clutch components
  • Lift the engine off the pallet and onto an engine stand

I'll decide on the next steps from there. I have a 5 month wait ahead of me and I found an engine shop that can turnaround the work on my engine in 1 week. I also have some Edelbrock components in mind for my carb setup and I might put those on order soon.

I'm a little concerned by the color here. Indicates that there might have been water in here at some point


These heads and a good part of the block have a lot more rust than I thought. I think this starts to point towards a rebuild again


I found some water in the plenum. I know it can't reach the internals from this particular spot but this engine has clearly spent a lot of time outside.


Managed to get the whole wiring harness off the engine. It's basically a pile of brittle plastic at this point



Anyone have some fun ideas on what to do with this? I think it would look amazing all polished up or maybe bronzed in some way.