Jun

After the engine’s completion, and following a discussion Mike and I had about the expanding scope of the car’s partial restoration and pending modifications, I asked Mike to disassemble the entire engine compartment and front suspension – it just wouldn’t do to drop a beautifully-restored engine into that natty mess! He did so, and sent all removable parts (suspension, transmission, etc.) out for hot tanking to remove many decades of accumulated grease and chipped paint. (Photo NM.10) This decision was caused by Gemma’s actions: in her desire to take great care of the car, her over-eager mechanics grossly over-lubed everything under the hood with great frequency (this was typical of the era where overabundant chassis lubrication accompanied each oil change). All that oozing extra grease and oil just attracted dirt, creating an incredible mess which, incidentally, protected from rust all the parts in the engine compartment and underneath the car. Good friend Wayne Egbert did some initial cleaning of the incredibly greasy frame rails and cross member – he spent two full days with a putty knife, solvent and rags (placed in a large bag, safely discarded) to clean much of the dirt.