Ok, time for some small updates! Work has been hell as we upgrade power and HVAC on our server floor and move equipment and cabling into new racks. When I get home, the last thing I've wanted to do is work on this car. However, I now have a deadline in which this needs to be finished, so the work must go on! This is going to be quick and dirty so I can get to bed.
Where to begin... paint.
I've sprayed a couple custom colors on my side mirrors, but realized it would be too difficult to control the consistency while spraying pieces separately. I've committed to an OEM color that should be fairly simple to mix and spray in increments as I prep the parts.
Galaxy Gray Metallic
Some samples that I sprayed, but later decided against:
I also acquired some new tools to assist with assembly.
In one of my prior posts, I mentioned that I had taken the block back to the machine shop to open up the piston to wall clearance. When they bored the cylinders, the cleaning solution took off a lot of the black paint on the block. I pretty well figured this would happen, since I inadvertently used header paint instead of engine enamel, and it hadn't been able to cure in an oven. I decided to go through and do a final deep cleaning of the block and respray it with engine enamel.
Re-tapped every hole
Sprayed the block with paint stripper and scrubbed it down with wire brushes to remove the remaining paint, then set it out to dry.
After paint. Yes, I decided to go with plain aluminum since it would be easier to spot leaks before they became a bigger problem. Oiled the cylinder walls as well once everything was try to prevent rusting.
I had ordered a set of yellow OEM main bearings, as well as a pair of pink bearings to re-check my clearances.
Main #1 Pink Bearing ~.0015"
Main #2 Pink Bearing ~.0016"
Main #3 Pink Bearing ~.0019"
Main #4 Yellow Bearing ~.0015"
Main #5 Yellow Bearing ~.0014"
I know I'm being extremely particular with my clearances, but I don't like to take chances with these things. I'm not the guy who can just throw in some ACL standard size bearings and call it good. From what I've read, my clearances so far should be good, though I might throw in half a yellow on #3 to try and bring it down to 17 or 18 ten-thou.
My rods on the other hand aren't so willing to cooperate. All four journals measure out to 1.7714", and each rod bore measures out to 1.8902". The only new rod bearings I have are green, and after plastigaging with them I'm getting a solid .001", which is half of what I'd like. By my measurements, OEM red bearings would give me .0016" which is much better, but still not the 18 to 20 ten-thousandths that I want. In this instance, I've steered away from OEM and purchased a set of ACL HX rod bearings. The specs for them are nearly identical to OEM red bearings, but the general concensus is that they are closer to .0002" smaller than reds. When they come in, I'll plastigage and see what I come up with, but hopefully it's atleast .0017".
I've also ordered some aluminum putty and I'm going to attempt modifying my oil pump for a more efficient flow, following some the other members in the D-series forums. I've got my original oil pump pulled apart already and will practice on it before modifying my brand new KS modified OEM pump.
I've got most of the interior stripped out, minus the carpet, so that I can spray the door jams and clean everything. Most of the trim panels and headliner have that soot look to them that 220k+ miles will do. I'd like to finish prepping the passenger door jam in the next week or so and get the jams sprayed so I can move on to other components.
I'll be leaving the country in early December and won't be back for quite some time, so my goal is the have the car painted, refreshed, and running by then. We'll see how that goes!