Sunday, February 13, 2011

Time to give an update on the GT6.  Here we go.  
So to recap where we are, the frame is powder coated, the suspension is done, the differential is in, driveline is in, and transmission is done.  So, as I mentioned the next step would be either paint the body or get the engine taken care of.  I was going to get the body painted but an opportunity came along that I had to jump on.  After obtaining the parts car I thought it was a good idea to get that engine up and running quick while I took time and saved some money to get it done right.  So Bry and I pulled the engine from the parts car.  Here's what it looked like:
It didn't look too good.  So the thought was to pull it, run some tests on it to see if it was good and see if we could throw it in the car in the meantime.  Oh, and if you want a better look at the pictures just click on them so you can see them in better detail.
 Here's another view. 
Here it is on the engine stand and we're taking all the peripherals off like the distributor, fuel pump, intake manifold, and exhaust manifold.
 Here's a shot of the fuel pump.  It still had suction and looks like it will work.
 It all checked out.  The pistons were a bit crusted with carbon deposits but when we cranked it it turned really smooth.  So I was excited that this idea was going to work.  I bought a gasket kit and started cleaning it up.  


 Then, Bry was having issues with his truck and took it in to the station on the corner that's halfway between our houses.  As the guy was looking at his truck they got talking about the triumph.  Rod told Bry he was familiar with the cars and Rod said we could bring the engine by and he'd take a look at it.  And it's a good thing we did.  He looked at it and said a few things needed to be done before we could throw it in the car and expect it to run.  So we left it with him.  He was as excited about working on it as we were.  We were missing a few parts, a few springs were broken, but he got it all done.  So, I picked it up on Friday morning before playing golf and got it set up to throw in the car.  Painted the motor mounts and got the clutch and transmission ready.  And, are you ready for this?  Here you go!
 Have you ever tried to install an engine by yourself?  Even with no body on the frame or anything else on the car it was so hard!  The motor mounts weren't cooperating, the engine itself is very heavy.  But I can say right now no fingers or toes were smashed.  
 I had a hard time putting the transmission on the motor as well.  I couldn't find the bolts needed, I lost a gasket, and with trips to the local hardwares store to get the bolts needed, it took 4 or 5 hours just to get the two together.
 And here you go!  Rod painted the rocker cover blue as he was working on it.  It actually looks pretty good because the water pump housing is blue and the cooling fan is blue, so it could work.
 It was raining yesterday and with the garage door open it was blowing in the garage.  My floor got wet. Oh, and as you can see we've had a change of venue.  Even though it's a small car it fills up my garage.  
 So, next steps are to get the intake manifolds on and clean up the carburetors.  They look ok, but between the two cars I feel confident we'll have them good to go.  Then the radiator and cooling system goes on.  Alternator and ignition are just about it before we can try to start it and get it running.  
So, there's your update.  And progress is being made.