[Private_collector]

Got a few little things done over the past week. Repaired the pitting corrosion to water outlets on both cylinder heads (? Inlet ?), using one of those pliable, putty-like, metal fillers. Not had need to use one before, so I found the exercise interesting. I'm reasonably pleased with the results. Deliberately left the repaired surfaces rougher, hoping the rough surface would assist in keeping the water hose in place. Time will tell. Both heads were then painted in the final color. They had been sandblasted about a week prior, but I had to go over them lightly at home, because the blasters had left them out in the rain.........once again. This is an old trick of theirs, and despite changing their guy that does the actual blasting THREE times in past 2 years, not one has the ability to see the need to keep freshly denuded steel out of the rain. Maybe i'm just gifted in that regard, or maybe it's just easy for me to predict the past (Like the Irish psychic). In a case of sheer coincidence, my set of new spark plugs arrived about an hour after I put the final coat of paint on the heads. Did a test fit, and they are exactly what I need. I even like the color (black metal & white insulator, of course).

Had the sump pan to a local welder, for repairs to two small rust-outs along one side, where the block water jacket plugs leaked water directly onto the sealing edge of the pan. They had no problem doing the repairs, and I started painting the pan the day I got it back. You will notice I said "started" the painting? That simple job turned into a trilogy in four parts!!! I put on a coat & a half of VHT engine paint.........then the spray can ran dry. And here's my BIG mistake, I had another full can of engine enamel, but of another brand, so after a little (too little) consideration of the pros & cons, I decided to take the risk of incompatability between the two enamels, and finish using that paint. Guess you know things didn't go too well. There were obvious problems right from the first coat of second paint. They didn't like each other at all! Not bad enough to require stripping again, but sufficiently troublesome to require wet sanding the next day, before being able to go any further. The paint would normally have been well dried overnight, but the mixing of the two types meant I was sanding something akin to pudding, or perhaps treacle. I left the pan out in the hot midday sun after that, for further hardening. By this time I had gone into town (1hr round trip) and bought a can of my original engine enamel. This is exactly what I SHOULD have done when I ran out in the first place, but noooooooo, thought I would take the risk and have a go. Results speak for themselves. To end the long story quickly, once I repainted again with the prefered paint, everything was finally 'ticketty boo' again. Who says you can't make strawberry jam out of pig crap?

With the whole oil pan 'abortion' still fresh in my mind, I turned to my set of NOS exhaust pipes. At least, the part of the exhaust that comes from the manifolds. I have both pieces, and have been itching to get them cleaned up for a long time. The original coating of paint, light surface rust, welding slag (very small bit) & adheased part number ticket, posed no obstacle to the wire cup on the angle grinder. I was very pleased with how the metal cleaned up. Three coats of VHT Flame Proof grey later, I hung them in the shed to dry. The rear end of the exhaust pipe is 2". For some reason I thought it would have been smaller diameter than that. Is that size correct, of are these pipes off a civilian Ford vehicle?

The Gympie Swap Meet was on last Saturday. It was MUCH bigger than last year (which was crap!), and there was a really good variety of things on offer. It was surprising to see so many pieces of old farm equipment there. I wonder if the current trend of making garden features from rural machinery is responsible for that? I nearly bought an old military box, that was for storing a wireless and I think it mentioned an antenna on the side as well. In the end, I didn't buy it, because I wasn't convinced it was WWII vintage. Having researched a little since then, I now know it actually WAS the right age. Didn't even get as far as asking the price, so not aware of exactly what bargain I may have missed...........or vice versa. What I really wanted to find was a suitable exhaust muffler. That didn't eventuate. If I wanted a drainpipe sized exhaust for a tarted up japanese 4 cylinder guzz-box, I could have come away with enough to cover the entire rear of the vehicle. That's a sign of the times, I guess. All I ended up buying were two Flathead V8 engine dip-sticks, NOS, still wrapped in the cosmoline and grease paper. I didn't actually need them (or one), but at $5 each, I couldn't resist the urge to see how they had survived under all that preservative for 70+ years. That night I unwrapped and cleaned one of them. It came up nearly 100% perfect, with only a single patch of light corrosion on the top of the round cap. Incidetally, I never knew there was a foam pad under the cap, until I cleaned this one. Guess the lthers had all crumbled away long before I got to see them.

I do have some photos on the above topics, but am not at home for the next couple of days. I'll download and post those photos when I am able.

P.S: Am currently bidding on an original Ford battery case of what I hope is the correct size. If I get it, I plan to look into making a mold so replicas can be made that will take a modern sealed cell battery inside. The case isn't something that often comes up, so competition may be withering. At least the seller is willing to ship me the case.