oldford

It was a great turn out.  Did you see the red Talbot Solara that looked as though it hadn't moved in some time.
 
It looks like my car got spotted out in the wild.
 

Had a 4 year old car in for MOT today, phoned the customer (another garage) and told them that was going to fail on a sharp edge, do you want me to stick some tape over it?
 

 

 

The 185/70s on the Cortina, wheels recently powder coated, standard suspension springs.
 

I would be wary of painting the inside of the cam cover, there may be a risk of the paint flaking off and blocking parts of the lubrication system.
 
You can get sticker sets from ebay for the black parts of the wheels and for the silver circles on the wheel centres.  This project is coming along nicely.

I would be wary of painting the inside of the cam cover, there may be a risk of the paint flaking off and blocking parts of the lubrication system.
 
You can get sticker sets from ebay for the black parts of the wheels and for the silver circles on the wheel centres.  This project is coming along nicely.

.... latest NEWS **
 
Guy in OZ has sorted out a humongeous wooden crate (like for Oilfield Valves..!!) c/w Fork feet 
 
Box likely heavier than 10x glass.... however 8cu.ft of bubble may get it here in one piece 
 
Cool... eh?
 
 
TS

I'm going for pretty much factory look for the engine.
Block and sump will be painted in black engine enamel.
Rocker cover and cam belt cover will be Ford corporate blue enamel.
Dizzy casing, inlet manifold, fuel pump, water pump etc will be left unpainted ally colour.
Exhaust manifold will be blasted then painted silver/grey.
 
The gearbox has a black bell housing and main body with the inspection cover etc left silver.
Axles, crossmember, struts, etc etc are all satin black.
 
Any nut or bolt heads showing will be either painted a suitable colour or plated in that goldish silvery colour as factory.
 
The enamels are actually American ones but should be close enough, and they are good quality (expensive!) so should go on nicely and last well. They are exactly the same as the ones used on my Mercury's V8 engine and do look very nice.

That's exactly what I do with mine, though I tend to change the filter at every other oil change, so 3,000 miles for the oil and 6,000 for the filter.

Oldford's Tincorner is mintier than the Trebor Extra Strong Mint factory. I'm glad you are sticking with this beast, and once it is resto'd, perhaps a meeting with the buttery biscuitbASe Sierra could be arranged

Since I bought this car it's been run on a combination of 10W40 and 15W40 semi synthetic oils of brand name only, usually using a genuine filter. The 2.0 Pinto in my Transit gets the same treatment.
I change the oil and filter regularly too and all this seems to have kept them in rude health I think. Neither of mine are particularly clattery or even dirty inside. Certainly seems to have done the job anyway.

It's attention to detail, I recently re wrapped the wiring loom, got some Motorcraft stickers for the old Banner battery, new washer tubing, cleaned the plastic tanks - all the little things which add up.  To reproduce the wide tape on the wiring loom, I used normal black shiny duct tape which I dulled down with some abrasive paper.  The cloth loom tape is good at finishing things off.
 
A Google search of engine bay pictures should give you a good idea of what they were like when they left the factory.

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

The 185/70s on the Cortina, wheels recently powder coated, standard suspension springs.
 

This mornings work was to reassemble the front end of the engine.
 
New parts. Water pump, cam belt and tensioner with new bolt.
 
IMG_0484 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
IMG_0485 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
First job was to install the new water pump. New gasket and a thin smear of sealer just to make sure. All the bolts have been wire brushed clean and a smear of grease on the threads should stop them seizing in future.
 
IMG_0486 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
New belt tensioner fitted. Spring sitting in properly this time.
 
IMG_0487 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
Next fit the belt. Start at the top and hold the belt on the top pulley, pull the belt tightly down and feed it around the next pulley on the non tensioned side of the belt run (in this case the dizzy drive pulley) then around the crank pulley then loop the belt over the tensioner. Make sure nothing moves when fitting the belt or pulling it tight. Make sure the tensioner is backed right off when this bit is done.
 
IMG_0488 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
When everything's good release the tensioner bolt and let the spring pull everything tight. Put the bottom pulley bolt back in and use it to rotate the engine. Two turns of the bottom pulley = one turn of the top so if everything was lined up correctly the engine won't lock solid and all the timing marks will line up again. Check the tension is right by twisting the belt on its longest straight run between pulleys. It should twist 90 degrees to its normal but no more.
 
IMG_0489 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
Make sure there's no loose belt runs that can let the belt flap around.
 
IMG_0491 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
Next job was to get the rocker cover off. Everything looks good underneath.
 
IMG_0492 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
I've got a new oil spray bar for this so that can go on now.
 
IMG_0494 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
The oil spray bar was the cause of a lot of the trouble on these engines. The oil gallery feeds up through the cam shafts centre bearing tower, then into the spray bar, and along both ways spraying oil out through the little holes onto the cam lobes.
They can get blocked if the oil isn't changed regularly which starves the cam of oil.
 
IMG_0495 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
That's about it for now until my paints and gaskets arrive.

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

It's attention to detail, I recently re wrapped the wiring loom, got some Motorcraft stickers for the old Banner battery, new washer tubing, cleaned the plastic tanks - all the little things which add up.  To reproduce the wide tape on the wiring loom, I used normal black shiny duct tape which I dulled down with some abrasive paper.  The cloth loom tape is good at finishing things off.
 
A Google search of engine bay pictures should give you a good idea of what they were like when they left the factory.

It's attention to detail, I recently re wrapped the wiring loom, got some Motorcraft stickers for the old Banner battery, new washer tubing, cleaned the plastic tanks - all the little things which add up.  To reproduce the wide tape on the wiring loom, I used normal black shiny duct tape which I dulled down with some abrasive paper.  The cloth loom tape is good at finishing things off.
 
A Google search of engine bay pictures should give you a good idea of what they were like when they left the factory.

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

It's attention to detail, I recently re wrapped the wiring loom, got some Motorcraft stickers for the old Banner battery, new washer tubing, cleaned the plastic tanks - all the little things which add up.  To reproduce the wide tape on the wiring loom, I used normal black shiny duct tape which I dulled down with some abrasive paper.  The cloth loom tape is good at finishing things off.
 
A Google search of engine bay pictures should give you a good idea of what they were like when they left the factory.

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

I like the Pinto, nice simple engine, mine came with some shiny bits.  I had a nightmare painting the exhaust manifold on mine, what I found to work was brush on Barbecue paint, the much more expensive Halfords high temperature spray paint flaked off after 10 miles.
 

Finally! The dishwashers done...
 
IMG_0478 by Dan Clark, on Flickr
 
Fan-tastic!
 
Looks like new, it's even shiny now. Looks much better than it did in the pic further up.
So guys, I can recommend using the dishwasher as a parts washer! 60 degree wash if your interested.