AUDIO PITCH DIRECTSHOW FILTER

Day 10 – Almost there!
I decided it would be silly to start this engine with such nasty, dirty oil in it, so I did an oil and filter change. I only drained out 3 quarts anyway – barely showed on the dippy stick… I used Motorcraft 15-40 diesel oil since it has higher levels of ZDDP, and I also used the Motorcraft filter that wally world always sells at a decent price.
Afterwards, I disconnected the coil and did a compression test with the engine cold.
Cylinder 1 - 130 PSI
Cylinder 2 - 143 PSI
Cylinder 3 - 155 PSI
Cylinder 4 - 150 PSI
--How do these look??
My close neighbor next door came over wondering why I could not get it going, and I happily told him I was just doing compression checks. He said if it ran first try, he would make a toast with me!

Now the above results are interesting…
Back in 1995 with 95K miles, I measured the following with the engine warm to the touch:
Cylinder 1 - 127 PSI
Cylinder 2 - 133 PSI
Cylinder 3 - 143 PSI
Cylinder 4 - 140 PSI
Does it measure better when cold??
Anyway, after 154K miles the engine will not be getting torn down in the near future.

The spark plugs were torqued down and connected using new Motorcraft wires and separators.
Getting them nice and neat was a little challenging.

Test run!!
Before filling the cooling system, I wanted to see if the car would even start and run.
I plugged the open vacuum lines, gave a shot of carb cleaner into the carb, closed the choke and gave a short burst on the key…


KA-VAROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hit the pedal and the idle speed dropped. It ran a tad rough, but it idled okay. I ran it about a minute and shut it down since there was no alternator or coolant yet. It was warm, but not hot.
My neighbor brought over a beer and gave me a “good job!” toast!

The accessory belt was installed, as well as the hard heater lines, securing them with their little clips to the valve cover.
I decided to bypass the heater core, as I no longer trust the 32 year old hoses. I cannot replace them without pulling the heater box, so that work will be done in the fall when I work on the interior some.
I did secure the old hoses and plugged them well to keep bugs out.

Day 11 - New radiator arrives!!
So what is a $160 last-one-in-stock radiator made of??
Well, on the good side, it turned out to be brass and copper.
On the ugly side, it is the same exact make and model of the piece of junk I had in there now – a ready-rad.
The last one was put in around 2001 and started leaking 2 years after. I’ll just have to see how this one does I guess…

Bypass Us Now
Long Stratton, Norfolk, England, UK

I've travelled through the village a number of times and thought I must go back and photograph all those signs. Today was the day!