Time for another?

[William]

Hello fellow nuts,

It's been a while since I've posted up, allow me to share the latest! I've got the 'parts' car that I purchased to build out my driver. However as it turns out, I didn't really need much off of it as I had plenty of good stuff to spare to finish my gray-lady out.

The original engine (#11373)from my first car, which i bought from a retired mechanic, was in boxes when I got it.

1 U20 block on stand.JPG

1.002 U20 passenger side.JPG

As you can see, didn't take much to get it ready for refresh.

1.003 prepping for rebuild.jpeg

Really cool fact, the cylinders had already been honed .050 over and the pistons had been purchased to match

1.004 New piston rings .050 over.jpeg

The new motor received new main bearings everywhere, new rings to fit pistons, seals etc

1.005 Crankshaft rod bearings and seals.jpeg

Clean original blue and freeze plugs from Dean,

1.009 U20 11373 stamp on the block.jpeg

Followed by crank and piston installation

1.011 Piston rings, rod bolts and bearings ready.jpeg

1.012 New bearings on the main caps.jpeg

New timing components of course!

1.013 Timing chain on.jpeg

1.016 New oil fliter and thermostat.jpeg

1.018 Carburetor mock up.jpeg

It is so much fun working on these engines!!

[Gregs672000]

Such a fun endeavor Eh? Once you get past the trepidation of its first start and break in, the new fun begins!

[redroadster]

I think you omitted the piston return springs

[William]

I think you omitted the piston return springs

Haha! Made me look!

[William]

So here’s the survivor that’s getting the new transplant. Pick this baby out a few years ago out at Lake Elsinore. Does anyone recognize her?

CIMG0558.JPG

CIMG0560.JPG

[William]

Such a fun endeavor Eh? Once you get past the trepidation of its first start and break in, the new fun begins!

As anyone who has one of these beauties can probably testify, you have to become your own mechanic in order to keep em. They aren't just fun to drive but also very rewarding to wrench on. Lovin it

[William]

Ok, on to pulling the tired U20 out!

2.004 Pulling the engine.jpeg

2.005 old engine out.jpeg

[Mochi]

great work! you are definitely getting my motivation up and stoke to complete my engine build. that blue with the freeze plugs just looks so right!

[William]

Thank you Mochi! Stick with your build, it will be done before you know it.

[William]

Right now the "gray-lady" is staring with envy at "zesty" because she's not getting any attention

3.002 Getting ready for transplant.jpeg

3.006 swap prep.jpeg

[dynaguy]

Dont ask me how I know, but......It's best to remove the grille when pulling engine and/or removing the hood. You'll see many Roadsters that have a bit of nose-punch damage, usually due to ooops during this process. FWIW Pat

[William]

Definitely Pat, luckily I managed to ease it in there no problem, however almost broke my windshield glass yesterday changing wiper blades. We Need to be super careful around these legends so better safe than sorry

William

[William]

It’s in there!!

78A0EFBD-BC8F-43F2-83B6-513F3AFF141F.jpeg

C652C400-741B-4B0E-B2AE-D2144D0B5DB9.jpeg

C7A5A2D2-84EB-4188-959A-1A005F8F2857.jpeg

EC130588-6C65-43C4-BDE5-F3A716A95983.jpeg

She’s a real thing of beauty!

[William]

So after many years, I've managed to get another Roadster back on the road! I feel fortunate to be part of a small breed of afficionados working to save these endangered species!

Resting after a run.jpeg

After a few initial runs around the block, I took it into my buddy's shop to help with the muffler installation and the tuning. I was running around without a muffler and wow, what a note from the open header!

Tuning time.jpeg

Warming up before a tune.jpeg

I added a flex joint to the old exhaust just past the header and also a bung for an O2 sensor. I wired in an AEM af monitor to help with the tune. It pulls nicely!

Running laps.jpeg

[Bwk2000]

Great job there Bill!
Last pic - Oh what a feeling