330FE REBUILD

This 330FT mill will be a real torque-monster when we're done with it. After breaking the glaze on the cylinders with my hone tool, I chamfered the edges, oiled them up and flipped it over to install the camshaft.

With plenty of Melling Lube I installed the camshaft.....

....then checked the camshaft endplay. Barely 0.001 - a real tighty!

Tomorrow I'll install the crank and button up the bottom.

Back on the Cougar, I prepped the left side inner apron for installation. It took quite a bit of shaping, trimming and some brake-work to get 'er much closer. These 2 parts will go a long way to making the engine compartment the perfect backdrop for a well-detailed engine.

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !

Front apron and inner fender sheeet metal...cont'd

After the spots are drilled out, I separate the panels (and whatever is left of the spot welds) with an air chisel. Key here is to only beat up the panel being replaced. The ones staying do get a little damage, but nothing a little hammer and dolly work can't fix.

Out with the old...

In with the new....

When you remove panels like this, it's critical to be sure things aren't going to end up in different
places after welding in the new pieces. A panel like this holds a lot of structure together - the surrounding structure can move when you remove the old piece and when you fit and weld in the new piece. One way to be sure things don't get too bent out of shape is to take before and after measurements of the front end, especially cross-ways as I mentioned previously. Another is to only do one side at a time - cut, fit and weld - before going to the other side. If you remove a who lot of structure at once, you could end up with a pretzel after all the welding heat is put in. Also - take a look at your jack-stand placement....I had mine at the front, near the rad support so they  wouldn't be in the way when I did the floors - but that puts a bunch of upward pressure on the front end - which would close this gap and make the new piece fit tight....I moved the stands back behind the repair and checked my measurements.

Below - someone over at GarageJournal.com asked if I found any other "mods" I'd have to fix....
Well, here's some major holes that where cut into the side cowl ostensibly to install some speakers. Once removed the holes where where patched with pieces of galvanized metal and secured with pop-rivets...not the worst repair, but we'll do it properly by fitting and butt-welding in solid pieces.

Even with the speakers in the hole I can imagine the driver and passenger always wondering why their feet where so cold when they drove this car!

Another anomaly are these holes torched into the shock towers front and rear. Apparently mechanics would cut the holes in the shock towers to access the A-arm end plugs, pop them out and install the grease fittings so the upper control arm pivots would stop squeaking and cut down on wear. Guess they hadn't invented hole saws yet....

Don't forget to check out the website at

www.E-tekRestorations.com! 

Gettin' busy with the Cougar.....

Dropping the rear End, exhaust and gas tank....

That's one big hole! Interesting how Stangs and Coug's used the tank as an integral pieces of the trunk floor pan. Wouldn't see that today!

These inner fender splash shields need to be replaced. Lots of dirt, mud and goop sat in there over the years...

To replace spot-welded sheet metal parts, I go around the edges with some 80 grit paper, which locates the spot welds. Then I mark the centres with a punch and drill them with about a 3/8" bit, being careful not to drill through to the next panel. Some spots need to be drilled with a larger bit, which cleans more of the spot weld out.

After drilling, I use my air chisel to separate the 2 panels. You have to work carefully so as not so beat up or cut the metal that is remaining.

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! 

Today my ultra-new BFF Julie stopped by with a whack of WD-40 products including WD-40 in the Smart-Straw can, Regular can and even in a bulk can! She also gave me some of their 3-IN-ONE oils, some 3-IN-ONE Silicone and Lithium lubes and some of the new Spot Shot cleaner. Thanks Julie!!

Perfect timing too -  as I was continuing the disassembly on the 67 Cougar.....

Of course no amount of lube will work when someone WELDS the hood hinges to the inner fender!

Stay tuned - metal work starts next!

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! 

The owner of the '67 Cougar dropped by with some sheet-metal parts yesterday so I can finally get started on the metal work. If there's one thing you learn quickly in this business is that you don't want to start cutting out metal before you have your replacement metal in hand!

The other thing you'll learn is that not all parts are created equal. There's way more crappy parts made in back-yard shops or overseas "craptories" and then passed off to unsuspecting restorers and repair shops than there is really good stuff. But because there's a market for replacement and patch parts, guys will try and make parts out of all sorts of homemade dies and jigs -  or even without - and sell them as re-pop (reproduction) parts. Over the years I've seen stuff that looks like it's been beat over a tree stump with an old boot passed off as "quality" repop parts.

Going over and evaluating re-pop parts can can take a bit of time. One needs to compare them against the original parts (which often times is no longer there), with each other and with the parts they mount to. Often they can be the wrong size, have the wrong cuts or worse, have the wrong contours - these parts had a bit of all three.


Here's one of the parts on the Cougar that needs replacing. It's part of the inner apron and is also the hood hinge plate. On top are two square holes for the insertion of captured nuts, to which the fender bolts to.

The people who sold Trent these parts said they where different because they source the best parts from various suppliers. Too bad the "best parts" are missing those square holes for the fender attachment bolts. The closer one, a very good reproduction part, has the square holes and also the three round holes where the shock tower cover attaches to - the one on the right is missing both.

In addition to the missing holes, the quality of the pressing is poor, as shown by this wrinkle. Spots like these are clues that the part is likely off in other places and that contours will not match the original. You can see what I mean if you look at the photo above again - the poor repop on the right in  not bent at 90 degrees.

Looking at the rear lower quarter patch panel, one can see it's far from correct. I'm actually holding it tight to the body at the bottom. The piece hasn't been bent enough so the top will meet the quarter at the top. In addition, the contours at the rear, where the bumper fits, are not even close - and it will need to be trimmed and re-worked to fit. They company told Trent these where made on "original dies", which is a claim that now just raises red flags when I hear it!

The large parts, including the toe/firewall panel and the left floor section, "look" much better - at  first glance....but I have yet to take real close look at them...which will happen tomorrow.

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! 

Cougar work

As there are few replacement panels for a 67 Cougar, the rust on the Dutchman Panel (between trunk and back glass) will have to be cut out and new pieces fabricated. It'll be time consuming for sure. In order to be sure any remaing surface rust is made inert, I maximized the effect of the Phosphoric Acid solution by sealing it under Saran-wrap.

Front End Removal:

Hidden damage on inner apron.

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com !  

End of the holidays - Lots of work piling up....

Getting started on the 330FE. These heads must flow pretty well as the valves actually measure a little bigger than those from an LS7 engine. Of course the valve pockets and openings would be the limiting factor.

The entire engine was pretty clean - in and out. The worst part of it all was the head gaskets. Either they used some adhesive to seat them or the motor got good and hot a few times!

Breaking out the measuring tools, I found that all the cylinders where reasonably fresh. No scoring, very little lip and runout measured 0.004" at the most, with most landing at about .002". Duw to the excellent shape it's in, everything is going to get a thorough cleaning, I'll hone the cylinders, replace the main and rod bearings, install rings and replace the freeze plugs. Along with the rebuilt carb and cleaned up intake vacuum lines, it should run very well.

I bought this dial bore gauge from Eastwood. A decent set for a reasonable price.

Here it is in action:

Lastly I chased all the head and crank threads. All that's left is to run the hone through the cylinders and replace all the rings and bearings. This engine will be set aside until I can decide which mill the rod will get, or someone I know needs it.

Would look good in something like this:

Don't forget to check out the website at

www.E-tekRestorations.com !  

IMG00127-20120411-0926.jpg.rem

In San Diego last week, my brother got us on to the San Diego Naval Base to meet his friend, Lt Cmdr Chris. He's the senior pilot for the Black Knight Squadron, a long-famous squadron that picked up 5 of the Lunar SPace Capsules after they came back to earth. Lt Cmdr Chris was piloting the first helicopter to touch down after the massively destructive Japan Tsunami last year.

A rare look at one of the Helicpoters in the Black Knight Squadron.

See the gun in the photo below:

We got a very a close-up look at these guns, as well as some Self-guided missiles used on these copters:

Thanks to my brother Dave and his friend, Lt Cmdr Chris!

Here are some links to some great CANADIAN businesses providing support to the automotive hobby:

POWERHOUSE PERFORMANCE  - Performance Parts

CASWELL CANADA - Electroplating Kits, Rust Proofing systems, Buffing....

RESTORATION AUTO -  Carpet and Flooring

BootHill Automotive - All kinda parts




Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! Special thanks to www.Eastwood.com and www.CarCraft.com !

WINNER WINNER - CHICKEN DINNER!!

The 1956 Chevrolet Truck that we restored over 18 months took 1st PLACE in it's category, at the DRAGGIN'S CAR SHOW today! On behalf of E-tek Restorations - WOO-HOO!!!

Don't forget to check out the website at www.E-tekRestorations.com ! 

Happy Easter Weekend - time alone!!

Every year on Easter weekend, the lovely Mrs E-tek takes our two boys, Thing 1 and Thing 2, to the in-laws farm. That leaves me time to work on my projects and go to the big Draggins car show. This year I have the Cougar, the 240Z and now 4 engines I want to rebuild.

Today, in preparation of that, I finally got out to the home of  "FOMOKO1",  FTE moderator (SK chapter), car, truck and farm implement enthusiast and collector, crack Bobcat Owner/Operator and all-around great guy. Once at his compound, we loaded up a 390FE - 4 barrel that he had come across, for what will hopefully be a strong stocker to swap into my '67 Galaxie.


FOMOKO loves all things Ford, as you can see by the Ford 800 Series Tractor next to my (Ackk!) Dodge mini-van. He alsways has a variety of great toys around the yard and one can look into building after building and always find something interesting - and I mean INTERESTING!

It's getting harder and harder to find a decent 390FE, especially one with what looks to be an original Holley 4 barrel and intake. This one will get opened up a bit, all new bearings, rings and seals, as well as the headers I bought to go with the dual 2.5" exhaust I previously installed on the Galaxie.

Close up of the 800 Series. It's in very decent shape for a working tractor. Still has the 6V Positive ground system. The owner, Morris, uses it to pull his yard mower.

The 390FE  barely made it into the Dodge Van! But even with the extra 4-5" of the cherry picker, we always manage to get them in and haul them home. Ignore the haters! The Dodge MiniVan is one of the most useful, utilitarian and cost-effective vehicle out there!!

Also happening today - the 1956 Chevrolet 1/2 ton was being tidied up and a few bugs worked out in advance of the big Draggin's Car Show, held every Easter Weekend in Saskatoon. It was entered by invitation, to be shown as one in  a presentation of 10 Chevrolet Trucks.

This weekend - beside being at the Draggin's show - I'll get busy on cleaning/tearing down the engines in order to get at least 3 of them into the machinist, plus cut some metal out of the Cougar and the 240Z projects!

Don't forget to check out the website: www.E-tekRestorations.com !!