Imperial Home Page -> Imperials by Year -> 1973-> Kerry's Restoration -> Part 23
Don't see no smoke but...How Bout that OIL PRESSURE!!!!
Getting close. Just have to finish hanging all the stuff on the engine. The water pump is super easy on 440's. Pull the fan and 4 bolts.
One of the things I did was pull the exhaust headers. I spent an hour trying to get the header bolt in on the next to the back drivers side. It just would not go. I pulled off the bolts I'd already started and chased the threads like I should have initially.
After that it just took a few minutes each side. A good set of taps and dies are worth their weight in gold when you need them.
The oil pump is pretty easy except it is very hard to get to. WAY down at the bottom front of the engine by the crossmember. I think you could get to it by pulling the fan, fan shroud, and belts. You MIGHT have to pull the idler pulley.
There are four 9/16 bolts, one is hidden pretty well. The two 1/2 bolts hold the pump together and need not be removed. It's kind of hard to get started but you can rotate it around while pushing in and it will slip in. As soon as it went in, I discovered the longest bolt could not be inserted. However, if you rotate it 90 degrees while still inserted the bolt can be inserted in the housing, the pump rotated back to operating position, and then the bolt can be threaded in. This is the view from above without any other accessories hung on the engine.
And this is what it looks like from below. This is a high volume pump and it's about 1/4 inch thicker than standard which gives about 25% more volume.
The fuel pump is pretty easy if the fan shroud and alternator are off. Two bolts and pull the fuel lines. My hard line to the filter twisted and destructed so I had to get another. I replaced the feeder gas line and used new clamps while I was at it.
Ready to put the water pump on. I had previously set the AC compressor and bolted it down but discovered it had to be out of the way so off it came again. The high tech yellow thing is a rope that holds the compressor out of the way. It's heavy! Some of the water pump bolts also fasten brackets for other accessories so make notes as you take things apart. I did not and it took some time and brain cells to figure out what went where.
Exhaust manifolds bolt up to the header pipes pretty easy, two bolts each. The steering link just lifts back up and the castle nuts get screwed on to proper torque. Cotter pins slip in holes in the bolt to keep the nut from backing out. Oddly, one of my bolts was not drilled for a cotter pin.
I had tried to find a new lower radiator hose but the ones that were supposed to be correct would not fit. I finally took my old hose to the parts store and asked if I could look for something that would do. This one fit when I trimmed three inches off the top.
All blue and ready to start. MAKE SURE YOU PUT OIL IN IT!!! I decided to go to straight 30w from the 50w that had been in it. With the old engine this was unacceptably low gauge readings. Scary low.
How bout that oil pressure! This is the shot at idle. It climbs at cruising speed. Before it would move off the peg and slowly rise to the low 'acceptable' range. At driving speed it would move to about 25% reading. Now when she fires, the gauge immediately pops to 50% range, higher at driving speed.. Also, no blue smoke at startup. I'm a happy guy. No clicking, No smoke, and High oil pressure.
Two things remain other than some interior work. I discovered my thermoquad leaks gas. Finally saw the sucker dripping. I had noticed that when cold it would fire right up but when hot it cranked hard and then ran rough for a minute. What is happening is the gas is flooding the intake manifold. The rough running is the plugs burning off the excess gas. Gonna have to rebuild it. Luckily, Roger Cooper sent me a rebuildable thermoquad. I'll pick up a kit next week and try my luck. Never been real good building carbs but I'll give it a shot and document my luck.
The last thing I have to fix is a leaking rear seal. :( I don't know what happened. Perhaps I put the seal in backwards. The lip goes toward the oil. I knew that but can't swear I did it that way. I'll have to drop the pan and fix it. I think I can just drop the pan and slide it forward a couple inches. At least that is what I'll try.
Kerry's '73 Restoration Saga Main...
This page was last updated on 08/23/2001. Please email me any comments at pinkertonk@bigfoot.com
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