Today's progress on the Pontiac
I removed the exhaust manifold. I didn't have to climb under the car to do it. With some creative wrenching and a flex-head ratchet I was able to get the exhaust pipe off the manifold and then get the manifold off the head. I pulled the rocker arms off the head and then removed the head bolts from the block. The head came off easily.
The valves appear to be OK. I'll take the head to a machine shop in the morning and have them check it out. It's the same machine shop that rebuilt the driveline for the Ol' Buick. They did a superb job. Their chief machinist is excellent and has many years of experience.
If, indeed, the stripped rocker arm bolt hole is the problem, then I should be able to get the head machined and ready to go. They can drill the hole out to a larger size and then install a HeliCoil to restore the threads to their original size. They will be much stronger than the original aluminum threads.
I should be able to reassemble the car and have it ready to run in about a day or so. It's a complex reassembly but the design is logical which makes it straightforward as long as everything is done in order and with proper attention to detail. The simple, straightforward design is a byproduct of GM trying to make their vehicles simple and quick to build.
I had the head off by 3:30. I didn't have time to run it down to the machine shop and by the time I would have got there the machinist would have been done for the day. I decided to spend some time cleaning up the garage. I hadn't done any cleaning or organizing in months due to the busy schedule of repairs on everything else. I sorted through the old headlights and tested them out. I'll put them up for sale on Craigslist. I also sorted through the old oil filters. There were three filters that will work on the Pontiac. That's a good portent. One, an ancient Fram, fits a bunch of odd cars from the 70s, including the 1.9L Opel Manta. You're welcome, Lisa.
I also cleaned up the rest of the rusty tools. I ran out of light before I could put them away. I found one very odd tool: a double-male 1/2" extension. Normally ratchet extensions have a male end and a female end. The male end goes into the socket and the female end goes over the drive pin on the ratchet. A double male has two male ends. I don't know what that would be used for. I suppose one could put sockets on each end but what good would that do? I'm open to suggestions.
Stay tuned and find out tomorrow or the next day what happens with the Pontiac!
The valves appear to be OK. I'll take the head to a machine shop in the morning and have them check it out. It's the same machine shop that rebuilt the driveline for the Ol' Buick. They did a superb job. Their chief machinist is excellent and has many years of experience.
If, indeed, the stripped rocker arm bolt hole is the problem, then I should be able to get the head machined and ready to go. They can drill the hole out to a larger size and then install a HeliCoil to restore the threads to their original size. They will be much stronger than the original aluminum threads.
I should be able to reassemble the car and have it ready to run in about a day or so. It's a complex reassembly but the design is logical which makes it straightforward as long as everything is done in order and with proper attention to detail. The simple, straightforward design is a byproduct of GM trying to make their vehicles simple and quick to build.
I had the head off by 3:30. I didn't have time to run it down to the machine shop and by the time I would have got there the machinist would have been done for the day. I decided to spend some time cleaning up the garage. I hadn't done any cleaning or organizing in months due to the busy schedule of repairs on everything else. I sorted through the old headlights and tested them out. I'll put them up for sale on Craigslist. I also sorted through the old oil filters. There were three filters that will work on the Pontiac. That's a good portent. One, an ancient Fram, fits a bunch of odd cars from the 70s, including the 1.9L Opel Manta. You're welcome, Lisa.
I also cleaned up the rest of the rusty tools. I ran out of light before I could put them away. I found one very odd tool: a double-male 1/2" extension. Normally ratchet extensions have a male end and a female end. The male end goes into the socket and the female end goes over the drive pin on the ratchet. A double male has two male ends. I don't know what that would be used for. I suppose one could put sockets on each end but what good would that do? I'm open to suggestions.
Stay tuned and find out tomorrow or the next day what happens with the Pontiac!