Has it really been three months since the last update? I suck…

Well, actually, I started a new job on September 10th (good timing there, eh?), so I’ve been pretty busy settling in to my new position while wrapping things up at my old job. Now, the problem isn’t money, it’s time.

Nevertheless, I managed to get some parts ordered from Summit, and I finally got around to coating all my exhaust bits. For the sake of those contemplating following in my footsteps, I’ve listed all the part numbers and costs (as of November 2001) below.

Old, stock distributor on the left, shiny new MSD Pro-Billet unit on the right…

MSD Part #8367 - $289.95 (ouch!)

It’s so gorgeous, though… I carried it around the house like a scepter all night after it arrived. "I am the King of Spark! Bow before me!" That went over real well with the wife and pets.

Stock cast-iron water pump on the right, new Edelbrock aluminum replacement on the left.

Edelbrock Part #8881 - $151.95

Here’s a comparison of the old pump to the new one. The stock cast iron piece tips the scales at 11.75 lbs or thereabouts, while the aluminum one weighs only 7.5, for a net savings of 4.25 lbs. Plus, the new one looks bad-ass.

Old starter on the left, new starter on the right. The new one is Summit part # 820323, and runs $146.99. I asked around on the list, and there’s no problem replacing the ‘offset’ mount starter with an inline starter such as this… We’ll see.

Another weigh-in shows that the old starter clocks in at 13.5 pounds, while the new one only tips the scales at 10.75. Another 2.75 lbs saved, for a cumulative total of 7 pounds even so far…

Uh oh… Here’s the battery box that will allow me to relocate the battery to the bed of the truck. It’s Summit part # E890101 ($89.99), and not shown inside is a cable kit (Summit part # G1207, $39.99). Even though it’s aluminum, it’s still a substantial chunk - the box and cables combine for a net weight of 19.25 lbs, bringing our total to an added 12.25 lbs of heft overall… Oh well. Maybe an Optima will be lighter than the regular battery.

Moving right along, this is a TCI deep pan for the automatic transmission (Part # 378000, $109.95). It’s supposed to hold another quart or so of fluid, doesn’t require an extended pickup (so basically you’re just getting more total juice in the system, instead of actually having greater working capacity, but there’s still a cooling benefit to be gained), and it has a magnetic drain plug.

I like this concept better than the Derale design, since it’s one piece of cast metal and doesn’t have a bunch of joints that could conceivably leak. I didn’t weigh this piece yet, since I don’t have the stock pan off yet to compare it to. I’ll be sure to do it before I take the transmission to be rebuilt, though.

I finally got around to spraying all the sandblasted exhaust parts with Swain "Black Satin" coating. I chose this particular coating because it doesn’t need to be cured in an oven, so I could do it myself and not worry about handling it as I reassemble the engine. The coating doesn’t actually achieve its final cure until the first time it gets hot, but it’s tough enough after air drying to stand being put back together. I’m told that once it’s fully cured, it takes on a brownish-black matte patina.

A few notes about application - The parts MUST be sandblasted to open up the surface pores of the metal, and then cleaned with acetone or another non-petroleum based solvent. After they’ve been wiped down, you shouldn’t handle them with bare hands either to prevent them from getting contaminated with skin oils. Once that’s done, they can be sprayed using an airbrush or touch-up gun (like I used) at low pressure (35 psi or less). The instructions on the can say "shake well", and they mean it! I threw a couple of nuts in the can to help agitate it, and even then it took a lot of vigorous shaking to get everything in suspension.

They say that the ideal coating is no more than 0.015 inches thick, and not to apply a second coat over a previously sprayed piece, so a little bit goes a long way. A one pint can covered all you see here, and I would have had perhaps a quarter of it left over if I hadn’t fiddled around quite so much getting the spray right.

After letting it cure overnight, all the parts were safe to handle.

It’s just about time to stop messing around and hang stuff on the new engine…