Well today I put the rest of the centre console back in place and got some stickers off with some GooBeGone which works really well.

I then got around to actually driving the car some more to check for oil leaks. I stuck to the road outside my subdivision again and did several loops up and down the road and the oil did not appear on the exhaust so I think/hope all is well. Since I had the car nice and warm I decided I would go ahead and change the oil and get a real filter on to replace the FRAM I used when first firing up the car. That was never a long term solution but I didn’t want to waste a Purolator PureOne filter right off the bat. I realized that with all my work, but minimal distance driven, it had still been 9 months since I put fresh oil in when I got the car.

It looks like this was a good idea because the oil came out pretty black. I also got one of my Purolator PureOne filters installed and then filled the block with nice clean Castrol 20W50 again. Good to see some clear honey colored oil going back into the block. The new filter certainly brings up pressure quicker than the FRAM did which is good and the oil pressure seems to be about 5 to 10lbs higher with this filter installed.

Still fires up nicely and hopefully I can do a few more loops tomorrow to make sure all continues to be well. I enjoyed my loops today and the car seems to pull well and run very nicely. I’m just going to have get brave and take it and my AAA card for a ride soon and see how it holds up on a longer drive. That’ll let me know it’s safe to drive to the shop some Monday and get the soft top installed.

Well I’ve finally got back into trying to get some things going and tonight I dealt with the centre console and getting the wiring done. It’s been hanging out there for some time now and with brown and purple wires that have juice all the time it’s probably good to try and get this organized.

The console had a push button switch on it and I am not sure what that was used for – maybe a switch for the cigarette lighter?

Anyway, I got thongs going after removing the wires from the switch with a soldering iron. I decided to leave the switch in place but not use it. I had already tested the hazard flasher so I just needed to get that installed and the light installed. Once I remembered how to get the bulb out of the light it installed easily into the console. Getting the bullet connectors on also wasn’t too bad and I stretch these with a screwdriver before connecting each time to make getting the bullet connectors in.

I continuity tested the wires for the cigarette lighter as the purple wire seemed to have been disconnected. Everything testes out OK so I joined the purple wire to the wire that actually connected to the back of the cigarette lighter and covered the join with tape. I eventually figured out how the crimp the lamp into the lighter fitting to secure it since ground was coming from the casing and the bulb holder was moving too much. I then tested the lighter once everything was wired and it worked.

I then secured the console piece in place using some self tapping screws. I didn’t find the silver ones and cup washer like my 77 has but this will do for now. The black interior panel screws were not big enough. Everything continued to work once everything was back. I have, however, since noticed that I should have threaded the hazard harness through the hole in the back of the console area. I guess some more practice will be coming with the bullet connectors!

Well after taking my gaskets for Monday night discussion John thought that the rubber gasket seal was probably OK and that maybe the oil was getting past the bolt. Not sure as there was a fair bit of oil but who knows, John certainly knows his stuff. During the discussion I discovered for the catalogs that there should be a rubber washer and cup washer for that back cover bolt. John had the rubber washer but not the cup one.

As there’s a lot to remove to get to this I decided not to try and turn the rubber gasket over and ordered a new one and while I was at it added the cup washer and bolt to my order. I would later discover I already had a spare rubber gasket but too late by then. Once the parts arrived I installed everything and got the bolt tight but not too tight. Enough to ensure the rubber washer was firmly seated in the cup washer and that things were generally pretty tight. The rubber washer was a tight fit over the bolt threads and the cup washer further seals things up so I was hoping everything would be fine.

After the carbs, manifolds and exhaust were all back on and together the first test was to start the car and everything seemed fine no problems. I ran the car up to warm in the garage and there seemed to be no leak that I could see on the side of the block and no evidence appearing on the exhaust. There wasn’t time to test drive though.

Next day I took the car out for a drive up and down the road outside my subdivision and all seemed to be fine. Some slight burning smell but very slight and nothing like before. Still some old oil residue burning off. After some 8-12 miles up and down upon my return to the garage I was able to confirm no oil getting onto the exhaust. Whoo Hoo! Not an extensive test but hopefully this really is it.

Since there’s always something new this day was no different and just as I was thinking I hadn’t seen the tach and turn signals die – they did! It must bee a loose wire because it would come and go and the engine wasn’t cutting out so based on the wiring diagram I suspected something on the green wire. I have subsequently check this out briefly and after suspect the brake light switch I then tried the green wires at the fuse block. A quick press towards the car brought the tach and turn signals back to life so I may need to check the fuse block some more. However, nothing too serious it seems and no need to worry about the wiring harness being and issue.

Need to get the car out for a more extensive drive now – just need to plan that when some backup will be available.

Today I got ready to address the side cover gasket and hope that this will fix the oil leak. I didn’t get as far as I hoped.

Removing the carbs and manifolds wasn’t too bad as I have done this a few times now. Also taking the exhaust off the bottom was not an issue. I was then able to remove the side cover and I could see the remains or the cork gasket that I had not previously fully removed or removed as well as I should. Way back when I didn’t know that much about gaskets and how clean the seals need to be. I then cleaned the remaining gasket residue using a gasket scraper that I had acquired at the Chicago swap meet. It seemed to clean up fairly well and be smooth when I had finished.

I went to get the cork gaskets that I had for the side cover and quickly discovered that these wouldn’t fit correctly in the side cover I had. It looks like the rubber gaskets are made to fit the side cover and the cork ones for the earlier cars must fir a slightly different side cover.

There was no way to make the cork gasket fit and the rubber one’s surface that goes against the engine had the impressions of the old gasket remains in it and was no longer smooth. Since I don’t want to have to do this all over again at some point I decided to wait and see what can be done. I’ll either order some new rubber gaskets or see if I can get a replacement side cover to fit the cork gaskets I already have.

Today I got ready to address the side cover gasket and hope that this will fix the oil leak. I didn’t get as far as I hoped.

Removing the carbs and manifolds wasn’t too bad as I have done this a few times now. Also taking the exhaust off the bottom was not an issue. I was then able to remove the side cover and I could see the remains or the cork gasket that I had not previously fully removed or removed as well as I should. Way back when I didn’t know that much about gaskets and how clean the seals need to be. I then cleaned the remaining gasket residue using a gasket scraper that I had acquired at the Chicago swap meet. It seemed to clean up fairly well and be smooth when I had finished.

I went to get the cork gaskets that I had for the side cover and quickly discovered that these wouldn’t fit correctly in the side cover I had. It looks like the rubber gaskets are made to fit the side cover and the cork ones for the earlier cars must fit a slightly different side cover.

There was no way to make the cork gasket fit and the rubber one’s surface that goes against the engine had the impressions of the old gasket remains in it and was no longer smooth. Since I don’t want to have to do this all over again at some point I decided to wait and see what can be done. I’ll either order some new rubber gaskets or see if I can get a replacement side cover to fit the cork gaskets I already have.

So today I got down to changing the transmission mounts – from the nightmare I had with my 77 and overdrive install I wasn’t looking forward to this.

I ended up removing the exhaust to make access easier and managed to get the cross member out quite quickly. Didn’t have to remove any bolts from the transmission, Doh!

I assembled the new mounts quite quickly and as this was not a OD transmission the bolts are much easier to access. I bolted in the new mounts and made them tight and also got one bolt into the Y piece but not the other. I am wondering if the Y piece got a little bent or twist at some point but since most people think this piece is unnecessary I didn’t worry too much.

I used my floor jack to keep the transmission in place and got the cross member bolted up slightly at the edges and then worked on the 4 bolts into the transmission. This wasn’t too bad but the rear ones were easier than the front ones. With some tries and re-tries I got all of these in and was able to snug these up. I then tightened the main cross member bolts and everything seemed fine. I tried a few more times to get a bolt into the other side of the Y piece but it just wouldn’t go so I really did give up at this point.

Putting the exhaust back went OK but I had a few issues because the centre section seemed to be touching the underside of the car. I tried making some adjustments and things seem to be OK. It was Ok enough to attempt a test drive and to check for oil again. I only did a short test drive and things didn’t seem too bad but after a return to the garage I could see a little oil. Getting back under the car I started looking for oil leaks and it does seem as though the oil really is coming from the rear tappet cover. There was clearly some oil on the under side of the seal. I guess checking while things were warm was the way to go but at least I found the transmission mount problem as well. Next step will be to get back in and look for the tappet cover leak.