- Thread starter langy
- Start date
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
I changed it slightly 
Block is now down to 240 grit, perfect for 2 pack Epoxy primer
Block is now down to 240 grit, perfect for 2 pack Epoxy primer
That's unlike any Land Rover series steering box I've ever seen!
Isn't that engine block getting a bit too smooth to provide a good key for paint? May as well finish the buffing and clearcoat it.
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
thanks Mike, I could of gone further with it but didnt want to go OTT
superbly finished... as we have come to expect
Chickenjohn
Morris Minor and Porsche 944 fan
- Messages
- 1,284
- Location
- East Kent
Love the superb detail on this- how to turn a mechanical object into a work of art!
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
Well after 25 hours of smoothing the block is finally done I did it in bursts of 3 or 4 hours over a few days as its a bit of a soul destroying job.
Tools used were a 80 grit flap wheel in a 4" grinder, a power file and various shaped tungsten burrs in a die grinder. The sides were pretty easy to do as you can get in everywhere easily but the front and back easily took twice as long due to the many nooks and crannys. Its a lot smoother than it looks in the pics, the various scratches will be filled in nicely by the epoxy primer.
While i was there i removed all the flashing in the lifter gallery so the oil had a quicker route back to the sump.
All the gallery pipe plugs were removed ready for when the block gets hot tanked and drilled & tapped to recieve NPT pipe plugs, Only one plug came out easily with the rest being drilled out.
While the grinding tools were out i removed the various sticky out bits from the Edelbrock inlet manifold and polished the Edelbrock lettering so it would look good with the inlet painted.
Because the Cadillac was originally filled with oil through the rocker covers and I'm using early covers without holes i needed to add a filler to the inlet, there was a flat area on the front of the inlet so a 1" holes was put in with a holesaw and a flange made from a scrap of 6mm stainless and fitted with a stainless tube, This was then capped off with a chrome breather cap.
I recently did a polished exhaust system for a customer and had a few offcuts that were left over and after looking at them for a while i decided to use them to make some tailpipes, I had always intended to have 4 pipes at the rear, very 60's. They are over length at the moment so they can be trimmed when fitted.
.
Tools used were a 80 grit flap wheel in a 4" grinder, a power file and various shaped tungsten burrs in a die grinder. The sides were pretty easy to do as you can get in everywhere easily but the front and back easily took twice as long due to the many nooks and crannys. Its a lot smoother than it looks in the pics, the various scratches will be filled in nicely by the epoxy primer.
While i was there i removed all the flashing in the lifter gallery so the oil had a quicker route back to the sump.
All the gallery pipe plugs were removed ready for when the block gets hot tanked and drilled & tapped to recieve NPT pipe plugs, Only one plug came out easily with the rest being drilled out.
While the grinding tools were out i removed the various sticky out bits from the Edelbrock inlet manifold and polished the Edelbrock lettering so it would look good with the inlet painted.
Because the Cadillac was originally filled with oil through the rocker covers and I'm using early covers without holes i needed to add a filler to the inlet, there was a flat area on the front of the inlet so a 1" holes was put in with a holesaw and a flange made from a scrap of 6mm stainless and fitted with a stainless tube, This was then capped off with a chrome breather cap.
I recently did a polished exhaust system for a customer and had a few offcuts that were left over and after looking at them for a while i decided to use them to make some tailpipes, I had always intended to have 4 pipes at the rear, very 60's. They are over length at the moment so they can be trimmed when fitted.
.
Will1983
Member
- Messages
- 55
that blocks looking good langy, it'll look amazing once its painted
i presume the little holes are in the alloy so cant be removed?
im starting a restoration project on my MX5 in a week or two (just finishing off wiring up my garage and collecting tools) and reading your posts are giving me ideas.. would it be a bit OTT to polish chassis braces and wishbones?
i presume the little holes are in the alloy so cant be removed?
im starting a restoration project on my MX5 in a week or two (just finishing off wiring up my garage and collecting tools) and reading your posts are giving me ideas.. would it be a bit OTT to polish chassis braces and wishbones?
hi langy would just like to say what a beautiful bit of automotive art,this will be one beautiful car.if i ever win the big one i would love to commision u to build me my dream rod.just a quickie could the procedure of the block finishing be done on any other block ie a vauxhall c20xe block as im building a bit of a show mini with a bigger motor.once again a stunning build
caveman
caveman
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
The epoxy primer will take care of the ally pits mate.
polish the braces and wishbones, you know it makes sense.
polish the braces and wishbones, you know it makes sense.
that blocks looking good langy, it'll look amazing once its painted
i presume the little holes are in the alloy so cant be removed?
im starting a restoration project on my MX5 in a week or two (just finishing off wiring up my garage and collecting tools) and reading your posts are giving me ideas.. would it be a bit OTT to polish chassis braces and wishbones?
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
Not really mate, When i do finally sell it i will probably get my outlay back but no profit 
I've been asked how much this would be if it were for a customer but it could never be done as a paying job due to the labour involved, It would be a ridiculous amount, for me its only time.
I've been asked how much this would be if it were for a customer but it could never be done as a paying job due to the labour involved, It would be a ridiculous amount, for me its only time.
Will1983
Member
- Messages
- 55
as the bones and braces are mild steel i think polishing would be a waste of time, however a clean up with a flap disk followed by some of that funky epoxy primer you use and then top coated with some nice gloss black 2 pack would look good.
does the epoxy primer come in can form or just tins for spraying? spraying isn't a problem as got all the equipment its just a bit of a hassle with all the gun cleaning afterwards. also can you spray it over a high zinc content primer e.g. bilthamber electrox?
does the epoxy primer come in can form or just tins for spraying? spraying isn't a problem as got all the equipment its just a bit of a hassle with all the gun cleaning afterwards. also can you spray it over a high zinc content primer e.g. bilthamber electrox?
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
I reckon it would look fine mate, Its all horses for courses.
not wishing to tell my granny to suck eggs but Epoxy is a 2 pack product so you need to know what your doing with it.
You don't need any other primer with Epoxy apart from 2 pack hi build on top, but it does go over virtually anything but always best to check.
not wishing to tell my granny to suck eggs but Epoxy is a 2 pack product so you need to know what your doing with it.
You don't need any other primer with Epoxy apart from 2 pack hi build on top, but it does go over virtually anything but always best to check.
langy
langys rodshop
- Messages
- 6,095
- Location
- London
Well with the block all smoothed and in bare metal i needed to stop it flash rusting, this was a bit of a predicament as i couldnt give it to the reborer as it would go rusty while it was waiting to be done and if i primed it he would probaly chip or scratch it, after a bit of thinking i decided to epoxy prime it and take a chance on scratches and chips
Firstly i went around the block again and sanded off any light rust that had formed, then i washed the block down with panelwipe to degrease it, next i put it in front of my blow heater to get the block nice and warm and dry, then applied 4 coats of black epoxy primer.
It came out real nice and smooth and should be even better when its flatted for the topcoat colour.
While the gun was full i decided to do the intake manifold as well, this got 3 coats of epoxy and 3 coats of green TI hi build as well as it wasn't as smooth as the block, this will enable me to flat it out and hopefully acheive a really nice finish on it
Here's the block masked up, to get a nice edge i put the masking tape over the shaped parts and gently tapped the sharp edge with a hammer so the sharp edge cuts the tape.
Firstly i went around the block again and sanded off any light rust that had formed, then i washed the block down with panelwipe to degrease it, next i put it in front of my blow heater to get the block nice and warm and dry, then applied 4 coats of black epoxy primer.
It came out real nice and smooth and should be even better when its flatted for the topcoat colour.
While the gun was full i decided to do the intake manifold as well, this got 3 coats of epoxy and 3 coats of green TI hi build as well as it wasn't as smooth as the block, this will enable me to flat it out and hopefully acheive a really nice finish on it
Here's the block masked up, to get a nice edge i put the masking tape over the shaped parts and gently tapped the sharp edge with a hammer so the sharp edge cuts the tape.
