On the road again

After many delays and false starts the car is finally "done". As in it can be driven on the street safely. Its taken exactly a year from the time I pulled the engine. It took a while because I spent about 5 months not doing anything and I spent about a month fighting various brake fluid leaks from banjo bolts.

Here is a summary of all the major things I've done since I purchased the car;

1. Rebuilt drive shaft. This included 2 new U-Joints, center support bearing and flex disc (guibo)
2. New gear reduction starter motor
3. Completely overhauled the brakes. This includes new brake discs, callipers, pads, banjo bolts, flex hoses (and 1 hard line), master cylinder and booster
4. Rebuilt the engine. Crank was polished, cylinders honed, new piston rings, bearings, seals, core plug, oil pump, water pump, timing belt tensioner and belt. Cylinder heads had a basic valve job and new valve stem seals installed. All valve clearances were re-adjusted. Other misc stuff include new distributor cap, rotor, condenser, HT leads, spark plugs, thermostat, coolant hoses, temperature and oil pressure senders. Flywheel resurfaced, new clutch, throwout bearing and pilot bearing.
5. Differential and transmission fluids were changed. A new transmission pan was fitted and I custom made a thicker gasket to stop the leaks.
6. All new tires were fiitted and wheels were painted with a Rust Oleum Hammerhead finish. Came out beautifully
7. Exhaust header and down pipe were painted with a ceramic coating

Here is a before and after photo of the engine bay.

Starts easily. Idles well. Runs cool as long as the fan comes on (if the fuse isn't loose!), it has no problem sitting in 100F traffic. And ABSOLUTELY NO LEAKS!!! Engine and transmission leaks are my pet peeve. I just can't tolerate it.

Its an absolute blast to drive. I've only timed the engine by ear so it could do with some finer adjustment but it makes good power between 2500 and 3500 rpm. I've been a bit scared to get any closer to the 7000 rpm redline. Anything past 4500 and it just screams. On overrun it has a wonderful burble.

The carburettor hasn't been touched and its history is unknown. Its still the original 28/36 DHSA2. I have a new single plane intake manifold and a rebuilt 32/32 DMSA ready to be installed but I'm going to take a break and drive this damn thing already.