Painting the Block

Got the engine block back from the machinist after he cleaned it up, honed the bores and replaced a couple of freeze plug (not sure why he didn't replace all of them). I used a wire wheel with an electric drill and knocked off the loose rust and then washed the block with light soapy water. I then used some wax & grease remover in preparation for paint but noticed that I was still getting rust dust from the block once it had dried so I did another cycle of wash and prep.

I used Duplicolor Engine Primer (DE1612) and then used Cast Coat Iron (DE1651). This is a decent alternative to the original colour which is a dark machine grey. Some of its faded remnants can still be seen in the photo below. I kept colour coating it until I ran out of paint. Which ended up being around 5 coats.

 

I will let it cure over night and then begin washing the block again in preparation for reassembly.

Bottom End

The discolouration on the crank webs are due to heat treating done to the crankshaft for hardening.

Main bearings look like they're done. Connecting rod bearings look perfect. Bores look OK.

Engine with Transmission Removal

I needed to replace the clutch and there were a lot of oil leaks so I decided to pull the engine and spruce it up a little.

I followed the instructions in the Haynes manual mostly but I also removed the alternator and intake manifold for extra visibility.

I used the factory lifting eye on the passenger's side cam cover and I used one of the intake manifold studs on the other side. I know some people like to use a cylinder head bolt but that just sounds ridiculous to me. If it were a rare Ferrari V12, would you remove a cylinder head bolt just to remove/install the engine in the car? No. So why should it be any different for any other car.

I didn't remove the shifter extension housing. I used the 1 ton setting on my 2 ton crane and used a leveler. I had the front of the car on the ground and the rear of the car raised slightly using axle stands.

Was a pretty easy job overall. Felt almost like cheating compared to some of the other cars I've worked on.

 

Lots of clean up to look forward too :)

Removing Shifter Lever Extension

The trick to this is not to try and pull up on the lever while wedging the clips closed. Instead, put a small screw driver between two of the ears and pull the clip down while holding the lever.

Repairing Top Catch Threads

One of the screws on the driver's side top-catch was missing so I took off the other screw and measured it to be an m5-0.8 x 16mm. I bought 4 new replacements but on the driver's side they wouldn't go in. It looks like the previous owner once cross threaded something in there and has either damaged the threads or left broken threads in the frame. This could have turned into a major repair but luckily I ran an m5-0.8 tap through the holes and it cleared everything up.

Oil Filter

For anyone interested, the correct oil filter for a 1971 Fiat 124 Spider 1600cc (and likely many others) is a Bosch #3402. This cross references to an AC Delco #5579164. Which is used on GM cars.

Oil Pressure Sender

The oil pressure sender had been leaking so I decided to change it with a new one from AutoRicambi.

Getting the old one off wasn't too difficult but having a stubby 22mm wrench (old sender) and a stubby 17mm wrench (new sender) will make the job easier.

The car never registered great oil pressure to begin with but after changing the switch its reading a steady 0. Taking a closer look at the new sender, you can see that the bore is much smaller than that of the old sender. This is likely the reason for the difference in readings. I'll hunt down the correct replacement later but in the meantime this one has stopped the leak.