Lots of Feel Good Today

Most of you following this know what it is like to have something hanging over your head.  The thoughts, concerns, questions, and worries over something you may or may not be able to control.  It seems like every bolt in this project is that way for me.  Maybe not every bolt, but it "seems" that way.

So lots of peace of mind happened today with the help of Doug who graciously gave me his time once again.

1.  Installation of the intake manifold
2.  New thermostat and housing
3.  Bottom pulley and timing indicator installed
4.  Alternator brackets modified to fit a G3 alternator and installed
5.  All water pump bolts found / made and installed
6.  Water pump altered to fit with power steering bracket
7.  Bolts made for power steering and A/C bracket installed
8.  Fuel pump installed

The balancer is the jewel that made this work out well.  It is Summit Racings part # SUM-163289.  It is adjustable to line up the timing marks and belt tracking for the pulley.  Cool solution.

The alternator that came out of the donor truck was a G3.  Thumbs up to the previous owner on that, but it was slightly too fat to fit in the 1990 bracket that was designed for a G2.  Plus I needed a 6 groove pulley and desire to go back to the junk yard was absolutely zero.  My team over at O'Reilly's came though big time!  They don't sell them but had a few in the back and gave me one that fit perfectly.  I hit the bracket in one spot with a sanding wheel and ta-da!  Done.

Most of the concern was the fitment, bolt procurement and alinement for the brackets.  If you have worked on Fords before you know quality 7/16" bolts are not easy to find.  The best resource is Tractor Supply.  As a matter of fact you should alway make this your FIRST STOP when looking for bolts.  They sell them by the pound and make most bolt resources look like a rip off in cost and quality.

The power steering / A/C bracket had an interesting twist to the installation.  It had a hole lined up over one of the water pump bolts with a gap that wasn't large enough for a bolt head or nut.  The bracket didn't need it structurally but instead of grinding out the bracket chose to shave down the water pump by about a 1/16th of an inch for the clearance.  No decision has been made yet with what to do with the rest of the bolt.

The sun visor project is now complete and we are stunned at how well they match the headliner.  The plastic paint that I used would not harden after 5 weeks of waiting, so I over sprayed them with a clear flat Valspar paint that I used on the interior.