Week 14: (December 19th 1999)

I did  some work on the engine today.  The engine that came with the car had too much end float because of worn thrust washers.  Instead of spending a fortune on fixing that, I found a used engine with 4 thousands of an inch end float w/ 40k miles on it.  The only drawback is that it's a California spec engine.  Two dead giveaways for this:  UCE on the engine number and the blue valve cover.  There was a lot of surface rust on the block as well as it came without an engine back plate and flywheel.  I completed the following tasks:  Replaced rear engine oil seal.  Sanded down the block.  Painted the block w/ gloss black engine paint.  Put on a engine plate, flywheel, and clutch.  The engine also came out of a later model spitfire so it had the later radiator hookups as well as a water pump w/out the fan clutch.  I replaced the water pump and put on the later hose elbow.  I plan on purchasing an aluminum valve cover because they look nicer and quiet the sound of the rockers.  I also plan on blocking the air input vents in the head.

Freshly painted block w/ blue valve cover - As mentioned above, I will replace this w/ an aluminum cover

Flywheel & new clutch:

Fan clutch on waterpump: