Operation "High-Toned Son of a Bitch*" is a go

My carbon footprint is bigger than yours

A recent scratch-off windfall gave me the money to get back to work on the Toronado for the first time in two years. The interior is shot, but I don't care. I'm going to get the engine up, the powertrain serviceable and the suspension squared away. Then I'll worry about how she looks.

Here's the little bastard that started this whole mess. #7 piston, burned down through the ring lands:

The two compression rings went with the metal, and only a sliver of the third (oil scraper) ring remained. Hell of it is, even with such catastrophic damage, she'd crank up and run until I started dismantling the engine. She'd go through oil like Captain Hazelwood on the Bligh Reef but she still ran.

#8 was pitted so badly I sent her to the machine shop to bore the cylinders .030" over, increasing the engine's displacement to 461 cubic inches with the stock crank and rods. Because a fool and his money are soon parted,  I had the crank reground .010" under and fitted it up over the weekend. Oddly enough they put the Jager away long enough to give me a nice, tight rotating assembly.

Main Caps in place:

Crankshaft in, dial-gauging crankshaft end play and runout:

I don't want to bollocks this job up, so I verified the plastigage readings with a micrometer:


Here's the crankshaft in place and torqued down, now I'm waiting for the shop to press the pins into the new pistons so I can start installing them tomorrow evening:



I suck at video editing, but I ran this up on short notice:



* In Stephen King's The Dark Half, the protagonist's psychotic, straight-razor wielding alter ego drove a 1966 Olds Toronado with a bumper sticker reading "HIGH TONED SON OF A BITCH."

Groundhog Day

It feels as if I've spent the last year or so spinning my wheels. The days run together as if in repetition. I just don't have the stones to commit a spectacular and highly visible suicide a la Bill Murray in Groundhog Day to test the theory.

On the other hand, in the last week I've finally made headway toward getting other wheels spinning! The Toronado's engine is out of the machine shop and I've gathered the necessary parts to rebuild it. Also on order are the components to convert its unholy, utterly useless "Fade-o-Matic" front drum brakes to a disc setup cannibalized from a 1977 Toronado. Pictures and details to follow; I'll cobble together a post and the latest pictures after I get butchered by a pair of exams tomorrow.

Engine Out

Now I can accomplish something. After three years of delays (lack of funding, deployments, and plain ol' procrastination) I'm making genuine progress getting the Lead Sled back up and running.



Manifolds and heads off! The bottom end is good and firm, no runout to speak of; I won't have to re-grind the crank, just need to put in fresh bearings. The pistons and cylinder bores are another story.

#7 piston had a nice chunk burned out of its edge, down to the ring lands; it must have just burned away, because there's no scoring or cracking in the cylinder itself:


#8, I have no clue what happened. These deposits also left enough rust pitting on the cylinder wall that I'll probably have to bore it .010 over just to reach smooth metal:
Everything's garaged for the week, until I consult with a machine shop and hammer out a price for all the work that needs doing.

Toronado work progresses

I'm off!


So it begins. I finally got a hoist and an engine stand, so today I'm making the final preparations to pull the engine out. Disconnecting and clearing electrics, draining the engine, removing the starter, and scratching my head trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to unbolt the torque converter when there's no access cover. Guess they expect me to fit a wrench (and turn it) through the 2" diameter inspection hole.

Beyond that, I'm pretty happy to finally make real progress. Seeing this magnificent car sit in the driveway and rot has been pretty depressing.

Gory automotive dismemberment pictures to follow!



In happier days:


UPDATE: More progress today. Converter's unbolted, so's the forward engine mount. Unfortunately, the guys who were supposed to help me run the hoist today weaseled out, so I have to content myself with what few final preparations I made today.

Four bellhousing bolts and four hood hinge bolts from now I'm going to have this bastard out. The drivetrain won't be supported without the engine in, so I had to rig a cargo strap to hold the transmission, differential, and CV shafts up now that the bottom half is unbolted.

Toronado rebuild begins

Project Car Hell

After a year and a half of procrastination, I've begun work on the Toronado. I'm clearing out the engine compartment to hoist the mill out right now, so I can get it out to a machine shop and have everything re-done. This is going to be a full refit for the engine; the only original parts that will remain will be the block, heads, cam, crank, and manifolds. Everything else will be brand-spanking new.

One more day of work and I'll be ready for an engine hoist. Today I cleared off the carb and intake, removed all the accessories (except for the compressor) from the front of the engine, and pulled the radiator and fan shroud. The first step in the Great Engine Bay Gutting of 2008 has been taken.