The custom cabinet shop that I run operates on schedule of four 10-hour workdays, so it feels like I get an extra weekend day. I don't get a lot done on weekday evenings though, I'm usually pretty wiped. Weather was pretty crummy this weekend, but I got a few things done.
Found a source for the oil pump drive gear, which I'll get ordered today or tomorrow along with some engine mounts.
https://shop.willysamerica.com/Oil-Pump ... m?CartID=3
Due to the unforeseen expense of the timing gear, I decided to make a few of the gaskets that I need instead of buying them.
I needed an oil pump gasket (no one sells that anyway), a water pump gasket ($12), and the timing cover gasket ($50). I had a roll of fiber gasket material in box in the shop, so I cut the oil pump and water pump gaskets out of that. I had to order a larger sheet for the timing cover because I need 12" x 20" in order to cover it. Here's what I ordered:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H ... 0DER&psc=1
All told, it should save me about $50 for 20 or 30 minutes of work. Your mileage may vary, but in my house, my wife appreciates me saving some money on my hobbies where I can.....
I got the timing cover all cleaned up too. Overall, I've been impressed as to how clean the motor parts are underneath the layers of oil and grime, not much corrosion to speak of. I used a couple stiff nylon brushes and some small scrapers to loosen the dirt off, along with some Gunk citrus degreaser to help facilitate the process. I kinda felt like a dentist and it took awhile, but the final product looks great. The further I get into this, the more I'm leaning towards leaving the patina and not repainting the whole engine and engine bay. I'm not planning on tearing the engine down any further, but I need to do a compression test to confirm that before I put my foot in my mouth. Probably should have done that earlier......
Before & after:
I also got my carburetor rebuild kit from Mikes- awesome kit! Very well put together, with clear instructions and all the parts I needed, except for the float, but that is unavailable, so we'll see how it performs.
I bought new bushings for the throttle shaft from Mike's also, I think they were like $3/each and I needed 3.
I took my time on the drill press and just bored straight through and then pressed them in. Then I used this sweet little table fro Vermont American to find the right drill bit to re-bore the new bushings to match the shaft.
https://vermontamerican.com/drill-bit-d ... ncy-chart/
Turns out I needed a size "J" drill bit, which no one around me had, but I did find a 7mm, so I went that route. I had to do some fine tuning with a fine file on the throttle shaft and some 320 sandpaper wrapped around a smaller drill bit for the bushings. I marked up the shaft with sharpie and then slid it in and spun it around, then pulled it out and filed down the high spots till it feels like butter.
Parting shot: