SJ’s Galaxie (was: Car Guess Game)

[Sundayjumper]

I knew the exhaust manifolds were cracked and leaking and bodged up with filler. It was making the typical ticking noise when cold and would more-or-less go away once warmed up. Driving today the ticking got louder, then a LOT louder. I pulled over to check it out and found the main bodge had actually been a chunk of metal from something else stuck into a gaping hole in the manifold

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I'd already sourced another pair of manifolds and they're on their way, but it's looking like I need to replace the head(s) too. Which means pulling the inlet manifold off too. Which is just going to be a massive can of worms isn't it ??

[V8Granite]

Those bezels look amazing, do you need much heat to activate it ?

The reflectors on the 500e are peeling badly and new headlights with the correct set up are silly money.

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

Those bezels look amazing, do you need much heat to activate it ?

You go over it gently with a blow torch. I guess it needs sudden high temperature for a very short time. If you watch the video right to the end you’ll see it in action. It’s like magic.

If you can get high temp lacquer that won’t get ruined by the bulbs then this might be a good solution. It starts to tarnish quite quickly so you definitely need to seal it somehow fairly soon once it’s cooled again.

[mik]

Manifold. Frustrating.

[ZedLeg]

Once you break the seal on the intake and take the heads off you’d be as well to keep going. New cam, nice carb, tubular headers, maybe a stroker kit .

[Sundayjumper]

No no no no no

I want this car to be a quiet comfy waft-mobile, with a nice deep burble obviously, but outright power doesn't matter. I'll stick to OEM for the most part. It does have a Holley carb already though, so that can stay.

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[integrale_evo]

Interested in trying the chrome stuff too, but juggling a blowtorch on painted plastic and activating it without melting anything must be pretty tough, especially in corners.

I was going to try liquid mirror from culturehustle which looks great for a user friendly paint. Very expensive, but coverage is supposed to be insane too so goes a long way.

[nuttinnew]

Do you still want someone to tell Rev?

Would 'chrome' powdercoating work on the bezels?

[ZedLeg]

No no no no no

I want this car to be a quiet comfy waft-mobile, with a nice deep burble obviously, but outright power doesn't matter. I'll stick to OEM for the most part. It does have a Holley carb already though, so that can stay.



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Yeah, it makes more sense for a convertible tbh. On the other hand .

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[Sundayjumper]

Do you still want someone to tell Rev?

Well, now that it's broken and off the road for an indeterminate amount of time, I expect he'll be a lot happier about it Go for it !

[Sundayjumper]

On the other hand

Yeah, fair enough, that's rather nice.

[Sundayjumper]

Would 'chrome' powdercoating work on the bezels?

Maybe, but I have a weird obsession with doing stuff myself rather than paying other people.

[Sundayjumper]

An exhaust bodge you say ? Coming right up !!

[mik]

Beautiful

[V8Granite]

Ahh, I thought that was a gap between ports, not the actual manifold itself

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

It’s obviously not a fix, but it’ll mean I can at least move it around without annoying the neighbours too much.

[JonMad]

So what's under there covering the hole and what's that you've covered it with?

[Sundayjumper]

It's a bit of steel sheet on the outside, a longer thinner bit inside running north-south in the pic, and a wood screw clamping them together. Plus a whole load of exhaust putty. Bodge-tastic

More betterer news is that the new master cylinder arrived, along with ARB bushes & drop links. Just over £80 including delivery from the US. Run of the mill parts are very cheap.

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And these are the old ones:

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It’s hard to tell how old they are, even if the originals were replaced after 25 years, that’s now 30 years ago.

Fitted today and I’ve been out for a spin. It shouldn’t be a surprise but they’ve made a noticeable difference. I was expecting the car to be so totally crap all round that these would be the least of my worries. Not so. I’ll have to get some ball joints & wishbone bushes ordered up next.

[Sundayjumper]

"New" (old) manifolds have arrived. Along with two problems...

1) I'd overlooked that my car is RHD, and the r/h manifold is not the same as on a LHD car, in order to clear the steering box. I'm guessing zero chance of getting a RHD manifold from the US because they never used them and they'll be hen's teeth over here based on the number of RHD Ford big blocks sold. My options look like they will be getting this one fixed by a specialist, or locating one in Australia. Those both sound expensive.

2) The pair of manifolds sold to me as a pair aren't actually a pair anyway.... one is from a car, one is from a truck.... they look the same and bolt up to the head the same but have different sized outlets. Thankfully it's the r/h manifold that's wrong.

So I've got one manifold I can go ahead and fit. It's progress.

[ZedLeg]

How much clearance do you need?