Hello All!
I have posted a few questions, but feel like I haven't done a proper introduction, so here we go.
Ever since I was in high school I have wanted a cruiser. So in March of 2023 I purchased a beautiful late 1985 '60 with 157k miles, to use as a family adventure vehicle. Camping, light off-roading, driving to baseball practice, etc. I didn't buy a Corsetti cruiser, so I knew what I was getting myself into. A month later, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, so the cruiser took a back seat as we dealt with that. I tinkered here and there, but no big projects. Thankfully, the cancer is behind us, and I've been slowly jumping in and working to get her ready for a late summer/early fall family trip.
These threads have been amazing. Also, living in LA real close to Spector hasn't hurt. If only they were open on weekends!
I have machinist in my blood, but this is my first foray into working on my own vehicle. My dad grew up a mechanic and worked in a machine shop his entire life. When I was growing up, he would grind VW heads & bore VW cases in the 2 car garage shop he built in our backyard. The man can build or fix anything, if you just give him long enough. Wished I had any interest in this stuff as a kid, but my hands did't get as dirty making movies & TV shows so I gravitated towards that.
In the last two years I have:
Replaced all vacuum lines and ensured they're routed correctly
Tested all emissions system items - replaced issues found - all is working properly (except for 1 HAC question I have, but thats for a different day)
Replace J-pipe & cleaned out EGR cooler
Smog Pump rebuilt by B-Z Rebuilders
Installed new PS Pump & V-belts
Repacked the front knuckles & installed new rear brakes
Fixed manifold leak - Martin Davidson's Automotive did the refinishing work - installed with new insulator
Still had a little bit of a vacuum leak, so - while Mark (Mark's Off-Road) was busy rebuilding my carburetor, I decided it would be a good time to refresh the water system and fix an oil leak I had coming from what looked to be the timing gear cover. Last week I picked up the seals, gaskets, new water housing, etc and earlier this week I drained everything, removed the radiator & belts. This morning I removed the gear pulley/harmonic balancer I ran into a fairly large speed bump. I included pics below.
I started to look for a new crankshaft and it looks like they're NLA. And the pulleys might be NLA as well, but I'm still searching.
Any suggestions on next steps?
Essentially anything the PO did the vehicle has been trash (why I decided to do the water housing fix b/c 1/2 a tube of blue rtv was go-ing out the sides), so I'm thinking I might pull the whole engine and jump in and just rebuild the engine right now. See what other problems exist. I'm also planning to put in an HF55. And I have a pretty big rear main oil leak. Could tackle all this at once...
I have posted a few questions, but feel like I haven't done a proper introduction, so here we go.
Ever since I was in high school I have wanted a cruiser. So in March of 2023 I purchased a beautiful late 1985 '60 with 157k miles, to use as a family adventure vehicle. Camping, light off-roading, driving to baseball practice, etc. I didn't buy a Corsetti cruiser, so I knew what I was getting myself into. A month later, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, so the cruiser took a back seat as we dealt with that. I tinkered here and there, but no big projects. Thankfully, the cancer is behind us, and I've been slowly jumping in and working to get her ready for a late summer/early fall family trip.
These threads have been amazing. Also, living in LA real close to Spector hasn't hurt. If only they were open on weekends!
I have machinist in my blood, but this is my first foray into working on my own vehicle. My dad grew up a mechanic and worked in a machine shop his entire life. When I was growing up, he would grind VW heads & bore VW cases in the 2 car garage shop he built in our backyard. The man can build or fix anything, if you just give him long enough. Wished I had any interest in this stuff as a kid, but my hands did't get as dirty making movies & TV shows so I gravitated towards that.
In the last two years I have:
Replaced all vacuum lines and ensured they're routed correctly
Tested all emissions system items - replaced issues found - all is working properly (except for 1 HAC question I have, but thats for a different day)
Replace J-pipe & cleaned out EGR cooler
Smog Pump rebuilt by B-Z Rebuilders
Installed new PS Pump & V-belts
Repacked the front knuckles & installed new rear brakes
Fixed manifold leak - Martin Davidson's Automotive did the refinishing work - installed with new insulator
Still had a little bit of a vacuum leak, so - while Mark (Mark's Off-Road) was busy rebuilding my carburetor, I decided it would be a good time to refresh the water system and fix an oil leak I had coming from what looked to be the timing gear cover. Last week I picked up the seals, gaskets, new water housing, etc and earlier this week I drained everything, removed the radiator & belts. This morning I removed the gear pulley/harmonic balancer I ran into a fairly large speed bump. I included pics below.
I started to look for a new crankshaft and it looks like they're NLA. And the pulleys might be NLA as well, but I'm still searching.
Any suggestions on next steps?
Essentially anything the PO did the vehicle has been trash (why I decided to do the water housing fix b/c 1/2 a tube of blue rtv was go-ing out the sides), so I'm thinking I might pull the whole engine and jump in and just rebuild the engine right now. See what other problems exist. I'm also planning to put in an HF55. And I have a pretty big rear main oil leak. Could tackle all this at once...
