Earlier in the week I took a day off to work with Kim and we removed the inlet manifold and cleaned up the springs so that Kim can take them to college. The flaking paint on the manifold was greasy and literally with every touch oily paint would flake off. I would have liked to have cleaned it all off before removing it but with the fuel lines injector assembly and breather pipes all fastened to the underside of the manifold.
I have to admit being a bit nervous although I’m taking photos there seems to be a lot of pipes being pulled apart. To be honest a lot of it does make sense the breather pipes and for want of a better expression balance pipes. With the engine being turbocharged there are parts of the engine that need to be at the same pressure as the pressure on the inlet manifold when the turbo is spun up on boost.
With the whole inlet assembly unbolted and unplugged we gently lifted it off the engine. Even though we tried we still managed to drop some flakes in the inlet ports. I went inside and grabbed the vacuum and we managed to suck the debris out. There was one minute piece we couldn’t get out but I improvised with a thin paint brush lightly dipped in oil.
I then stripped the injector assembly from the manifold. I had unbolted it and tried to lift the injectors out, but they didn’t want to budge. I was concerned that there might have been some other fixings under the injector housings but unable to find anything I put some long nose pliers under the pipe and the injectors lifted out of their seats. Then it was out with the wire bush I managed to get about 60% of the paint off with no issue. I plan to get the manifold bead blasted and crackle coated in red, obviously.
Graham set me an email confirming that my bushes would be en route. Unfortunately, the suppliers did not have the full kit of the bushes Graham was ordering for me so they have agreed to send me an alternative kit of higher performance.
Today is has warmed up and at last I can get some painting done. Two jobs at the top of list are the fuel tank and Radiator assembly. I took the tank outside it looked a little grotty. So chisel and wire brush at the ready I took the rust and greasy paint off the top of the tank. I gave the top of the tank a going over with degreaser and let it dry in the sun. The underside has a thick kind of bitumen-esque coating which I will wash and brush it then decide whether to put a coat of paint on it.
Next was the Fuel Filler pipe. This pipe was the bane of my life in days 18 and 19. It took ages to remove and I was a bit concerned at its condition but once I got the wire brushes on it I came up fine. Out of curiosity I took the new Aero Filler cap and the largest of the short rubber link pipes and with a splash of WD40 managed to squeeze it on to the end of the fuel filler pipe and connected the aero filler cap all fitted well, just a couple of jubilee clips will finish it off.
Then it was on to the Radiator and Fan mounts. The fan mounts were already half painted so I painted the remaining side and hung them to dry. I brushed and sanded the top and bottom brackets, for the paint to get purchase, and degreased them and after they were dry painted them with a coat of paint.
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