Re: Randy Berger's 1956 Caribbean

Posted by Randy Berger On 2008/8/15 22:58:06

I cleaned off the epoxy that was an attempt to seal the tranny cooler as it hadn't hardened in two days. Barry the mechanic got out the whizzy wheel and thoroughly cleaned the entire area at the bottom of the tranny cooler. I took it home and mixed up a batch of JB Weld and applied it in a nice even layer. It set rather quickly and I brought it upstairs to cure overnight. ACOlds dropped by this afternoon to view my progress and laugh at getting Best Other getting caught in the rain. I tested the cooler and it didn't leak so after some minor trials I remounted it, attached both lines and both hoses and then bolted it to the block. With anti-freeze poured in it showed no leaks. I've used JB-Weld to repair old die-cast trains and many car parts. It is a good cheap product. ACOlds had some thoughts on moving the engine back to gain some fan clearance, but the rear motor mount (transmission) is not negotiable - it gets bolted with no slide adjustment possible. It looks like I'm going to have to move the rad mounting brackets. I do have 3/4 inch to play with and it seems like my best bet.
I have all the wiring done for the headlight relays except for the red 12 gauge fused feed from the starter solenoid. You can see the two relays hanging on the rad cradle in a previous picture.
In addition to ACOlds my cousin Will, his son Chuck and his son Cole all visited the garage today. Will is from NC and one of my favorite cousins. It was nice to see all three generations at one time. Cole is building a hotrod six-wheeled ATV. That will be something to see. Very level-headed for a 16 year old.