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A labor of love is never a waste of time! That goes for cars and wives!

The prewar 6 and postwar 8 bell housing that I have appear to be the same size and shape with the same bolt patterns but the later ones had ribs cast into them for strength. Otherwise, it appears that they are all interchangeable.

Thanks for the bellhousing tip. The one on my 8 is for an ultramatic, so it's different for sure. And I'll be needing a flywheel, too, I reckon.

Got a chunk done. Got some more stuff off the 6 to prepare it for coming out of the car. Parts are soaking in solvent and/or cataloged and bagged for reuse or replacement. Finally unloaded and stored the engine I rescued from MI three weeks ago.

I pulled the head off the other 8. It's stuck. I put a mixture of diesel, ATF and acetone in each cylinder to soak. Four cylinders have let the mixture through, so I suppose they are telling me that they're loose. The other four are still holding fluid. I reckon that it's a waiting game.

I've never worked on a car under as close scrutiny by a cat. She would get on the fender while I was leaning into the engine compartment, and she'd put her head into my armpit or under my chin. It was really funny. She lost interest after awhile and took a nap on the front seat cushion, which I removed and put on the roof of the other car to help air out its barn "fresh" scent. The she wandered off to do Little Cat Stuff.

Had a really busy day. Built a killer work table. It went according to plan, so I'll build an outdoor version tomorrow to use for sandblasting and painting smaller car bits. Picked up and installed my new air compressor for sandblasting and painting. Made another shelf - high enough to be out of the way. Getting some floor space freed up and some things put away. The shop plan is coming together.

And I think I've found another pile of parts that I want to acquire, which means I may finally break down and buy a car trailer.

Hobbies are expensive sometimes . . . .

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Nice solid work surface, great job. With what wood is priced at these days, that table may be worth more than the car

Hope Fred likes it!

The wood was salvaged, actually. Pricey as Packard parts, frankly. Fred gave it her Seal of Approval this morning.

Built two more heavy duty shelves today. One is to store things like the surplus bumper and the visor and the back window. Off the floor, safe, and won't get damaged. Nothing pisses me off more. Now we can even stash the seats out of the way, too. Built another table outside for blasting and painting the small bits.

Fred can find her way to them so she can shed on the upholstery.

Made a deal on a pile of parts to go to pick up next month, to include a complete 356 drivetrain. Will be having some four-door body components for sale most likely. This thing is a rust bucket, but it has some goodies.

Maybe I can get some work done on the car next weekend . . . . :rolleyes:

This weekend includes a visit to the northland to pick up that custom sedan. I'm looking forward to it and the guy who has it is looking forward to seeing it go.

Meet Rusty Bucket. Poor thing has spent almost my entire lifetime sitting in a used parts (junque) yard, and it shows. Every time we stopped for gas and to check its moorings, I had to pick a couple of bits of what used to be a trunk floor off the trailer so they wouldn't fall onto the highway. The prize in all of this: a 356 and an overdrive trans.

From somewhere in Illinois:

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Good score!

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I was poking around under the hood yesterday (it's still on the trailer for other reasons) and I (kind of) slammed the hood when I shut it, and more small rusty bits fell out. :rolleyes: