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Perhaps a brass bore brush could be used to clean any threads without damaging them?

I would imagine something like this chucked up in a handheld drill should be able to clear away rust or deposits.

Yes, I had thought of that but it would be a half-day wasted going clear into town as it's so very rural and far away from even paved roads where I am. Maybe, though, my brother has one as he has about anything! I asked for his help today so I'll also ask him to bring one if he has it. I think a steel brush would be better as and do a better job there is no chance of damaging the block. If he has a stout piece of plywood to lay across the fenders for me to perch on, that would help too.

Update: he just texted back that he has a new unused brush set.

I only suggested brass as that may be a little more gentle on threads.

Although I didn’t work on the car itself today, I did borrow my brother’s rotary wire brush set. I also found a couple old studs laying around but they too appear to be the rolled thread type and no way to run a die nut on them due to the hardness of the material.

What I did do was to make a platform which should help some of the work under the hood. I ran out of energy to put in one of the corner supports and I want to also be sure that most of the weight is on the fenders and radiator frame rather than on the area where it is close to the grille. I’ll add a couple c-clamps at the back corners too to be sure it stays put.

I realized a couple days ago that I had accidentally installed a Carter fuel filter into this car when it should have AC so I pulled an NORS one from stock. This one being a bit newer has a replaceable paper filter so my question is, can it be replaced with the original ceramic type along with adding the spring that keeps it pressed upward? I don’t want to open it up and risk damaging the seal so am hoping that someone here might recognize it and know from their own experience.

Although I was at my shop in late August and early September, the entire time was spent working on the shop itself. I wasn't moving too fast as I had a fall a couple days after I got there so was very, very sore the whole time. Somehow I had stepped off the wrong side of a two-step step-stool and landed on my bottom on the concrete although my own built-in padding may have helped or else it made me hit even harder! X-rays after I returned found nothing broken, fortunately, and most of the pain is gone by now although I still feel it occasionally when I move just right.

However on the Henney-Packard, I have come to the conclusion that I need to pull the engine to get the studs properly fixed and to get the block thoroughly cleaned which will mean removing it from the lift and putting it into another area of the shop. Unfortunately there is too much large stuff in the shop right now for that to happen so I've got to sell two motorcycles, all the engines and transmissions that are laying around or find a way to stack them so they take up less space! I don't know of any racking systems that can handle the weight of the engines while also being affordable. I have a 1940 245, a 1951 327 5-main with solid lifters, a 1952 327-9-main and a 1954 359 (still in the car). Also, several Ultramatic cores and lots of Packard doors from 1953, 1954 and 1956 Patricians. The shop was designed and built for six cars but there are seven in it.

As for the shop work, I did manage to get good lighting installed on the storage half of it by installing four high power warehouse LED lights high on the ceiling which light it like daylight. As LEDs are very directional, warehouse lights need to be at least 10' high and these are closer to 14' or so. In fact, they have three temperature settings and I chose the daylight one.

Although the recently installed roll-up doors with windows help a little, this was a very dark corner before adding the lights. The little light on the wall over the workbench was all it had! The car is a 1965 Imperial LeBaron and I just recently rebuilt its engine but have not yet assembled or installed it.



This northwest-facing back window doesn’t bring in much light either even though it appears to do so in the photo.



Each side can be tilted as needed and I still need to adjust those to get a little more toward the center but even as they are it’s well-lit.

Interesting idea with the rotating lights. I like that. My LED high bay lights are great, but I can see where tilting them a bit would be beneficial.

-Kevin

I ordered these lights from Home Depot in Redmond, Oregon and had them delivered a while back. I had them for the last few shop visits but decided that they were doing no good just sitting there so the time before the most recent visit I called an electrician as I had hoped to have them installed professionally and they came out to have a look but they would work on it without a permit so this time I bought a taller, more safe ladder than I already had and did it myself. My shop actually has no power of its own so I have to run an extension cord to a nearby family member's house whenever I am there and originally just with the halogen work-lights the wire got quite warm but now with the entire shop lit with LEDs including all portable work lights, it remains cool to the touch!

Speaking of the shop having no power, it is supposed to be off the grid solar which I have slowly been putting into place. While not fully installed yet, this time I also put the WiFi system and network onto a 12v lithium battery using a 12v solar panel on the roof which I typically use for keeping car batteries charged when I'm not there.