My 72 Comet Build.....

Today I got the block debured, chased all threads, washed it again, masked and painted it..... I also washed the main caps and checked the journal dimensions on the crank.....

Here's the block after painting today.....

 

I love the smell of blue paint..

 

Today I got the cam bearings, freeze plugs and crank installed in the block..... I also have 4 piston/rod assemblies cleaned up and ready to go with new rod bolts installed, the other 4 piston heads are soaking to get the ring lands completely cleaned out..... Tomorrow I will get the other 4 ready to go and should at least get the whole rotating assembly installed.....

I went by the chassis shop and checked on the cage progress, the front forward bar was bent and mocked up in place on the driver side..... He was fitting the one for the pass side, it was actually the 4th one..... He said he was having a hell of a time getting it to look like the one on the driver side.....

Here's the block with cam bearings, freeze plugs and crank installed.....






Here's the cage progress.....

 

I got everything else for the shortblock cleaned up and ready to go, then put it together and degreed the cam in..... After that I welded a -10 an oil return fitting in the pan..... I cleaned, masked, painted and unmasked the oil pan and timing cover.....

Next week I will get the rest of the shortblock buttoned up and then get start on something else.....

Here's the piston/rod assemblies ready to go in, and the assembled shortblock.....







Here's the fitting welded in the oil pan, then the pan and timing cover after painting.....

 

Do you ever go home?

 

very nice! but you know...i wouldn't have been upset if you decided to mail me that blow-through carb

 

Are you putting the turbo on this car?

 

When the 302 goes in it will have a turbo on it.....

 

How much boost do you plan on putting through it a are you concerned with the stock block holding up at all?

 

Stock blocks are always a concern, but this is not the first time I have done this either..... Just have to watch the power level and keep rpm around 6000.....

My last stock block combo with ported E7 heads held up very well at 12 pounds making 480ish at the wheels on a very safe tune.....

 

I got the rest of the short block put together today and painted the lower pulley.....

There was some more progress made on the cage this week(see pic's below).....

Here is the short block.....





Here are some more pic's of the cage progress.....

 

Great looking cage!

 

Amazing that the headliner is still in.. Looks great

 

Were all of these small "gusset" type bars able to be welded all the way around? Did the headliner get in the way or were the bars too close to the roof?

 

Thanks, I'm liking it too.....

It kept it in so the cage could be built to fit within the headliner, he has done a real good job working around and not burning it.....

They are not welded all the way around yet..... The rocker bars and the kickers to the subframes are not welded yet either..... There are holes in the floor under the main hoop and the bottom of the front bars, once all the braces and gussets are welded in place around the bottom sides the cage gets dropped down through the floor and everything will be welded completely around the tops..... Then he will pull the cage back up in place and weld it then cap the holes from the bottom side..... After that they will weld the rocker bars and kickers in..... They have done a bunch of cages over the years and there are different ways to approach each car.....