New (Old Stock) Metal

I’ve gotten the New Old Stock engine shipped from St. Louis and it’s in the garage now. It’s a beauty, showing just now nice these were when new. I hand thought it was shipped empty and dry, but it has both oil and antifreeze. Fortunately there was no active leaks, but there are signs that there was some small leakage from the top radiator hose over time.

The truck frame was greasy from years of use and after several passes with the pressure washer and wire brushes, I’ve gotten it clean enough to paint. I power washed the inside of the frame tubes as well and have sprayed some “rust death” primer down them. It’s not going to be enough to give it a good coat, so I’ll have to pour some down each tube as well.

I’ve noticed some surface rust showing on the steel tubes I purchased, so I’ll have to get them painted pretty soon. I’ll dip them in a weldable primer to protect them and still allow ease of welding.

I’m not sure what the check list that came with the says, but the check marks make it look like all is good.

While I was painting the frame, I misjudged the length and dropped it on the my second toe. Fortunately it didn’t break anything but it did bruise it and I’ll probably loose the toe nail. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.

Honda Engine Logo 002

Honda Engine export checklist 003

Honda Engine crate 004

Datsun front end prepaint 005

Datsun truck frame painting 006

Hoisting to a new position

I’ve cleaned off the engine and am starting to losten rusted fasteners. It’s in pretty good shape inside, at least what I can see. I will probably have to have the valves tended to since they have been exposed to the weather a bit, but as long as the cylinders and rings are in good shape, the rest should be pretty straight forward.

Putting the engine up on the bench will allow me better access. I had to wait till we put a roof on the side lanai, keeping out rain from above. However as I’m finding tonight with heavy showers after months of no rain, that there’s quite a bit of blow-in from the side. Still, the eingine is covered and it’s not a big deal.

Here’s a quick video of the hoisting:

I'm putting the Honda engine on the bench to get at a bit easier than on the ground while I tend to its needs.

The noise that’s heard when I pull on the ropes is the horizontal, somewhat rusty, rod that passes through the engine mount arms spinning as the ropes pass over it. Not ideal, but better than buying more pulleys. I love moving things with block and tackle. I once moved several 600 lb cast iron radiators up to a second floor by myself with just some rope and pulleys. You get awesome power due to multiplication of your efforts, basically like a lever.

For now, I’ve gotten the exhaust system off and that’s a good start. Soon I’ll have the engine apart and have the heads looked at by a machine shop. I’ll probably buy new valves as these are showing some corrosion from the moist air.