Flaminia PF Coupe resto

[frankxhv773t]

The system of two wedges working together in opposite directions is called a "folding wedge". Using a shim between the wooden wedges and the metal, as suggested by SanRemo78, would be good practice.

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Went back to basics and levelled up the plate on the top of the head, cleaned the exposed parts of the studs of 60+ years goop and had another go with screwing the bolts down to release the head after I had dropped back down onto the block with a block of wood and a club hammer. Straight away it felt different and as you can see from the pictures the head is much further up than before and we have ran out of bolt thread apart from 'sticky corner where the bolt has bent. So tomorrow's is clean up all the exposed parts of the studs, clean the debris off the threaded portion after pushing the head back down, get some spacers ready to fit down the stud holes to compensate for the short length of the bolts and we will see....
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Good news the head is off as mentioned yesterday a quick clean of the studs visible between the head and block a bit of grease, tap the head down to the block and screw in the bolts, when the bolts are flush with the plate retract a few and drop into the stud hole a length of 10mm threaded bar. resuming the screwing soon had the threaded portion of the studs visible under the head so we knew it was close to coming off. With nearly all the studs clear of the head a tap with an aluminium mallet and it was off.
On reflection the key points to note was the necessity of keeping the plate parallel and firmly fixed to the head otherwise despite the plate being 10mm thick it would bend but not deform like the 5mm plate did. The two brackets on the plate fastened to the exhaust manifold stud were crucial as they kept the plate exactly were it was and ensured the screw force was directed down into the top of the studs virtually in line with them. Longer bolts would of saved a bit of improvisation with 10mm threaded bar segments dropped into the stud holes. A thought was should I have gone for 10mm bolts but they might of stuck in the stud holes and caused damage plus they would not have fitted through the head stud nuts I used to guide the 8mm bolts till the stud was flush with the top of the head.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Had a look at the heads today and the faces look pretty good with no corrosion around the piston area. Any body know what the green goop is that was used back in the day? They will need a skim and a good clean along with a check of the valves.
Clarkey

[Kevinlincs]

Fantastic! What a great result for your perseverance, and to see the head faces in decent condition makes all the effort worthwhile.

The blue/green residue will most likely be the old style Ethylene Glycol anti-freeze, hopefully it hasn't eaten too deeply into the head faces but the areas around the fire rings looks good so all should be well with a skim.

Well done, a long journey but you got there 

[frankxhv773t]

Might not the goop just be blue hylomar?

[SanRemo78]

corroded copper?

[lancialulu]

I'm with Frank.

[lancianut666]

Hi all
I would be interested if putting the goop on the surfaces was done at the factory or here in the UK as the car was UK registered and spent most of it's life in the UK I think.
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hi all
had a quick look under the head gaskets today...all new to me as I have never took a wet liner engine apart. Looks pretty crumbly in there any tips?
Clarkey

[lancianut666]

Hi all
Had a clean up of the block today.
Clarkey

[Richard Fridd]

Does this block have the brass tap to drain the water jacket? I haven't seen one until my latest block arrived.

 Richard

[lancianut666]

I think there is a pipe from the block to the bottom of the radiator...

[frankxhv773t]

There should be a hose from the right side of the block to the alloy housing that the bottom hose attaches to. That housing includes a drain tap with a long vertical "T" handle for draining everything. The alloy housing is attached to the bottom of the radiator with a long bolt through the centre and the whole lot is rather prone to corrosion.

[frankxhv773t]

The attachment to the block is a banjo coupling and the brass base of the tap should have a rubber tube to direct draining water outside the battery tray.