Can this get worse ?

[Dakar Timm]

Two weeks ago I finished welding new floorboards in the Coronet . I thought I was finished after undercoating , installing a layer of sound proofing and new carpet .
When I started up the car to drive it down off the ramps , the throttle cable snapped .
I made a throttle cable from an old Honda motorcycle work well enough to move the car into its place in the other garage .
Once parked , I opened the hood to hook up the battery tender . Imagine my surprise when I saw fairly large stream of bight green coolant running down the front of the engine .
Back into the garage it went . I found the aluminum timing cover had disintegrated over the last 58 years . Geez , you’d think stuff would last .
As I was cleaning the front of the block for the new gasket I dropped a scraper and somehow it magically went into the oil pan ! Off came the starter , centerline , oil filter and finally the pan . Nothing else can go wrong can it ?

 

[Rishi]

are you sure that cover is aluminum? I kind of looks like cast iron, to me.

but to answer your question, expect failing freeze plugs. if the car was stored wet, and there is the damage we see to the water pump housing, if that was caused by the wet, expect one or more freeze plugs to fail when it pressurizes. Sometimes, you can inspect the freeze plugs and look for any that are "weeping" and I would replace those preemptively. Sadly, some freeze plugs are nigh-impossible to replace with the engine fully mounted to the K-frame.

 

[Kern Dog]

All LA engines used an aluminum timing cover.

 

[coloradodave]

Yeah, some days are like that. Time to take a break and go do something fun, or at least not involving your car for a few hours. We all have had things go wrong and they are what makes us better mechanics. For instance, I'll bet if you ever have to do that job again, the first thing you're going to do is pack a big, old towel inside the front of the pan.
Look on the bright side. Doesn't the interior look great with the new carpet? Hang in there. It'll get better...

 

[Kern Dog]

I think a lot of us that actually do hands on stuff encounter stuff like this.
I picture the days in construction where I’ve hit my fingers with a hammer, then end up bumping my fingers on everything causing shooting pains to the core.
Your hands get greasy, then your face itches.
You torque the head down, then see the head gasket on the table.
We were in a job where they had trenched a few areas near the house to run the power lines. It had rained a lot and the 3 foot deep trenches were filled with rain water. Someone put a 2x10 over as a bridge, then a thin strip of plywood over that. I needed a 2x10 on the garage I was framing and told an apprentice to get me one. He took the one that was under the plywood, but then put the plywood back over the trench. A few minutes later, another guy walked up and stepped on the plywood…. Which cracked and split, dumping the guy in the wet and muddy trench.
The idiot apprentice laughed but then slipped in the mud and fell on his ***.
Life can be really funny sometimes.

 

[Darter6]

Yeah, some days are like that.

I'LL SAY !

 

[59pwrwgn]

All LA engines used an aluminum timing cover.

My 318 has a cast iron timing chain cover. It came out of a D400, with the front motor mount off the t cover

 

[WileE]

Whenever anybody runs into a bad day working on their own car, and something goes wrong... fret not. When that happens working on a customer's car... that's when you sweat. Ah, yes, the good (most of the time) old days .......

 

[Kern Dog]

My 318 has a cast iron timing chain cover. It came out of a D400, with the front motor mount off the t cover

Is that a 318 Poly?

 

[RemCharger]

Sounds like an industrial mill

 

[Dakar Timm]

Guess what ? It can worse !
I very carefully reinstalled the oil pan with new gaskets and started reinstalling the brand new shiny timing cover . Sure is pretty . Yeah , so much for that illusion . Seems the cast in timing marks in the replacement cover won’t let the harmonic balance be fully seated . Is it permissible to grind off the marks ? . Yes the block is a 318 Polyhead . What is rather strange is I’ve read several places that this block has an extra hole that the LA block doesnt and it needs to be sealed . This block doesnt have that extra bolt hole on the drivers side . Down the rabbit hole we go .
I do want to thank all of you for your continued wisdom and encouragement.
I feel frustration creeping in View attachment 1920144

 

[RemCharger]

What's the diameter of your balancer? I'm thinking an LA balancer is on your future.. but I haven't done any of these poly/LA conversions

 

[59pwrwgn]

La318 from a 70 D400. I assume original. I assume it was made of cast iron because the engine uses a motor mount off the timing cover rather than off the ears on the side

 

[WileE]

In my youth, the term "hip" was popular. So, someone told me back then, wrenching cars makes you HIP... Headaches, Injuries, Profanities. Yeah... I'm still HIP all these years later. And I think y'all are HIP, too !

 

[Dakar Timm]

What's the diameter of your balancer? I'm thinking an LA balancer is on your future.. but I haven't done any of these poly/LA conversions

The existing harmonic balancer has a diameter of 7 3/16"