The welded front brake backing plate is now off, thanks to a little bit of grinding, followed by a bit more grinding and some sanding once the plate came off.
Following that, I got curious about what may lie.......lay......be hidden, under the sump of the engine. For some time I have been dreading the thought of looking, in case I find a rusted mass of useless metal parts. Fortunately that was NOT what I found. I had drained the oil many months ago. Upon removal of the sump (part way, to peek inside) everything looked to be in good condition, and it was obvious that the previous owner/s didn't pay too much attention to the oil change intervals. Thick sludge everywhere, but NO RUST!
Also removed the timing gear cover, and found the gears in good shape there too. Notice anything interesting? See the two bolts sitting inside the water entry to the pumps? Against my expectations, and contrary to what my Flathead Restoration Manual warned, neither of the bolts inside the water jacket broke when being removed!
Yay!!!!!
