Work on My F8, No. 11

[Jim Price]

This past week was an almost non-productive one. Bob, my helper was out for a day, and I went over to California for a long weekend starting on Thursday. I buy, sell and trade militaria of all kinds and was at a militaria show in Pomona. Didn't sell much but have nearly cornered the market on size no. 3 British gaiters, having purchased some 35 pairs!

We were able to attach the front frame to the bed. As mentioned before, we had a new bed made and it was a bit smaller width-wise and so we had to cut and weld the original piece. It had also been twisted and bent and that took a bit of finesse to get it straightened. I'm picking up the steel plate that goes over this frame tomorrow. Pictures are below.

Now for some bad news. When filling the radiator, we soon noticed water coming out the back of the oil pan, not a good sign. We stopped with the water, took off the pan and put more water in the radiator to see where the leak was coming from. It was the No. 4 cylinder, right rear.

We then removed the head and pushed out the piston and found at least 4 holes in the cylinder wall, one the size of a three pence piece! Needless to say I was astounded as we had just the week before ran water through the heads to flush out the water jackets. We must have by chance left the piston over these holes and thus did not discover the damage.

I am pursuing legal remedies regarding this matter and cannot got into details of the purchase of the engine. I will say that I took what I considered to be sufficient steps to protect myself on my purchase and my attorney has agreed with me.

End of story! Well, not completely! Not to be discouraged I immediately beat the bushes and located another engine which is for sale by a local antique auto parts store who has guaranteed it to be a "runner." I'm having a look at it tomorrow and will be sure that I obtain a well-written, cover-my-tush, bill of sale!

Lesson learned! One can't do too much to be sure the engine they're buying is everything the seller says it is!