Mac2Night
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2005
- Messages
- 2,199
Okay, after having needed to replace my '73's motor for over a year and with Super Celebration coming up within the month, I broke down and put out a call to my Atlanta EB owners for help pulling my old tired 302 out and slapping in a mildly built remanufactured 302 I purchased last summer. When it came time to put wrenches to bolts, only one of the 20+ ATL EB owners could clear their schedule to help me out this past Saturday, but I had waited till late in the week to try and drum up some hands to help (thanks to everyone who offered to help but couldn't make it). The weather was clear and mild (low to mid 60s) and I had everything ready to go. When Phred (Brett W.) pulled into my driveway at 9am sharp.
Now that the scene is set, here is where the fun began. We had a chicken biscuit, shot the breeze, and had the accessories off and the motor up and out of the Bronco by 10:30am. Parts pulled, flywheel off and to the machine shop (found one 20 miles from home that was open on Saturday after a hundred phone calls last week) for resurfacing. Grabbed some lunch-in-a-bag and back to the project by 1:45pm. Back to the parts store a couple of time (wrong pilot bearing in clutch kit and broken exhaust stud) but finally ready to start back on the project. Then came the time for reassembly (new clutch assembly, flywheel, oil pan, water pump, etc.) and insertion of the new power plant. But when it came time to bolt the freshened up flywheel on, the (6) bolts could not be found ANYWHERE. We had been judicious separating the bolts into trays for reassembly, but those six bolts were nowhere to be found. So it was back to the parts store and then a break for dinner. Along about dark, we slipped that new motor in and lined it up. After a long day of wrenching and looking for those bolts, we called it a day as the rain started to mist down on us (the infamous cold front had made it to the ATL).
So now to the title of my post...... "The 10 things you need to consider before asking a friend to help you work on your EB":
I have nothing to say other than just how much I appreciate Brett taking a full Saturday to help me work on my Bronco. If I started a list from 1-10 it would only contain great things about Brett and how much I appreciate his help. I say this knowing that he totally enjoyed helping me out, even though he has a Bronco project back in his garage that he has been working on all year for Super Celebration. While I did feed him breakfast, lunch and dinner (my wife cooked a kicking good chicken dish she calls "party chicken"), Brett made my day so much easier than I could have ever imagined. Thanks Brett, you are a real friend and EB guru in my eyes! ;D
But I have to ask....... what in the H377 did you do with those flywheel bolts!
Now that the scene is set, here is where the fun began. We had a chicken biscuit, shot the breeze, and had the accessories off and the motor up and out of the Bronco by 10:30am. Parts pulled, flywheel off and to the machine shop (found one 20 miles from home that was open on Saturday after a hundred phone calls last week) for resurfacing. Grabbed some lunch-in-a-bag and back to the project by 1:45pm. Back to the parts store a couple of time (wrong pilot bearing in clutch kit and broken exhaust stud) but finally ready to start back on the project. Then came the time for reassembly (new clutch assembly, flywheel, oil pan, water pump, etc.) and insertion of the new power plant. But when it came time to bolt the freshened up flywheel on, the (6) bolts could not be found ANYWHERE. We had been judicious separating the bolts into trays for reassembly, but those six bolts were nowhere to be found. So it was back to the parts store and then a break for dinner. Along about dark, we slipped that new motor in and lined it up. After a long day of wrenching and looking for those bolts, we called it a day as the rain started to mist down on us (the infamous cold front had made it to the ATL).
So now to the title of my post...... "The 10 things you need to consider before asking a friend to help you work on your EB":
I have nothing to say other than just how much I appreciate Brett taking a full Saturday to help me work on my Bronco. If I started a list from 1-10 it would only contain great things about Brett and how much I appreciate his help. I say this knowing that he totally enjoyed helping me out, even though he has a Bronco project back in his garage that he has been working on all year for Super Celebration. While I did feed him breakfast, lunch and dinner (my wife cooked a kicking good chicken dish she calls "party chicken"), Brett made my day so much easier than I could have ever imagined. Thanks Brett, you are a real friend and EB guru in my eyes! ;D
But I have to ask....... what in the H377 did you do with those flywheel bolts!
Last edited:
