The Dark Wob

DodgeRover wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:04 pm I think that's a bargain for reboring a V8, I was paying £20 a cylinder at mates rates years ago.

Can I be most nosey and ask about the costs of getting this here and how you went about it. I fancy a yank tradesman's van, the ones already here are stupid money unless you happen to drop across on direct from a USAF base.
Did the shippers sort your collection and title transfer, did you send the money to them to pay the seller when they picked it up or send large amounts of money to someone you have never met over the internet?

Ok so the fun and games of importing was pretty straight forward. I found the car on craigslist and did a bit of research on the seller. I googled his phone number and once I had his name I checked him out on facebook to make sure he did exist. I even went as far as using streetview when I had his address and could see the car under a tarp on his drive. It wasn't mega money so I took the risk of sending the cash direct. This can be a bit of a job but my bank helped out at sensible rates. Once paid for I put it in the hands of west coast shipping who sorted all the paperwork. They then picked it up on a trailer in LA shipped it up to San Francisco where it was put in a container and loaded on the boat. I had to pay them their part at this point. It was in dollars and worked out around 1200 quid. I then had to pay for it to be unloaded in Southampton and the duties worked out. This lot were robbers as it was over 600 quid for that little "service". Budget around 2k to get anything from the west coast. East coast from New York is a lot cheaper. Just be careful of "restored" cars out there as they use expanding foam for structural repairs and just because it lived all it's live in the dessert it can still be rotten. The reason I picked this turd was the crap paint proved it hadn't been touched by the bodgers.

Regarding stuff from the desert I bought some rust free doors etc., for my T2.

They were rust free but a couple of years in the UK had rust coming out of the seams, the sand that had got trapped in them had finally got moist due to the dampness in the air and it was a nightmare to eradicate.

No such thing as 'rust free'.
Although I once read that Model T Fords sheet metal was made from a steel high in Vanadium which made it very resistant to rust. A guy who sold parts for them kept most of the parts outside and got away with it for that reason.

After a few weeks I got the engine block and crank back today. It has had 10 thou taken off the crank and bored out +30. That lot set me back £444 including the vat. I also had all the rest of the parts to finish the rebuild arrive. I think the engine will owe me about a grand once it is finished. It had better sell for proper money after all this work.

Hate to think what that would have cost someone like me who gets spanner rash at the thought of anything more than a new dynamo or summat.....Needs an appreciative buyer, that.

mercrocker wrote: ↑Fri Jan 31, 2020 8:58 pm Hate to think what that would have cost someone like me who gets spanner rash at the thought of anything more than a new dynamo or summat.....Needs an appreciative buyer, that.

I've just rebuilt my first engine and it's quite easy really, don't know what I was frightened of all these years!

CLINT wrote: ↑Sat Feb 01, 2020 8:59 pm

mercrocker wrote: ↑Fri Jan 31, 2020 8:58 pm Hate to think what that would have cost someone like me who gets spanner rash at the thought of anything more than a new dynamo or summat.....Needs an appreciative buyer, that.

I've just rebuilt my first engine and it's quite easy really, don't know what I was frightened of all these years!

Yeah it is pretty straightforward to do the problems start when machine work hasn't been done properly. I built the engine up yesterday and all going nicely until I torqued up the main bearings and it virtually locks up. Looks like a trip back to the machine shop to find out whats wrong.

Have you worked out which one it is? I had it with my Landover, some white metal had transferred into the bearing caps and I didn't spot it as it looked nice and clean and shiney. It was only the fact I could test by substitution that I found it.

Typically it seems to be the rear main which has all the seals built into it so is the hardest to fit.

Can you test fit without the seals?