Engine: Timing belt and cleaning/painting.

So. What have we been up to over here?

We've stripped the timing side down. Only thing left is to remove the water pump and start reassembling with new components.

We've also been spending some time with paints.

Our exhaust manifold has been sanded and coated with some high temp flat black paint.

And with a new gasket, it's back on the motor.

You probably noticed our fancy valve covers. Originally a flat gold, I chose to go a little flashier.

And, installed with our freshly painted spark plug cover.

Those breathers will be removed and replaced with AN fittings. You'll notice they are not bolted down yet. Our fancy gasket set did not come with new grommets, and the old ones were hard and brittle.

Normally the timing covers would be black too. I decided against that.

I dig the gold valve and timing covers with the black plug cover.

So, we still need to bolt all this down. Install the new water pump and timing belt. Replace intake and valve cover gaskets. Get new grommets. Get new plugs. Remove the oil pan. I might see if I can find a new upper timing cover, ours is a little dented and I couldn't pop them out all the way, but it's not a big deal.

What else? We need an intake plenum and a turbocharger. We need some Jaguar puck style engine isolators. Once we have those things, and the rear sump pan we can drop the motor in. Still a long way to go to get it running, but we're moving and grooving here.