I think that I’m going out of my mind.
I’ve removed my 302 block from my coupe. I’ve prepped and painted the block and it looks pretty darn good. At the end of last week I installed the new Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake manifold. Per the instructions I used silicone sealant to seal across the valleys between the heads. That’s when it all started going wrong.
I must have used too much sealant because it oozed out of the ends. It looked even and acceptable at the rear. At the front there was too much. When it cured I decided to trim it with a sharp knife…big mistake. Despite my best efforts and the use of a razor sharp scalpel it ended up looking like a dog’s dinner. So I decided to add more to cover the mess…..it looked worse. So after mulling it over for thirty minutes I decided to remove the intake and start again. Man, that silicone sticks like poo (substitute other adjective of your choice) to a blanket. I ended up having to repaint part of the block.
By this time, I’m thinking that I’ve lost my mind. I bought new gaskets and replaced the intake using the same method yesterday evening. But now I think that I may have used too little sealant as it is not oozing across the full length of the sealing surface at the rear of the block.
I’ve obviously been reading too many magazines with pictures of too many high end cars that are never driven that I’ve lost the plot and forgotten that this is an engine after all. I’m getting way too obsessive.
However, I did read this months Car Craft article which describes a make over on a ’69 Camaro. The slogan on the magazine cover is something like “don’t look for perfection, just get it built and drive it.”
So now I’m looking at removing and replacing my intake again.
Comments welcome. Somebody please tell me I'm an idiot, and put me back on the right track.
I’ve removed my 302 block from my coupe. I’ve prepped and painted the block and it looks pretty darn good. At the end of last week I installed the new Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake manifold. Per the instructions I used silicone sealant to seal across the valleys between the heads. That’s when it all started going wrong.
I must have used too much sealant because it oozed out of the ends. It looked even and acceptable at the rear. At the front there was too much. When it cured I decided to trim it with a sharp knife…big mistake. Despite my best efforts and the use of a razor sharp scalpel it ended up looking like a dog’s dinner. So I decided to add more to cover the mess…..it looked worse. So after mulling it over for thirty minutes I decided to remove the intake and start again. Man, that silicone sticks like poo (substitute other adjective of your choice) to a blanket. I ended up having to repaint part of the block.
By this time, I’m thinking that I’ve lost my mind. I bought new gaskets and replaced the intake using the same method yesterday evening. But now I think that I may have used too little sealant as it is not oozing across the full length of the sealing surface at the rear of the block.
I’ve obviously been reading too many magazines with pictures of too many high end cars that are never driven that I’ve lost the plot and forgotten that this is an engine after all. I’m getting way too obsessive.
However, I did read this months Car Craft article which describes a make over on a ’69 Camaro. The slogan on the magazine cover is something like “don’t look for perfection, just get it built and drive it.”
So now I’m looking at removing and replacing my intake again.
Comments welcome. Somebody please tell me I'm an idiot, and put me back on the right track.
