When putting new spark plug wires in my '56 I noticed that the heat shields were missing.
So I ordered up a set from Casco and discovered that half the bolts were loose. This was caused by the fact they were stainless steel.
The thermal expansion rate for stainless is about 1.5x that of steel. Over time these loosen up from expansion and contraction with temperature.
Not liking soft bubble gum cheap steel bolts I installed grade 8 instead hopefully preventing a broken bolt when removing in the future.
Another thing was to use just a little bit of zinc anti seize on a Q-tip inside the threaded hole and lightly on the end of the bolt threads
NOT TOO MUCH !!! prevents created hydraulics from screwing in the bolts and cracking out the cast iron
This is not a case of if a little bit is good than more is better !!
One bolt is 1/4" longer than the others (front drivers side) @ 1-1/4" long. This is for the
power steering pump bracket
Changed these out 1 at a time just snugged up a little and I'm thinking about 25 FT LBS torque when finished
Oh yeah 3/8"-16 UNC thread 1" long and use lock washers
I re-checked the torque after a few hot summer drives and it's all good
I also noticed the plug wires only had protective covers on one side where they turned the corner at back of the engine block
So I purchased another set of sleeves cut and added extras where it seemed needed.
A set of NGK plugs is a good idea!! I won't run Autolites or Champions in my cars. They have let me down before without warning
and it ran really bad limping home on 7 cylinders !!
Heat shield for the dual
master cylinder coming soon as it's right close to the exhaust manifold
A car that won't move is bad news, a car that won't stop is much worse.
The new 3 point shoulder strap seatbelts finally came in. My wife's idea and it makes sense
All be well and safe out there.
Bobby
