Dorsai Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 Can't wait to see it, Matthew! It is going to look awesome. LOL...dunno about 'awesome', I'm just going for 'better'. What I'm really hoping is that painting the air cleaner/valve cover/pushrod cover will then motivate me to start chipping my way through the grease/sludge/crud that has built up over the years. There's probably a decent engine in there somewhere. Anyway, the top half of the air cleaner came out exactly how I wanted it - black, with just a hint of shine to it. It does clash with the intake, though, just as I feared: I'll probably paint the base portion tomorrow, and then once the new filter element for the oil cap breather arrives in the next day or so I can get it all back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Can't wait to see it, Matthew! It is going to look awesome. LOL...dunno about 'awesome', I'm just going for 'better'. What I'm really hoping is that painting the air cleaner/valve cover/pushrod cover will then motivate me to start chipping my way through the grease/sludge/crud that has built up over the years. There's probably a decent engine in there somewhere. Anyway, the top half of the air cleaner came out exactly how I wanted it - black, with just a hint of shine to it. It does clash with the intake, though, just as I feared: I'll probably paint the base portion tomorrow, and then once the new filter element for the oil cap breather arrives in the next day or so I can get it all back together. You are going to be surprised how much "better" you are adding to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 You are going to be surprised how much "better" you are adding to it. Painting my air cleaner led to me throwing out the entire engine after I started to take apart other things and found some surprises. But then again, it was .040 over and full of rust from tap water coolant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 Painting my air cleaner led to me throwing out the entire engine after I started to take apart other things and found some surprises. But then again, it was .040 over and full of rust from tap water coolant. Well, I'm glad I didn't know that before I started! Given that this engine has never been out before, though, I'd hope I could avoid that particular outcome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Painting my air cleaner led to me throwing out the entire engine after I started to take apart other things and found some surprises. But then again, it was .040 over and full of rust from tap water coolant. Well, I'm glad I didn't know that before I started! Given that this engine has never been out before, though, I'd hope I could avoid that particular outcome... Your truck seems to have been well taken care of, so I doubt you're in the same position. I went to reseal the water outlet and that's when I started to find all of the Permatex and the coolant sludge. Decided the engine was treated too poorly and needed a rebuild. Tore it apart and found the aforementioned issues and sent everything to the scrapyard in favor of a V8. Probably should have just put another block in that truck with an Offenhauser intake and EFI manifolds, but you live and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 You are going to be surprised how much "better" you are adding to it. TIL that the vertical metal tab on the base of the 300 air cleaner housing is supposed to fit inside the vee of the support bracket attached to the top of the housing, thus providing a handy way to orient the halves with respect to each other. Only took me nine years to figure this out: In my defense, it came to me mangled and bent. It just never occurred to me to take a moment to think about what the purpose of the tab might have been to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 TIL that the vertical metal tab on the base of the 300 air cleaner housing is supposed to fit inside the vee of the support bracket attached to the top of the housing, thus providing a handy way to orient the halves with respect to each other. Only took me nine years to figure this out: In my defense, it came to me mangled and bent. It just never occurred to me to take a moment to think about what the purpose of the tab might have been to begin with. Looks good It did not take me that long to figure it out, have not had the air filter assy. that long. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 It did not take me that long to figure it out, have not had the air filter assy. that long. Dave ---- I'm a little slow. In other news, I just finished my last final of the semester; I can finally get busy on the truck again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 It did not take me that long to figure it out, have not had the air filter assy. that long. Dave ---- I'm a little slow. In other news, I just finished my last final of the semester; I can finally get busy on the truck again! So now that my air cleaner housing is assembled and clocked correctly, the hose from the oil cap to the housing is now too short. So while I had the cap off, I got to thinking - shouldn't there be a gasket of some kind on it? The cap has never fit snugly, and I suspect that's the reason there's so much filthy grease anti-rust compound all over my engine compartment. If there really is supposed to be a gasket, anyone know what it was originally made of, and what the dimensions (primarily thickness) were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 So now that my air cleaner housing is assembled and clocked correctly, the hose from the oil cap to the housing is now too short. So while I had the cap off, I got to thinking - shouldn't there be a gasket of some kind on it? The cap has never fit snugly, and I suspect that's the reason there's so much filthy grease anti-rust compound all over my engine compartment. If there really is supposed to be a gasket, anyone know what it was originally made of, and what the dimensions (primarily thickness) were? My truck is not your truck, but when I bought a NOS breather cap it had a red rubber washer/gasket on it, just like the original one. Like I said 7.5 to 4.9, bullnose to bricknose.. IDK, but that's what I have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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