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I've made pretty good progress on two fronts lately. As I began tearing down the 235 motor that I acquired, I gave a lot of thought to how I was going to mount it in the frame since the original rear motor mount crossmember was gone. I gave thought to constructing a new member but ultimately was able to get my local wrecking yard to let me remove what I needed from a poor old 3/4 ton. My son provided plenty of moral support as I contorted underneath the old truck to saw off all of the rivet heads (fortunately the transmission was gone providing pretty good access). After a couple rainy hours on my butt in the gravel I had my prize. It didn't take me long to get it cleaned up, primered and installed (bolted in with Nylock nuts). I had previously rehabbed the pedal assembly (cleaned, painted, new bushings, etc.) so the mounting bracket went back on next. A new dual-master cylinder adapter bracket, springs and other goodies are on their way. I also decided it was a good time to install the new front shock absorbers I bought a couple months ago.

So with the frame back in original configuration again, I went back to my motor project. Although it was rebuilt (about 30 years ago), it was stuck so a complete tear down was in order. The block has since been cleaned inside and out, all the oil and water passageways blown out, and the outside of the block painted with engine enamel primer and two coats of engine enamel. I went through all of the discussions about which shade of gray is correct and finally decided that I would use whatever my local NAPA store had on the shelf. As of this evening I've got all of the pieces that go on the front of the block cleaned and ready for paint, too. I received a new Fel-Pro gasket kit so I'm ready to start putting the motor back together.