Rust and grease

When we started this project we thought there would be rust to deal with. I assumed I would use my wit and skill and strength to remove it or convert it from the parts. I understood the concept of using a wire brush and a wire wheel to scrub the rust away. We really have no idea what we have gotten into.

My engine is still not turning with a wrench, but I don't care because when I hoist it out I will drop the oil pan, remove the crank, and tap-a-tap the pistons out the bottom. One way or another, those guys are coming out of there.

My problem is actually that the transmission bolts are stuck to the mount. And the mount bolts are stuck to the cross member. And the cross member bolts are stuck to the frame. So - while I wait for the miracle of penetrating oil and seismic activity to do its job - or until I break down and buy an impact wrench - there is LOTS of stuff to clean.

I went after my grease covered valve covers. I used my homemade 3D printed scrapers on them. Grease is amazing stuff really. At the same time that it sticks to everything it also manages to fly everywhere. I believe Erwin Schrödinger may have invented grease.

I spent 15 minutes trying to get my operating theatre set up so I didn't have to put grease on myself everytime I moved. It was far from intuitive to arrange things so I did not have to touch something filthy to something clean. Then I took another 30 minutes pushing the grease back and forth and flicking it into a bucket until both covers looked like you mostly could see the white paint and rusty metal.

Then came the wire wheel and some lessons learned:

Lesson 1 - rapidly spinning steel brushes have enough momentun that when they hook onto the some unnoticed metal edge, they will jerk the drill away from where you want it.

Lesson 2 - my drill has a latch so you don't have to hold the trigger down to get it to run

Lesson 3 - rust and grease are a reasonably good coagulant. Since they are flying everywhere with the wheel, when the it jerks itself down your wrist and the trigger latch keeps things spinning - you have a relatively low risk of bleeding to death. I counted that as a win.

After about 30 minutes of brushing, I thought they looked good enough for today. I could either get some rust convertor and then some paint -or- I will probably do them some more brushing. I got tired experimenting on which shaped brush worked best for those covers. They could be sand blasted - regardless they look alot better than they did this morning.

I went after the fan next. On this piece I learned that if I held the fan with my legs, used 2 hands on the drill and applied more generous pressure I could get the piece a lot cleaner. I also discovered a pretty FORD logo on the tips of the blades.

My dad sent me a box of tools to work with which was a joy - I got some metal scrapers for gaskets and more stubborn stuff, more wire brushes, and a tube bender for brake + fuel lines. I also got a set of metal letter punches which I will use to leave my signature everywhere on the car.