Yard sale

The original date-correct starter that was restored years ago never worked well, so a rebuilt original starter was purchased with the idea that the internals could be swapped into the original body to make a working starter. Nothing could be easier, right?

Ugh.

These things are put together with some sort of thread locker that is nearly impossible to break. It was a day's worth of work before these two were broken down to their elements.

With some paint and patience, this mess should eventually yield a working starter in a correct housing and with a correct solenoid that looks as good as it works.

Howards

The retro roller cam and roller lifters from Howards came in. Howards is the best on the market, but their parts are not cheap. This kit was no exception.

A bronze-tipped fuel pump push rod also came in, a required upgrade for a roller cam.

Oil pump

Not very exciting, but a new oil pump is essential.

The pile of parts is growing and growing.

Next are the cam and lifters.

Exhaust-ive effort

A package from Corvette Central came in containing exhaust manifold washers, bolts, gaskets and a set of reproduction bolts. Not terribly exciting, but all parts needed to put the engine together.

Roller derby

The roller rockers came in today. Converting this flat-tappet engine to full roller is EXPENSIVE.

Ever growing

The pile of parts to put this engine together is growing and growing.

What remains are the cam, lifters and pistons.

Exhausting

Most of the pieces of the exhaust came in. If quick measurements are correct, this can be installed and the body can still be lowered over the frame, so the rear portion was loosely hung onto the frame today. Putting this in with the body off the frame will be so much easier.

A photo of an original, unused muffler was used to black out the two mufflers just as the factory did. That's a detail that is normally missed, but being completely honest, it's not a favorite look.

This kit from Volunteer Vette is a nice one and once the engine and transmission are in place it should all install easily and look and function well.

There is a lot of room for adjustment to get it where it's supposed to be according to the assembly manual. That's a good thing because it's super tight underneath this deceptively tiny car.

The kit even included original-style clamps, which was a nice touch.

Restorers apparently call these guillotine-style clamps, since they only have one edge contacting the pipe. They don't seem to be something that are easy to come by and show clearly from beneath the car, so their being included was a pleasant surprise.