Out of the quiver....: Intake gaskets and then Carburetor restoration

When my ride came out sweeter than "honeysuckle on the vine, Ma" I made the precarious decision of doing a little sumpin', sumpin to my engine. I noticed a little drop or two of oil when she sat in the garage over an extended period of time and I wanted to find out the source of the leak and eradicate it.

The level of expertise you will need to tackle this job is pretty minimal. To get access to all of the bolts you must remove the carburetor. Start by removing the air cleaner and all the rubber hoses from the carb. Unscrew the hot air choke tube that attaches to the the choke. Four nuts secure the carb to the manifold and then you are home free. Well almost.

You will need a 1/2" socket and a pry-bar for the intake manifold. There are 12 bolts holding that beast down and once you get those out you will need to pry it off and out. I used a 2x2 piece of wood that I use for tire chocks and beat against it with a hammer. A few grunts and slams with the hammer and the manifold should come loose. If you go the prying method be careful not to gouge the lip on the block or you will be royally screwed.

The intake weighs some poundage, but if you are not a girlie-man you should be able to man-handle it. (I say this under the full realization that there are some girls out there that can knock my lights out, so take this for what it is, a pun, and move on) If you need help, grab your buddy or buddette and you should be good to go. I actually faced the engine from the front and climbed into the engine bay. That's the beauty of the Mustang, you can get right in and close the hatch then pop out like a jack-in-the-box to scare anyone who dares pop the hood. It's pretty fun, you should try it.

So using my legs against the frame rails for support and pulling up with super-human strength the intake finally gave in and came to papa. I put the heavy metal beast on my lap and swung my legs out of the bay. I used oven cleaner on the outside of the oily intake and cleaned it up pretty well. Then I focused my attention to the gaskets on the block side. I used a razor blade and scraper to get all of the old gasket off and get the block thoroughly ready for new gaskets.

Another thing to mention is that I did remove the valve covers for convenience sake. I needed the extra room and eight bolts each is a small price to pay for a dented or bent valve cover. Oh and another thing or three that slipped my mind are the distributor, thermostat, and radiator hose. Just leave the wires on the distributor cap, pull it off and move it out of the way. Be sure to mark it first so you will know exactly how to position it on the reinstall. Unless of course you are a timing genius and do not need to know how it needs to go back in. Frankly, I am not a timing whiz so I marked mine on the inside of the distributor and on the engine brace.

Closing remarks, take your time. Patience is a virtue and if you are patient you will complete this project successfully. Use plenty of lighting. Use rags or shop towels to cover the open intake hole and over the open block once you get the intake off. Any bolt dropped or foreign debris entering into the block area will be detrimental to your engine. I used two different types of gasket sealer. Blue for the left and right lip edges and black for the front and rear lip edges. Let it cure for 24 hours if you can and be sure to repeatedly retorque the intake bolts every month or sooner.

Now on to the picture show! Thanks for coming! Be sure to subscribe to my new RSS feed. Next time we'll rap about the carb restoration. Rock on peeps!