Ready for fire

 We're getting closer and closer to engine start. David has been working on getting everything back together. Hard to believe this is actually my engine bay. Everything cleaned up nicely and it just looks amazing. The blue hose seen in this photo comes from a pressurized oil tank, similar to an Accusump. It will ensure that there is oil pressure to all parts of the engine during those critical moments when the engine is fired for the first time,

Other goodies seem in this shot are the new oil cooler lines (custom made using the original fittings), cleaned and rebuilt carbs, freshly powder coated engine strut with new bushings, powder coated coolant tank, new AC compressor and those awesome QA-1 shocks with red Eibach springs.

R134a converted AC system gets charged up

 Newly converted AC system getting charged up. All the components (compressor, lines, condenser, evaporator, dryer) were replaced. It will be cool to have working AC, although I'm not really holding my breath for how well this will work.

 

Rear brake calipers

The rear brake calipers on the 308 incorporate the parking brake mechanism. My calipers were a bit of a mess so we sent them off to PMB Performance to get rebuilt. These guys do a terrific job and the newly rebuilt and replated calipers look great. As an added bonus, now the parking brake mechanism works! The only other issue is that the racheting mechanism inside the parking brake lever is messed up so the handle does not stay up, but that's a project I'll tackle myself another day.

Engine installation

 Exciting stuff! The engine is back in a clean engine bay. What an awesome sight.

More rear suspension work

 In addition to replacing all the bushings, the driver's side rear bearing needed to be replaced. With the engine out and the CV axles disconnected, it was apparent that the bearing was noisy.

Coated headers are done

The headers came back from the coating shop and they look great. The surface texture is slightly rough -- about the same as 240 grit sandpaper. Hopefully, they will be easy to keep clean. The headers and 2 intermediate pipes are coated.

Closing up the drive side

 Adapter plate, clutch, bell housing and drop gears are installed. We decided to use the flywheel as-is since I had it resurfaced in 2009, but did decide to replace the friction disk and pressure plate.

Engine and transmission mated again

 After many months, engine and transmission are reconnected.

Transmission and final drive buttoned up

 

New motor mounts

 I had always suspected that my motor mounts were worn. By looking at the exhaust pipe clearances, it always seemed like the engine sat just a little too low in the car. These new mounts should fix that,

Engine buttoned up

Cam timing is set and engine is buttoned up

Prepping the headers

 One thing I definitely wanted done was to ceramic coat the headers. Originally, the headers were insulated with asbestos and wrapped with a thin aluminum shell. Mine were in rough shape and I wanted the insulation removed. His is another source of debate -- some people say that the bare headers will get too hot without the insulation while others say it's just fine as long as they're ceramic coated. I guess well find out how it goes.

The "sampling tubes" were also removed and plugged.

Distributor work

 My car was running Crane XR700 electronic ignition with pickups in each distributor. I decided to go with the Pertronix 9MR-183 kit to move the trigger to a single distributor. That makes setting the timing easier and I don't need to rely on both distributors advancing at exactly the same rate. 

The mechanical advance mechanism was seized -- the original grease had turned into a hard waxy substance. Both distributors needed to be disassembed, cleaned, lubed and reassembled.