Hi All,
I'm Gordo and live in Sydney Australia. My entry into the Chrysler world/car scene has been fairly late in the game considering I was 34 years of age when I bought my first Aussie Valiant, which is my 1967 VE Regal featured in this thread. I have had limited automotive experience, virtually the bare basics with regards to tools but my learning curve over the last 3.5 years has been steep. Even so, I'm still a novice so please forgive the simplicity of any technical descriptions or incorrect part names that might pop up in my comments. Please feel free to correct me when you spot something. Since owning my Valiant, I have built up an absolute love and respect for the reliable and trusty "Leaning Tower of Power".

This "work in progress" has been going on for way longer than it should but considering my lack of experience, equipment, tools and reliance of assistance from friends with the tricky stuff, my VE Valiant has been off the road since October 2011. There will be lots of photos, some stupid comments and background info captioning most of the pics so it will be a bit of light reading.

The need for an engine rebuild came about from a 360 mile journey down from Sydney to Albury/Wodonga to the largest Chrysler show in the Southern Hemisphere called 'Chryslers on the Murray". After consuming close to 5 litres of oil on the way down to Albury, it was apparent that the VE's slant needed some attention. When the head was pulled off for a look, it revealed one tired old slant in need of a rebuild. As the engine was coming out, I decided to refresh the engine bay with a respray and rebuild/recondition/replace everything with a focus on maintaining original factory aesthetics. This rebuild is paying respects in as many ways to how the engine appeared when it came off the Chrysler Australia factory floor back in '67. As a result, way more time, money and attention to detail was required to ensure there was a level of factory authenticity.

Anyway, enough of the rant, here we go!


Here's my 1967 VE Valiant Regal (Aussie Chrysler). As you can see, it's basically a Dodge Dart front end up until the A-pillar. The firewall is almost identical to a '67 Plymouth Barracuda except steering is on the right hand side 'Down Under'.








This photo of the engine bay was taken on the 28th of August 2009, a few days after I purchased the VE. Lots of surface rust and 40 years of grim on components but it was complete with all original the factory gear and pretty presentable given it's age.



Photo taken on August 2010 . A minor clean up had been done but it was all superficial. The engine and engine bay was incredibly stock with virtually all the original components still in place.



The slant's head is off & ready to be removed so it can be sent to the engine builder for the rebuild. Check out the carbon build up on the top of the pistons from the oil burning there! Bore 3 and 5 had were pretty badly lipped where the piston topped out over the last 45 years.



Enlisting the help of friend, making the job of removing the engine simple and quick.



The slant is out for the first time since 1967.



Looking pretty ratty once out.




Ready for a blown 572ci Hemi... or maybe just a freshly rebuilt factory spec'd 225ci slant 6.

Many, many more pages and photos to come!

Cheers Gordo

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A collection of parts to be cleaned up, painted, rebuilt, reconditioned or serviced.



A few reference photos of the inlet manifold, exhaust manifold and carburetor cluster.




A 'Before' shot of the inlet manifold.



An 'After' shot of the inlet manifold. This is the first coat of engine enamel painted on with a brush, not sprayed. The engine enamel used is called POR 15 and the colour is 'Chrysler Turquoise' which matches the factory colour used on the 160 HP, 2 barrel carby 'High Performance' slant 6 optioned VE an VF Valiants.



The POR 15 engine enamel is an amazing product that sets flat, eliminating brush marks and reducing runs. It contains 80% solids (pigments) giving a superior quality coat with richer colours. It is guaranteed not to burn off, be corroded, stained or discoloured by oil, fuel or battery acid and lasts longer than any other product. It flows easily & covers better than any other engine enamel on the market.



One coat is almost enough coverage.



This is after the second and final coat of POR 15 engine enamel. After a few days, most of the minor runs totally cure flat. Obviously the rest of the engine will be painted in this colour when it gets back from the engine builder.

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The exhaust manifold ready to be sandblasted.






If you look at the very first photo in this gallery of the engine bay, you can see that there was some substantial surface rust on is part of the exhaust manifold. It looked pretty average and not even rust converter could sort it out. After this photo was taken, the sandblasting reduced the pitting left from the rust. With two coats of heat paint it was reduced even further.




This is the first coat of 'Factory Manifold Grey' POR 15 Heat Paint which looks like original factory cast iron with a flat finish. This high temperature grey paint will withstand temperatures of up to 760 C (1400 F) and won't burn off.




The heat paint really refreshes the look exhaust manifold. I'm very happy with the result.


It's a very thin paint that really soaks into the surface of the manifold and is applied by brush. Like the POR 15 engine enamel, the brush marks totally disappear. It requires two coats and man, does it go far! I reckon you could paint 50 manifolds with the 500 mls that comes in the can.




The OEM exhaust manifold coated in 2 layers of POR 15 Heat Paint, finished and ready to install.






The inlet manifold and exhaust manifold positioned together to see how they would look now they have been "refreshed".




Looking clean, tidy and ready to ensure that I don't feel ashamed to leave the bonnet open on my VE.

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Here are some more of the same "BEFORE" and "AFTER" shots:


BEFORE - The exhaust downpipe which was treated with rust converter, not that it looks like it here!




AFTER - with a coat of 'Factory Manifold Grey' POR 15 Heat Paint.




BEFORE





AFTER



The original radiator started leaking coolant about 2 years ago from a split in the seam between the inlet tank at the top and the radiator core. As I could see a fair amount of gunk caught in the tops of the fins of the core, I decided to have the radiator reconditioned and a brand new core fitted which basically means the radiator is as good as new. When I picked up the radiator after the reco, I wasn't happy with the amount of solder droplets visible under the satin black finish so I stripped the top of the radiator, filed & sanded down all the messy solder spills in preparation to repaint... then it happened!



I had the radiator resting tentatively against a step ladder out in the backyard on a small section of grass, only place I wouldn't get overspray on everything. When getting ready to spray the top in etch primer, the radiator slipped over when I turned to get the spray can and struck concrete, creating the nice dent you see here. FAAAARRRRRK! So far the biggest disappointment in the whole 'tidy up' process this. If I had placed the radiator an inch further away from the concrete tiled area, it would have harmlessly fallen onto the soft grass. I ended up using special heat putty to fill the dent and after talking to the radiator guy, I stripped the primer off as he said it would mildly effect the heat transference of the inlet tank so I sanded/scuffed the copper top to create a courser surface for the black satin enamel to find a decent adhesive purchase.





Here is the radiator finally finished. Getting the radiator to have a smooth quality finish has been the most frustration part of the tidy up on the engine bay. After putting the first coat of black to the top of the radiator, I thought my job was almost done. When I masked the top and painted the sides and bottom, all was great until I took the masking tape off. One part of paint on the top hadn't fully cured & the masking tape left a small but very noticeable imperfection which drove me mad. In an act of stupidness, I proceeded to spray another coat on the top not realising that the mark was a result of the paint not being fully cured, even though it had been 48 hours. Spraying a fresh coat of enamel onto an uncured coat results in the undercoat drying at a different rate. An awful wrinkling occurred which looked way worse than the small imperfection that I was trying to cover. After discovering I needed to heat the enamel up to 100 degrees for and hour to cure it properly before another coat, I poured boiling water into the radiator to stimulate curing. It cured the enamel and also tightened up the wrinkles. When cured, I sanded the paint wrinkles out with 850 grade 'Wet & Dry' abrasive paper, wiped the fine paint dust away with 'Wax and Grease' remover then sprayed another coat of black enamel. It worked: the result was a super smooth finish. The radiator was finally finished and looks great. The hit & dent on the top left was still visible but it sort of adds character... like an uninvited guest.











Notice the dint on top left. Motherf#cker!

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Here are some of the engine parts that I had recondition/rebuilt:


BEFORE - Here is the original 35 amp 'Email' alternator with a bit of surface 'R' code and looking a little shabby from 45 years of service.





BEFORE





It wasn't in my plans to recondition the alternator, just to clean it up & paint the fan & pulley. In my enthusiasm, I pulled it apart and damaged the brush set. It turns out the bearings were shot and were replaced. When I got the alternator back from the auto electrician after it was rebuilt and serviced, the body housing was sprayed in an awful, tacky looking metallic silver and the fan & pulley were sprayed in rubbish, cheap ass paint that could be scratched off with the finger nail test. I didn't ask them to paint it, I even told them I was going to doit myself! This is after I stripped the nasty paint off and hand polished.





Here is the fan and pulley stripped of the old, tired black paint, hit with rust convertor and ready to be repainted.




AFTER - I used VHT satin black engine enamel for all the black parts and meticulously masked the central strip between the two halves which I also sprayed in satin black. I used 'Autosol' to polish the body and I am very happy with the end result.





AFTER





BEFORE - This is the 2 BBL Carter Carby when it was removed from the VE. It is the original type of 2 BBL Carter used on 160 HP VE and VF Regal Valiants and was in pretty good shape considering. I had bought a rebuild kit years ago with the intention of pulling the carby apart and installing it myself but I never got around to it, just didn't want to pulled the VE off the road. After I removed it here, I started to disassemble the carby but soon realised that I was in over my head so I sent it to the 'Carburettor Service Co'. in Burwood to be reconditioned.



AFTER - Here is the carby after a total rebuild. It was in pretty good shape straight off the old slant but the top plate was warped & I just thought it needed an expert, rather than a hack (me) rebuilding it.






The original manual choke unit (on left side of carby) was deemed useless by the carby guy so he fitted a new unit. Now the choke should be a little more effective, not that manual chokes were/are effective to start with.

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Here's one for the factory nazis!
While not at all factory correct, these parts are now beautifully coated in 2 pack gloss black. Sure, satin black was where it was at back in the day but how could I refuse when a mate offered to spray 2 pack on them all for free! Now that's a moment for a TAVO! Apart from the starter motor, the fan blade and fan pulley, I sand blasted all of these part prior to painting.






This bracket is attached to the inlet manifold and contains the carby throttle return spring and throttle cable retainer set. The gearbox kickdown sits between the curved 'U' shaped end.











The 1/2 inch heater hose bracket (bottom) & manual choke bracket (top) after being given a coat of 2 pack & some TLC. The metal component of the choke bracket was zinc coated & come up a treat.




I had these original windscreen washer nozzles, washer hose clips, screws and distributor coil bracket zinc coated as they were looking a little tired.



They came out looking smiko after coming back from being zinc coated at 'Blu-Chrome Electroplating' in Bankstown. It cost around $40 for this lot.

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welcome and rebuild the slant. ....it;s more fun when you beat the hemi powered car and then show them your leaning tower of power

This is the slant when it came back from Gown Hindhaugh Engines in Melbourne after being rebuilt.



I wasn't expecting the slant to come back freshly painted but the guys at Gown Hindhaugh applied 2 coats of VHT 'Chrysler Turquoise' engine enamel. While being a quality product, VHT just doesn't have the glassy finish and chemical resistance that the POR engine enamel has so it has become a solid undercoat. I'd already invested in the POR 15 anyway but I really dreaded brush painting the rocker cover. My fears were confirmed, the cast metal such as the block and head (anything with a rough surface) come out perfectly when painting the POR 15 with a brush but the rocker cover and timing chain cover just looked terrible. I had to pull them off and strip the POR engine enamel off because of the horrific brush marks and awful runs. I decided to get the rocker cover professionally spray with the POR because it is a main feature of the engine and very much in your face. I brush painted the timing chain cover on a flat surface at home and nailed the first coat but the second coat had a few bad runs which were ironically in the only visual spot. I let the enamel cure the sanded the runs rather than strip the whole damn thing again and I have yet to apply that last coat.


From all reports, as far as engine painting goes, this is as good as it gets from engine builders.







The oil pipes were painted by the engine builder but I wanted them as per factory which were bare metal so I removed them to strip the paint off. They were rusty and looked pretty shabby when we removed the engine before the rebuild. I almost liked the way they looked painted blue but decided I wanted the more factory look.





As a reference, I used this old photo of a slant taken in 1967 for Chrysler Australia promotional material and as you can see, the oil pipes looked like chrome, so I decided to polish them.




BEFORE - The oil pipes still coated in engine enamel.





AFTER - Paint stripped & oil pipes hand polished using 'Autosol'. To seal the pipes and prevent rust from returning, I used a White Knight product called 'Clear Guard'.




Here is the end of the oil pipe where it enters the oil filter bracket

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Here are a few parts that I brush painted with 2 coats of POR 15 'Chrysler Turquoise' engine enamel. The thermostat housing and the water pump are brand new while the harmonic balancer and timing chain cover are the originals from 1967.





This brand new slant 6 water pump came up perfectly with no runs or brush marks, unlike the timing chain cover.





The brake lines, transmission oil lines and gearbox kickdown were all coated in 40 years of surface rust & grime. With a little bit of rubbing using soap infused steel wool and 'Autosol' metal polish, they came up looking pretty sweet n' shiny.





Here is a selection of parts that just needed some polishing to make them look refreshed. I sealed them with 'Clear Guard'.





The oil sender and temperature sender were filthy and looked pretty average but came up beautifully after some TLC.




Everyone doing a rebuild loves it when new parts arrive! This collection is just over half of all the brand new products used on the engine bay & it has taken me over 5 months to work out exactly what was factory correct.

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The original Bosch distributor after being cleaned of grime and dirt that had built up over the decades.





Here is the distributor with the cap off showing the rotor and contact points.





The rotor is removed to show more of the internals. I decided that while I was spending all this money on things for the engine rebuild, why not spend some more money on converting the old dizzy to electronic ignition?





BEFORE - The old contact points still in place.




AFTER - With the new 'Pertronix Ignitor' electronic ignition kit installed. Even a hack like me could install the unit it was that easy!





BEFORE



AFTER

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Alternator/ignition coil bracket, manifold 'D' washers and lower engine bracket ready for sandblasting.





Lower slant 6 engine bracket after the first coat of engine enamel.





The alternator & ignition coil bracket mount after the first coat of engine enamel.





The manifold 'D' washers after being coated with 2 layers of 'Factory Manifold Grey' POR 15 Heat Paint then sprayed with a light coat of VHT Satin Black engine enamel. I have recently acquired 3 round factory manifold washers and given them the same treatment. Two of the round washers fit at the ends of the exhaust manifold and one is in the middle on the intake manifold. Some photos of the round washers to come.

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Engine bay and under bonnet freshly painted.

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Here are some round manifold washers which I rust converted, put an under coat of heat paint then hit them with a light coat of satin black engine enamel. There should have been three of these in my collection of bits and pieces but two were missing. I have since found replacement. The original slant 6 manifold washer is the thinner of the two and the thicker one off an Australian Hemi 6.






The firewall loom clips after some cleaning with grease and wax remover. They looked pretty average before coated in grease and dirt but came up like new after a few wipes.






Here's the rocker cover after being sprayed with the POR 15 engine enamel by Mick Zammit who did the engine bay. The colour looks a bit lighter in the photo than it really is. For the most part I'm very happy but there's a little bit orange peel on the front and sides that you can only see in direct light. The top of the rocker cover looks as smooth as glass which is the most important part visually. It's a million times better than my effort with the brush which was an epic fail because of brush marks and runs. In this photo you can see a brand new PCV valve grommet installed and the oil breather cap refreshed in a few coats of 2 pack gloss black. I reckon it's going to look the goods when all back together!

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Here the VE is being picked up from painters and towed to Killara where the Valiant lives. The process of putting all the componets back into the engine bay begins here.








With the K frame, steering box and steering gear utterly filthy from decades of road grime, it seemed a shame not to clean it all up while the engine and engine bay were so fresh and new. After masking the whole engine bay up, I sprayed oven cleaner on to break down the caked on crud and after 30 mins, I hit it with degreaser for a second attack at breaking down the grime. What followed was some serious scrubbing to remove the filth. Once cleaned, I hit everything with gloss black and it came up a treat.


I have since given the gearbox bell housing an oven clean and scrub so it's also looking much tidier than in these photos.




The steering box hit with a coat of gloss black.


BEFORE



AFTER
Here is a photo of the brake line junction with all the polished and sealed brakes line in place. Just like when removing the driver's side front brake line, it was a bitch to put back in. Close inspection on the lower sections of the engine bay shows a pretty average finish of the paint job but for the price and the fact that it is partially hidden, I have no issue with it.




Here is the Slant finally getting to the pointy end of it's preparation to be put back in the VE. Virtually all the accessories are now on the engine with the exception of the intake and exhaust manifold and a few other parts that will go after the engine has been freighted to where the Valiant lives. Unfortunately there is still a some small touch ups of painting to do like the bolts and gasket joins so the masking makes for pretty average photos. I get much better shots when all the masking comes off.

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You are doing a real superior job. I think the exhaust manifold will burn off the paint (temp does go well over 700 degrees F.)

Richard

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing