1965 Clark Cortez

[darrenh]

in the past i have fallen into the trap of replacing an entire balljoint due to a broken rubber boot.

obviously i don't have a crystal ball about the condition of your joint itself, but...

[LAndy]

Aug 31, 2021 12:06:12 GMT darrenh said:

in the past i have fallen into the trap of replacing an entire balljoint due to a broken rubber boot.

obviously i don't have a crystal ball about the condition of your joint itself, but...

The upper on the passenger side was definitely past it. The lower one on the drivers side seems in ok-ish condition though it's kinda loose, for $13 it wasn't really worth not replacing completely.

I didn't even know you could just buy a boot separately, I'll look into this in the future.

[greavsy]

Tis but just a flesh wound !!! Hahaha

[bstardchild]

Sept 15, 2021 7:31:39 GMT greavsy said:

Tis but just a flesh wound !!! Hahaha

Can you not work on this thing without bleeding everywhere

[LAndy]

Ey up everyone,

It's been a minute, again, hasn't it?
Quick update for you all.


New lower ball joint finally installed on the drivers side. This actually took a few attempts as we'd split the lower wishbone in half (it's actually 3 pieces: a left arm, a right arm and a center block that acts as a spacer and holds the ball joint) and struggled to get it back together.



And with that all back together and the torsion bars adjusted slightly we tried to fire up the Cortez for a quick test drive. And, as usual it wouldn't start. But in its defence it has been sat for over 2 months and I think the fuel evaported in the bowl and lines, what was left in the second filter looked yellow so that didn't bode well. However, we've pumped a load of petrol out of the tank up the lines but not got it fired up yet - Plan is to fill the carburetor bowl up and then get it running - Hopefully the pump will then pull enough fuel through to keep the engine running.

Here is me having a quiet word with the carburetor telling it exactly how much I hate it!


But in other, happier news I wanted to share something with you all and that is that L managed to get an article printed in a magazine called Rootless living, this is a bi-monthly magazine based around vanlife. I'm super proud of her, her writing skills are amazing and she worked really hard on this.



And, finally in our latest video we were approached by a company called Superclean who make cleaning products (surprizingly) and they offered us the chance to run a competition to win some free products from them. If you're in the US and want the chance to win check out the video below to find out how!
- Honestly, we were really impressed with their products though I'm not saying I'd clean my Mk6 Golf R with them, for the Cortez and greasey / oily parts it works amazingly!



Till next time!

[LAndy]

Sept 15, 2021 21:19:50 GMT bstardchild said:

Can you not work on this thing without bleeding everywhere

Ha ha! I mean I don't do it intentionally!

[glenanderson]

Oct 2, 2021 0:18:20 GMT LAndy said:

Sept 15, 2021 21:19:50 GMT bstardchild said:

Can you not work on this thing without bleeding everywhere

Ha ha! I mean I don't do it intentionally!

Take a minute to fold that split pin on the balljoint over tight to the end of the bolt, or the next time you work anywhere near it you’ll start leaking again.  

[LAndy]

Oct 2, 2021 2:39:40 GMT glenanderson said:

Oct 2, 2021 0:18:20 GMT LAndy said:

Ha ha! I mean I don't do it intentionally!

Take a minute to fold that split pin on the balljoint over tight to the end of the bolt, or the next time you work anywhere near it you’ll start leaking again.  

Actually meant to mention that we redid the split pin better... though it wasn't down to leaking potential. It ended up in the way of the Universal joint connector thingy bit. But, thank you for thinking of me and my precious life fluid glenanderson!

[LAndy]

Having had the Cortez sit still for several months again the bloody thing refused to start due to a combination of the fuel evaporating in the line (Wish we'd not removed that second fuel pump now!) and part of the carburetor jamming intermittently - Thanks Phil for your earlier advice!

So we filled the bowl up, fixed the issue with the carb and after a little teasing it fired up! And off we set on a test drive - Our first since fitting the two new ball joints. The good news is we've got rid of our squeaks and the Cortez is driving better than ever!


This is only the second time L has driven the Cortez, with the first time being when our brakes didn't work! She handled it like a pro!

After a short test drive we decided that a quick check over on everything would be a good idea! With the engine off I rolled under the Cortez to be greeted with.... A snake in my face! After readjusting my bowels and pulling my shoulder... again! I got out from under the RV!

By the time I'd composed myself and got back under to try and get it out it was trying to slither off!



Fortunately, it is just another rat snake, probably looking for a cozy spot to spend the winter where mice would also like to hang out.

After several attempts to get it out it disappeared somewhere behind the dash and under the headlight. L was freaking out and wanted it removed ASAP! So, out came the headlight!

Ah! There you are!



Unfortunately, it had wrapped itself through the chassis and I didn't want to risk hurting it so we left it for now.

We've got several jobs in mind to get on with soon but at the moment it is difficult finding both time, and money! Especially as this little one...



Just cost us over $800 in vet bills due to a severe UTI. The good news is that she is now recovering and is getting back to her old sweet self!

And, in other news! L and I were invited here last week.



We had my Green card interview and it went *almost* perfect. Everything on our end is great but as part of the Green card application I needed to prove my vaccination record and a full medical which cost me $400! And the Doctor who completed the paperwork missed one tick-box which now needs to be resolved! It's not the end of the world but it's still frustrating. Especially as once the medical paperwork was completed it was put in a sealed envelope so neither I nor my attorney could check it prior to submitting it.

Till next time!

Andy & L

[joeytalent]

Glad to see you're still moving forwards with the Cortez!

I had to do the same for my green card, hopefully you get it resolved quickly - USCIS aren't really too bad considering how thankless their job is.

[LAndy]

Oct 26, 2021 14:45:54 GMT joeytalent said:

Glad to see you're still moving forwards with the Cortez!

I had to do the same for my green card, hopefully you get it resolved quickly - USCIS aren't really too bad considering how thankless their job is.

Thank you! My officer didn't see it as a major issue so we just need to get the box ticked and then hopefully move on. We've only been married just over a year so I have to get the temporary Green Card before reapplying for the 10 year one. Can't complain about USCIS, it was a little annoying when they kept asking for more, and more, and more information on me but it was during the time when Trump was being very strict on immigration so I get it.

[jimi]

It's even worse the other way round, my sons wife is American and you want to see the hoops they've had to jump through in the UK. Even getting married here was a hassle, she had to go back to the States for 6 (IIRC) months before they could get married. Her visa's are another saga which is still ongoing after 3 years and will need another 2 years to conclude.
I'm glad yours is going 👍

[grizz]

Hope the cat is 100% up to speed again.

Never like animals struggling or suffering as they often also do not understand that we are trying to help.

And of course the paperwork etc, trusting it is all falling into place.

[LAndy]

Oct 28, 2021 0:34:16 GMT jimi said:

It's even worse the other way round, my sons wife is American and you want to see the hoops they've had to jump through in the UK. Even getting married here was a hassle, she had to go back to the States for 6 (IIRC) months before they could get married. Her visa's are another saga which is still ongoing after 3 years and will need another 2 years to conclude.
I'm glad yours is going 👍

Oh that doesn't sound fun! We do think one day we'll move to England, even if just for a relatively short period of time. Hopefully by having being married for some time it will make things easier. I hope your son and daughter-in-law get everything sorted.

Nov 3, 2021 8:00:03 GMT grizz said:

Hope the cat is 100% up to speed again.

Never like animals struggling or suffering as they often also do not understand that we are trying to help.

And of course the paperwork etc, trusting it is all falling into place.

Thanks grizz. Unfortunately, we've had yet another visit to the vets. This time we weren't pooing correctly. I'll save the grim details but basically her as her colon isn't working properly. We've now got new food and some meds that will hopefully get things up and running again.

Because of this opportunity for working and buying stuff for the Cortez has been limited to this.



In order to improve the quality of this post I will also include a photo of Daytona.



Unfortunately I didn't have time for a tour but I did get to spend last week in sunny Florida for work.
An early morning run on Daytona beach made up for it!



That's it... That's all I've got, for now.

Andy & L

[PhilA]

So all the way along the beach, you heard that cry from the vieeo arcade...

DAYYYYY-TOOOOOOOO-NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Good luck with the rest of the immigrant process, don't forget you've gotta stay here for a year now, you're a captive!

Bouncing back and forth to the UK will be moderately ok, though a long stay within 3 years of moving here is frowned upon (what, you don't like it here, why you came here? Hm? HM?) but other than that it's not all that bad. You'll enjoy it.

Now. More Cortez!

[jimi]

Nov 9, 2021 13:12:11 GMT LAndy said:

Oh that doesn't sound fun! We do think one day we'll move to England, even if just for a relatively short period of time. Hopefully by having being married for some time it will make things easier. I hope your son and daughter-in-law get everything sorted.
Andy & L

Cheers, it's going OK, just takes time.
I think you both will be OK since you are already married, but always worth checking

[LAndy]

Ey up!

Merry Christmas to y'all!

Well, I feel like I say this at the start of every post but... Things have been slow with progress on the Cortez.
Work, life, Christmas and cat have all taken up any spare time and money recently but with that being said we do have some progress to report and this time there isn't even a snake involved!

We've finally started a job that we've been putting off for months, in fact probably a year! And that is the valve stem seals. We've always noticed a slight blue tint to our exhaust gas so there's oil getting in it somewhere. After our compression and leakdown test gave us good results, along with having new valve cover breathers fitted our next possible culprit was the stem seals.

However, due to the access and it basically immobilizing the Cortez till the job is done we've been putting it off. Recently, we've had the Cortez running alot more smokey and so the decision was made to start the stem seals.

Now I've never done a stem seal change, nevermind on a 5.9 liter pushrod V8 but here we are. A good bit of Googling, a few YouTube videos watched and the stem seals and a spring compression purchased ages ago we were ready to start!

L was set to work, and quickly got the valve cover and rocker shaft removed on the passenger side.





There was plenty of crud in the head though so a quick clean out was done.



Spark plug removed and a few feet of rope shoved in the cylinder to stop the valve dropping



And it was time to take some brave pills.

First compress the spring.



Add plenty of time in between with lots of swearing, fiddling and panic and...



One spring, top hat and retainers removed.

We then got the first exhaust valve spring assembly apart.



We then noticed this..



The new (bottom) ones were different from the old (top) ones!
Losing light and honestly, feeling a little miffed we went home.

*INSERT CHRISTMAS DAY*

While researching the stem seal situation we noticed this on the exhaust seal



Although not likely causing our smokey issue it was at least reassuring to know that changing the seals wasn't just a stab in the dark job and that changing them would surely help the longevity of our engine.

Research concluded that.
1. The intake seals were basically for a newer LA engine BUT were backwards compatible.
2. The exhaust seals (called umbrella seals) were good to go even though they are different from the originals.
3. The intake seals are push on and seal to the valve guides allowing the valve to slide up and down without the seal moving.
4. The exhaust seals move with the valve and don't sit on the guide

Great! Right seals! Let's go!

We went back today and cracked on.

New seals fitted and everything looks ok.



And cylinder 8 back together.



We made a start on cylinder 6 and got the exhaust seal changed but again we ran out of daylight so left it for now.

We'll hopefully be back at the Cortez on Friday and will hopefully start making more progress now we're a little more experienced.

Also, Santa was good this year and as well as beer, bourbon and clothes I was also lucky enough to get this!



It should make light work of future stubborn nuts and bolts!

That's it for now!

Andy & L

[blackpopracing]

I was beginning to wonder if you were OK as it's been so long since any updates. Good to see progress again.

[LAndy]

Dec 27, 2021 8:15:57 GMT blackpopracing said:

I was beginning to wonder if you were OK as it's been so long since any updates. Good to see progress again.

Thanks blackpopracing! We've been ok but one of our cats is still really ill and we have been focusing on her recently.
We're hoping that progress is a little more consistant next year as we've had it nearly two years and it's still basically an empty and unreliable van. ha ha!

[LAndy]

Hey everyone and happy new year to you all!

We returned to the Cortez on the 2nd with a target to get at least the passenger side set of valve seals replaced as we needed the Cortez mobile so that Ls uncle could get a livestock trailer out that was behind the RV. With decent weather and an early-ish start we set about replacing the remaining seals.

Things started off great with cylinder 6 giving us this.



Our first knackered intake seal, proving that:
1. This job was actually needed
2. I wasn't imagining the blue tint to the exhaust gas

With a new seal installed we were feeling positive.



And soon enough cylinder 6 was finished.


Here is where things took a slightly, shall we say... Sketchy turn.



Cylinder 4 ate over 4 foot of rope, we debated going to Home Depot to buy a longer length but this would mean around a 40 minute delay. SO... We risked it, we shouldn't have but we did.

First up was the exhaust valve, spring compressed, retainers removed, spring removed aaaannnnnndddddddddd the valve dropped! As did my heart and bowels!

Fortunately there was just enough rope in the cylinder to stop the valve falling in and I quickly got a magnet on the valve and rescued it, it was sat literally flush with the top of the valve guide. No, picture as I was panicking and fully expecting it to drop further. Valve seal replaced -- fortunately holding the valve securely in place while we re-installed the spring and retainers.

Feeling brave stupid we decided that if the exhaust valve was safe, then the intake valve would be too. As they say fortune favors the brave and we soon retrieved this!



A second split intake seal.

Cylinder 4 down we moved to cylinder 2.

The Cortez had decided that enough free work had been completed and that payment was due...



... So obviously, I was left bleeding on the engine... AGAIN!

To cut a long-ish story short, cylinder two gave us no problems besides a bit of tricky access and no further damaged seals, here's where the sh*t hit the proverbial fan.

With everything cleaned up we set about re-installing the rocker arm shaft, everything positioned correctly the five bolts were installed finger tight. Then using a small torque wrench at 16ft/lbs I started tightening them working across the shaft (oo er) skipping every other bolt, then when "tight" I clicked off 2 of the bolts, moved to the forward most bolt and it kept tightening with no click... I should have stopped when I first felt something was off but instead I gave it another turn aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddddddddddddd SNAP!

Devastated mate!!

So all the other bolts removed, shaft removed I started deliberating dousing the entire thing in petrol, lighting it and walking away.



Fortunately saner minds prevailed but with time getting on and the light fading (along with the temperature plummeting - Sunday 20oC / Sunny - Monday -5oC / Snowing) we called it a day and headed home.

The good news is I honestly don't think it's going to be too difficult to get the end of the bolt out but access is going to be tight, like SUPER tight! And with our compression / leak down results being great from our earlier tests the last thing I want to do is take the head off. I'm hoping the panel under the dash / above the engine can come out relatively easy giving us more access and light. So, I think that's going to be this Saturdays job but we'll see.

Thanks!

Andy & L