This morning I began the final steps of installing the Edelbrock upper and lower intake.
I've delayed cleaning the intake mounting surfaces of the heads until the end. I started work on that this morning scraping off existing gasket material with a razor blade and then wiping down the surfaces with brake cleaner on a towel. I repeated this process far more than necessary as I've had leaks from intake installs in the past and I don't want the same to happen this time.
With everything cleaned, I decided I'd paint the very top of the head which is visible between the intake and the valve cover. This didn't work great as when I test fit the intake, it marred up the paint a little. It might have been better to painter afterwards but I expect I can just do a little touch up work afterwards and have the same result.
While cleaning everything, I noticed the back of the block right behind the intake is stamped with the VIN8. It is actually on the block so it is possible to determine with a car like this if it indeed has the original engine. I cleaned off the area and took a quick picture so I have it for later.
The following morning, I put a light coat of Permatex Ultra Grey Gasket Maker (82194) around the water ports on both sides of the intake gasket. I then used a thin layer of Permatex High Tack Gasket Sealant (80062) over the gaskets (except the RTV). I put the Ultra Grey in the corners of the sealing surface and then a good thick bead along the front and back of the block. I asked my wife for help and while I held the intake, she slid on the water hose onto the front of the thermostat housing. The intake then went right into place.
While it went right into place, I'm paranoid that the RTV isn't thick enough to have sealed properly. I lightly tightened all the retaining bolts and then took numerous videos with my cell phone. I'm satisfied with the amount of RTV bulge I see on the front side to believe I have a good seal. I'm about 90% confident on the back side. There is one section that I can't see very well to know for certain.
I waited an hour, per the Ultra Grey RTV instructions, and then torqued the intake down to 18 ft. lbs. I used the proper tightening pattern and as normal, it took about six full rotations on all the bolts before they didn't need to be torqued any further. I then took another video along the back edge and felt even more confident in the seal. I'll still worry but I think everything is sealed up. Since tomorrow is Monday, I'll have no problem waiting at least the full 24 hour cure time before testing the seal.
While I enjoy working in the engine compartment and would like to keep putting everything together, I need to turn my attention to the valve covers. I purchased a new set of OEM valve covers identical to mine (F1ZE-6583-CA / F1ZE-6A513-AA) but without all the oxidation. There were only a few available so I picked the best looking exterior appearance knowing the insides were rough looking with oil residue. I've been putting off cleaning them but have had them soaking with some diesel inside them for a day or so.
I didn't take any pictures of the original condition but took this one from the eBay listing.
I put a few hours into the new valve covers and they are looking much better. I sanded them a few different times with 320 and used some pre-prep cleaner after each sanding session. They are now quite smooth but I'll need to wait for a better day to paint them.
This is the final product after painting a few days later after work. I used Duplicolor DE1650 which is a really close match to the intake. I sanded the valve covers quite a bit with a rubber 3M sanding block and 320 sand paper but there are still a few uneven spots. They didn't shw up until I put the gloss paint on the valve covers but they are considerable better than the valve covers on the car today.
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