Engine In! Lets Ride!

So check it out,
engine rebuilt ..check. Paint...check. Sunday afternoon with my pops in Grandpa Sam's shop with Italian cigars, good music and a beautiful day...check. sounds like an absolutely PERFECT day to put Jess's motor back in and see if all our hardwork pays off. 

I was SO anxious to turn that key for the first time and her Jess purrrrrr. 

Gettin her motor back in was pretty tough. Lowering her down in there with the hoist wasn't as easy as coming out. The way that the I6 200 was set up, it cant be in on an angel, it has to go straight in. This made it very tricky to connect the engine and flex plate back to the transmission. We had very little room to work with and it was extremely tough to get it lined up with the motor mounts. It took us about an hour and a half to get it lined up and attached to the tranny and bell housing. 

Once we got her in and bolted up, it was time to re-attach everything and get her started.

Attaching everything wasn't to hard, just needed to make sure it was all connected to the right places. Took us about an hour and a half to get everything back in place and connected right. Once we had it all done, just added the oil, added the coolant, and a lil' transmission fluid and now it was time for the most anticipated part of the entire rebuild....the FIRST start up. We turned the key, and jess started like a dream!! It was amazing. the entire motor was torn apart, put back together, and it started like it was brand spankin new..which it pretty much was. We got the timing set up and the small adjustments made and she was ready for the road! I couldn't be more excited to start my spring and summer off behind the wheel of Jess.

There definitely are still a few bugs to get out with all the adjustments, I also need to put a new transmission filter and gasket in. Then the last thing i need to do before 60-70 degree temperatures are here is spend about 3-4 hours waxing and buffing to get that amazing shine back!! The rebuild is complete..for now! I'm looking forward for Jess's photo shoot and will have pictures up of that for sure as soon as she's shined up and ready for the shoot. I cant wait for this summer with Jess. I will be updating her all summer long with new updates of photo shoots, new sound system, and new dual exhaust system with split header as soon as I can scrape up the cash! Thanks for hanging in there with me all winter long as Jess became a new woman! 

Let the cruises begin!!! :)