After Letterman, lets see what’s going on in the garage. Late night fun and games, putting the final piston in.

Well, I wasn’t watching Letterman. Here I’m getting last of the piston assemblies into the engine block. These are the Russel Pistons from Australia. I really like the design of these… A modern three ring piston that is available in a bigger oversize without having to bore the block to 1380. This leaves a lot more room for reliability, specially when using pre A+ blocks.

Ah, yes, my Grandad’s hammer. I’ve had this thing for 40 years and have used it to put countless pistons in engines.  It’s perfect for the ratcheting style ring compressors like I’m using here, and the perfect weight to gently tap in the piston with the wood handle. Or maybe I’m just sentimental!   Anyway, my lovely assistant ran out of memory just before the final tap, so here is a brief re-enactment…

And we flipped the engine on the stand and pulled the rod down the bore. It’s different being under time pressure because her iPhone has too much junk on it!

Then finally after she deleted more old stuff, I put the cap on the connecting rod and make sure all the animals are in. Turn off the music, it’s 1:46AM!