Usually only at oil change time. I have ordered a Fel-pro vc gasket and a set of iridium AC Delco plugs from Rock Auto.

 

The power steering pump dried up nicely with the correct oil level.

 

what did you clean that half dry rotted reservoir with to make it so spiffily clean on the exterior?

 

It has been protected by a light coat of power steering fluid for years. Just a quick blast from a can of brake clean.

 

That was my guess after I asked the question.
I always thought brake cleaner was pretty unforgiving on pretty much everything other than brakes

 

Brake cleaner won't work worth a damn on a dirty antifreeze over flow bottle. I tried everything I could think of to clean mine. I ended up putting Dawn dish washing detergent and some gravel inside it and shaking the hell out of it several times. It didn't come out perfect, but looked MUCH better than when I started.

 

I worked on the gold car today, getting it ready to give to my grandson. I replaced the leaky valve cover gasket with a Fel-Pro gasket from Rock Auto. I had been waiting to fix the a/c and today was the day! I had tried to add freon last fall but the gauge on the can said that the system did not need more freon. At least the system held pressure, everyting worked but the clutch would not engage. The compressor felt good turning it over by hand so today I took the hvac section of my fsm to the shop. I ran through the troubleshooting tree and even pulled the bcm out and tried my spare. If you start your car with the correct bcm and switch them while it is running the car doesn't think it is being stolen. Both bcms work fine in this car. It turned out that the compressor clutch coil was bad. Since I have a parts stash I dug out my 2 compressors. One compressor had a good coil but a bad connector, this was out of the rollover car. The other had a bad coil but it had a good connector. I bet no one knows that you can change the connector. Well now a few special people do.
I removed the front bumper for access and to remove the Roadmaster tow bar equipment. I was able to replace the clutch coil with the compressor bolted to the engine. I really enjoy my hoist at times like this. I removed all the tow wiring and finished up the trunk details. I am going to replace the rear brake pads and get 2 new front tires. I also repaired a minor exhaust leak at the head pipe, one of the three nuts seized on the stud before it sealed the gasket. I removed the stud, retapped the manifold and installed a bolt now no more leak.
Almost done, now on to the stick shift car!

 

Looking good on the gold car! Your grandson will have a great ride when it's ready for him

 

Good weekend, the oil pan is replaced and the new clutch installed. Engine and trans hanging from the mounts in the car. I cut the aftermarket exhaust off the car, really it was done at a crappy mufler shop. Removed the heat shield and replaced the parking brake cable pair. Put the heat shield back on and installed the v-6 exhaust that I saved from the wagon. I cleaned up the rotors and anti-siezed the lug bolts. I had to order an exhaust manifold gasket from Rock Auto. I had saved a couple gaskets from the parts cars but they did not have smog pumps. The 02 stick shift car has a stainless tube type manifold with air injection. I am going to wire weld some minor cracks in the manifold at work. We have better wire welders at work than I have at home. Next weekend I should be going for a drive.

 

The future hot rod in the air, you can tell by the "big block" exhaust and the spoiler! I don't mind showing the plates because the gold car will have new Washington plates and my car will get new Oregon Crater Lake plates soon enough.