I've been as busy as a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest recently.

New tools! 

I scored an immaculate Snap-on BF633 hammer on ebay for an excellent price, this is one of the 3 discontinued hammers I needed to complete my collection.  Only two left!

Woody got married on Saturday, a great time was had by all!

Parts have been piling up, and I haven't had time to install them. 

Head gasket, head bolts, belts, pulleys, and sensors all from Germanautoparts.com

Neuspeed adjustable cam gear so I can dial my cam timing back in to spec since the head has been shaved.

I found new seals for the A/C compressor, Sanden SD7V16.  This is the seal:

And this is the mess I had to install it over.  There is a 0% chance this can be installed over the threads, woodruf key groove, and retaining ring groove without damage.

I made a seal installation tool on my lathe that allows it to slip down into position.

To help the rubber/Teflon seal go on easily, I warmed and lubricated it in PAG oil.

Great success!

I got the new rear cap installed on the A/C compressor, now I just have to make a fill plug to replace the nasty green bolt and it's ready to install.

I had a chance to go to the IMTS tradeshow in Chicago last week, it was pretty amazing! 

Here is a cargo ship crankshaft with some goofy dude standing beside it.

I got a chance to see 3 Paul Jr. Designs (Orange County Choppers) bikes.  It's easy to hide mistakes on TV, but these are fucking perfect.  Every detail was flawless - the paint was perfect, the chrome was perfect, every nut and bolt and detail was exactly right. 

All three were really nice, but the Grainger bike was extra perfect.

Faro bike

The Flow Corp bike was a little older and needed a good detailing, but still very nice.

I haven't had much time to work on my car lately, but I got the alternator pressed back together.  First I had to strip and solder tin the alternator winding leads.  I tried this once before, but you have to get them really clean to get a good joint.

I made a press tool to press the shaft into the housing.

All pressed together.  I still need to paint the rectifier, brush housing, and cover before it's completely finished.

M5 stainless 12-point bolts aren't available from ARP, so I ordered these from IS Motorsport - the same place I get my Raychem wiring harness supplies.

New tools!  Snap-on 1/4" drive semi-deep 12point metric set, Craftsman inch thread pitch gauge, two Proto 1/4" drive 12point sockets, and a Snap-on metric bolt sizing gauge.

Here are some before-and-after shots I wanted to share of my front engine mount.  It's amazing what paint and a few subtle changes will do.

I successfully reassembled the starter and mounted it to the engine.

More supplies; PAG oil and a gasket set for my A/C compressor

The bolts for the starter and alternator were too long and thin to buy in stainless steel, so I bought threaded rod and nuts.  Here are the old bolts with the new stud/nut setup.  This way, they will match the stainless 12-point bolts I'm using everywhere else.

I received the ARP studs I  have been waiting for mount my new starter.  They're just black oxide steel, so I painted the ends silver so they won't rust.

I cleaned the alternator plastics, they will get painted satin black to match the rest of the engine bay.