I’m getting close to having a working motor again.
The leads I had on clean blocks or built-up short blocks didn’t pan out. One, on Craigslist, was an outright scam.
Towards the end of November, I found a Thunderbird specialist in Southern California who had numerous blocks on hand, some reconditioned, others not. Asking around the community, I found that he was a reputable dealer, and that others had good experiences with him.
He located a reconditioned block, sonic tested and bored .030 over. It even carries April 1964 date codes, only weeks away from when my car was built. He left it unpainted (at my request) and even delivered it to me in Northern California for free. (He was making an unrelated trip in this direction anyhow.)
With the replacement block secured, I finished the disassembly of the old one. Deep inside the motor was a paradox: the bearings were heavily worn, but the crank was not. The old pistons were relatively clean, but my new camshaft already looked rough and used up.
I took the crank down to my machinist and he confirmed that it was ground .020 under but was in otherwise excellent condition. He polished it, ordered a master engine kit (bearings, pistons, gaskets, timing chain, etc.), and balanced the entire rotating assembly, including the flex plate and dampener. (He removed 35 grams(!) from the crank to bring it in balance.)
I picked up all the parts this week, so all that’s really left is assembly. Three things are working against me at the moment: rainy weather, a busy work schedule and a bathroom remodel I started about a week ago (which is not only eating up time, but also space: my workshop is full of drywall)
Nonetheless, I hope to have the new block up on the engine stand next week. Assembly of the bottom end should go pretty quick, and getting that done would free up space in the shop (which will no doubt get filled with lumber and flooring materials.)
The car is outside, under cover, to fend of the worst of the rain. Before the engine goes in, I’ll be reworking the worst of the wiring and freshening up the engine bay (again, ug.) The goal is to have the car rolling in late spring.