After I got the intake manifold off I started working on removing the exhaust manifolds and down pipes. I decided that the exhaust manifolds are slightly easier to get off than the intake manifold but only if some previous mechanic or owner has used the correct brass nuts on the exhaust manifolds. Fortunately the nuts on this engine were the brass ones so the job was made a lot easier because of that.
Unfortunately once I got the exhaust manifolds off the engine I discovered a very weird surprise with this engine. See the photos below (these photos were taken after dark so please forgive the quality of the lighting):
Steven,
I agree with the others that it looks like critters(mice?) have been living in there. How many years did this car sit before you removed the exhaust manifolds?
Paul, I have no knowledge of the car’s history from before the ownership of the guy I bought it from. The guy I bought it from really only wanted the car for it’s title and id tag which is why he cut the car up to such an extent that it’s a complete write-off. The only other thing I know is from the 2019 ebay auction description as recorded on xkedata.com
That auction description says that the car was converted from a long chassis 2+2 automatic equiped car to a short chassis roadster “at some point in the 1990’s” and shows the car as a semi completed project so who knows when it was regularly driven as a normal car.
Steven,
It sounds like the mouse droppings are a minor issue compared to your other challenges. I suspect that the mice made their way up the tail pipes to get to the exhaust ports, so don’t be surprised if you find more mouse dropping inside the tail pipes, mufflers, and other parts of the exhaust system.
