CX500 - parts are becoming difficult to find.

One rocker cover after the mop treatment

Sam had dismantled the engine and started the hunt for parts, but where had the stock of CX500 parts gone? Pistons (quality items) - virtually unobtainable; gudgeon pins - not to be had; other items - a similar story. It was obvious that it won't be that long before genuine or good quality parts just won't be available. Still, eventually, Sam found all the items he needed and the engine could be rebuilt.
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In the meantime I have been canvassing the CX500 turbo world to see if there was any interest in my turbo engine (sans working turbo of course). It didn't take long before an email from Australia appeared and the electronic conversation moved rapidly to shipping costs. I'm not sure what particular attraction there is for items I want to sell to end up on the other side of the world but a Triumph Vitesse that I restored 4 years ago, was sold to a guy in New Zealand.
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By moving to the normally aspirated CX500, I needed a few items that the turbo doesn't have - CDI ignition unit, choke cable, mechanical tachometer, so Ebay came to the rescue and the required items were bought for a very reasonable price. Although the CDI unit looked rather jaded - well quite rusty actually, it soon cleaned up and a coat of etching primer and black paint has it almost like new.
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As the turbo engine has polished rocker covers I decided that I should buy a pair (the turbo ones are quite different). Once again a bargain Ebay purchase saw me the proud owner of a pair of (quite dirty) rocker covers for the princely sum of £3.23! I'm not sure why but I do derive significant pleasure in making something that appears tatty, into a rather more presentable form (I expect Freud would have something to say about that) and some years ago I had purchased a serious bench grinder and a set of polishing mops. I set to with the grinder ably helped by a small Dremmel type drill and attachments for the areas between the fins and have produced an acceptable shine. It is a dirty job though as bits of mop, polish, and gunge from the item being cleaned/polished are thrown around the workshop, as well as over the operator.
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Obviously with a man in Australia wanting the turbo engine and other related turbo bits, I had to remove the engine from the car. Off came the bonnet, and various ancillaries, plus miles of wiring. One thing the CX500 turbo has is lots of wires. Compared to the normally aspirated CX500 it seems excessive but I guess with the electronics, fuel injection, turbo, et al, it is inevitable. Quite frankly, the remaining wiring is very poor and needs replacing.
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Not being as fit as I used to be, I didn't think I could manage to lift the 500 engine out of the car without some mechanical assistance so I quickly found a block and tackle on Ebay, and some straps that would take the weight. All it needed was an RSJ across the garage, supported on the two brick piers that were very conveniently situated right where the front of the car came to rest. A quick 1/2 mile walk in the snow to my local steel fabricators and a deal was struck on a secondhand RSJ of significant proportions, with delivery for the following day included at no extra charge. When I arrived home from work, there sat the RSJ, in all its rusty weightiness, outside the garage. With a fair amount of grunting I managed to drag it into the garage and down the side of the JZR. OK so far - that was the easy bit, but how to get it up on those piers? What I needed was some fit young men - well younger and fitter than me. Have to give that some thought.
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Roger