78 Liquifire rebuild!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sun Dec 21, 2025 2:29 am

The coolant cap has been cleaned up and polished a bit.

The new carb boots have arrived from New Breed, and have been installed.

I also decided to fabricate a aluminum panel to attach between the relocated fuel pump and the chain case, to mount a fuel shut off valve on. The mid-mounts don't require a shut off, but the newer sleds do, particularly if you trailer the sled.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Mon Dec 22, 2025 5:42 pm

The fuel pump and shut off valve mods are complete, so I moved on to freshening up the exhaust.

nick80lf · Post by **nick80lf** » Mon Dec 22, 2025 10:12 pm

Out of curiosity, what are you using for exhaust paint? I have always like the look of the Deere muffler black but.....wow is it getting pricey.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Tue Dec 23, 2025 1:56 am

I have been painting exhaust parts from the same quart can of high temp black for 20 years. I wire brush the parts, degrease, sometimes use the palm sander a bit, blow it off and brush the paint on with a foam brush.

This stuff was just hardware store grill paint or what have you. It is extremely thin like stove black, it dries flat, and I put on at least two coats.
It does not burn off, but it does rust through, so after a few years you will have to do it all gain.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Wed Dec 24, 2025 2:45 pm

Merry Christmas! Here I have the tunnel masked off for a some fresh paint. The pipe is looking better, and I have the radiator strap and the strip that holds the snow flap painted.

A benefactor offered me an NOS radiator, so I am preparing to install that.

nick80lf · Post by **nick80lf** » Fri Dec 26, 2025 11:53 am

Merry Christmas Brian.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sat Dec 27, 2025 2:50 am

Here I am test fitting the NOS radiator. I discovered that I hadn't allowed enough clearance for the radiator hose, so the fuel shut off plate I had installed needed to be modified a bit. One change always begets another, but it is coming together.

The OEM foam that was between the radiator and strap was denser than the truck cap foam I have now, so I had to use a couple of layers to get everything to snug up tight.

We have a couple days of warm weather on tap here, so I am preparing to paint the tunnel and boards shortly.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sat Jan 03, 2026 3:40 am

After Christmas, and then subsequently six days in the house with the crud, I finally got back in the garage!

I had decided I didn't particularly like the light gauge of the wires I received with the Hewtec rectangular plug. So I had purchased a few of the TE connectors and a tool that would crimp them. The oddball round plug on the 78 trigger is the problem.

So with the connectors crimped onto the original trigger wires, and the wires swapped into the white plug, I plugged the two half's together, laid the plugs on top of the head, and pulled the rope...I have spark!

Engine install is immanent!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sun Jan 04, 2026 10:48 am

The engine is sitting in the chassis! Hopefully for good.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Wed Jan 07, 2026 10:21 pm

I do it right, because I do it twice!

After getting the engine in the Chassis a few days ago, I put the clutch alignment tool on and was disappointed to see that while the skew was perfect, the distance was a bit short. I decided that I would never be happy knowing it wasn't 100% correct, so the engine went back on the bench, and was moved 3/16" forward on the plate.

This engine is the first one where I wished I had a cherry picker to hold the engine in the air. It is more than I can handle by myself, and on the first install we struggled to get the rear bolts lined up with the motor mounts. With the two blocks of wood in place, we could set the engine down without putting weight on the rear bolts. It went better this time.

With the engine in place and bolted down, the alignment tool was installed, and showed I had nailed it! Time to put this sled together.

Jerry Jim · Post by **Jerry Jim** » Thu Jan 08, 2026 1:34 pm

Gotta say man this sled looks awesome! Im new to JD sleds, my dad had an 78 Liquifire on the farm and they ripped it for many years... Now I want to restore a 78, Your attention for detail is incredible and very admirable, good luck take it easy!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Fri Jan 09, 2026 8:50 pm

Major milestone today! After some false starts, bad weather, being sick, and life in general, I finally got the tunnel painted today. All I will claim is that it is black. When you are out on the trail the boards and sides of the tunnel have snow on them anyway, so a perfect paint job doesn't do much for you.

This was shot with Krylon gloss black. A tack coat and two wet coats.

High Top · Post by **High Top** » Fri Jan 09, 2026 9:09 pm

BRING THE THUNDER!!!!!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Fri Jan 09, 2026 11:01 pm

I had to force myself to leave the garage, the urge to pull the tape off was strong!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 6:14 pm

With the tunnel painted and cured a bit, the tape has come off. A re-chromed hitch has been installed, and with the tail light bracket drying as I type this, the tail light will go on shortly.