Looking great, Tim. You're lucky the intake bolt snapped at the head and you could weld a nut on. My usual luck is to have the bolt snap flush with the deck...
Surprised you couldn't get the tire to inflate with just the bead blaster. I've used mine a lot when I had the Pete and it would always expand the sidewalls on those 24.5 tires. I USED to use ether until I lost my eyebrows enough times... ever read Patrick McManus ?...Poof, no Eyebrows.