it's done with a push mower and I bag it, make a cleaner job....lost a bit of sweat but that is a good thing.... 🙂
What Did You Do To Your G-Body Today? [2020]
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it's done with a push mower and I bag it, make a cleaner job....lost a bit of sweat but that is a good thing.... 🙂
Went and busted the 8.8 apart again, torqued the pinion back down measuring in increments on breakaway torque. Got the pinion nut snug to a point where there was no play in it and I’m back to 10 inch pounds on breakaway torque.....
The odd thing is there’s no longer any choppiness in the pinion bearings now 🤔
Currently under the car spraying it in phosphoric acid, yet again.
The odd thing is there’s no longer any choppiness in the pinion bearings now 🤔
Currently under the car spraying it in phosphoric acid, yet again.
Finally got it out of storage and brought it home. Threw a quick wash on it and took it to a cruise in this morning. Poor turnout, wasn't advertised much so only maybe 10 cars showed. On the other hand I just taught my son how to drive a stick shift on it 😎 he got a little flustered and stalled it a few times then got the feel for the clutch pedal and did great!
Yesterday, I changed out the upper left door hinge. Was a much more involved process than I imagined it would be. Overall, I spent several hours.
The door is now better aligned than before, and closes easier too.
This would have helped, and saved time. Not sure how well it would work on a sloping driveway.
The door is now better aligned than before, and closes easier too.
This would have helped, and saved time. Not sure how well it would work on a sloping driveway.
Misplaced the keys to the wagon... probably a week ago. Just found out earlier today... LOL.
girls upgraded from the vette..
Update on my FINALLY! post.
What you see here is the forward mounting ear for the clutch return spring that I plan to mount off one of the header pipes. At this point in fabrication, the basic shape has been set and the holes for the spring have been drilled. You will also see that cuts have been made into each end and the resulting tabs or ears have been bent up and away from the basic shape. This has been done to create a curve that will more closely mimic the curve of the header tube and allow the bracket to fit more closely and precisely.
A close up shot of the welds that I set in place to close up the gaps that appeared when I bent the tabs up in the previous shot. These were subsequently ground down and smoothed out to produce a finished shape that, except for size and dimensions, looks very similar to the cradle half of an exhaust pipe clamp. The raw material for this was a scrap piece of 1/8th x 1" flat plate that got formed by hand using a vise and hammer.
And....the finished product. In this shot you can get a good sense of the shape of the bracket and the fact that one side of it is shorter than the other. Had not planned the bends that way but it works because I can change the spring tension by moving from the longer side to the shorter one. The gear clamps fits into the pocket and its curve and the curve of the bracket are a fairly close match.
This last shot is a close up of how the bracket and the gear clamp fit together. The clamp was my first choice simply due to possible space and access to the tubes issues. My main concern with it is strength because it will have to withstand the pull of the spring as the clutch arm comes and goes, which would happen fairly frequently. For plan B I would substitute a "U" clamp similar to the U of an exhaust pipe clamp but 1-3/4" ID; that being the diameter of the header tubes. Plan C would be the same type of U but in 1/4 inch cause the one I have now is 5/16ths and might be too large to fit into place. Plan D would be to shave the ceramic coating off the tube and tack the bracket directly in place. My new Miller will let me do that using stainless wire and gas.
Of all the possible options, plan A is the one I personally most favor due to having to lace the clamp in between the tubes down low. Test fit is the next step.
Nick
What you see here is the forward mounting ear for the clutch return spring that I plan to mount off one of the header pipes. At this point in fabrication, the basic shape has been set and the holes for the spring have been drilled. You will also see that cuts have been made into each end and the resulting tabs or ears have been bent up and away from the basic shape. This has been done to create a curve that will more closely mimic the curve of the header tube and allow the bracket to fit more closely and precisely.
A close up shot of the welds that I set in place to close up the gaps that appeared when I bent the tabs up in the previous shot. These were subsequently ground down and smoothed out to produce a finished shape that, except for size and dimensions, looks very similar to the cradle half of an exhaust pipe clamp. The raw material for this was a scrap piece of 1/8th x 1" flat plate that got formed by hand using a vise and hammer.
And....the finished product. In this shot you can get a good sense of the shape of the bracket and the fact that one side of it is shorter than the other. Had not planned the bends that way but it works because I can change the spring tension by moving from the longer side to the shorter one. The gear clamps fits into the pocket and its curve and the curve of the bracket are a fairly close match.
This last shot is a close up of how the bracket and the gear clamp fit together. The clamp was my first choice simply due to possible space and access to the tubes issues. My main concern with it is strength because it will have to withstand the pull of the spring as the clutch arm comes and goes, which would happen fairly frequently. For plan B I would substitute a "U" clamp similar to the U of an exhaust pipe clamp but 1-3/4" ID; that being the diameter of the header tubes. Plan C would be the same type of U but in 1/4 inch cause the one I have now is 5/16ths and might be too large to fit into place. Plan D would be to shave the ceramic coating off the tube and tack the bracket directly in place. My new Miller will let me do that using stainless wire and gas.
Of all the possible options, plan A is the one I personally most favor due to having to lace the clamp in between the tubes down low. Test fit is the next step.
Nick
I am very happy with my front and rear sway bars from UMI, and I am sure you will be too. I did not know about the shock tower brace. I think that I will look into that. I also have the rear air bag set-up as well, and am pleased with them too.Okay, so I didn’t actually do all this today, but this is the most recent work I’ve done to Elsie. Since I had some time available and the funds to do it, I installed the basic UMI parts (springs, sway bars, front and rear chassis braces) along with polyurethane isolators to improve Elsie’s handling. While I was at it I also installed a set of Air-Lift bags for when I want to pull a small luggage trailer.
I learned a few new lessons while doing this job. As I don’t have a big compressor to run air tools, I had to compress the springs manually with my biggest 1/2” ratchet. That experience taught me that when I am ready and able to get the UMI control arms and other steering parts later, it will be worth the long drive to Philipsburg and the extra expense to have them do the installation.
The other thing I learned was to never, ever drop a compressed 600 lb/in coil spring on a concrete floor. I had it positioned in the lower A-arm, and then as I reached for a tool or a bolt, the A-arm shifted and the spring fell to the concrete under the car. The compressor unwound with awesome fury, scraping off a good bit of the spring’s heavy-duty coating and making a lot of little chips in the carport.
The third lesson I learned is that UMI’s shock tower brace will not fit with the factory muffler brackets in place. I had not planned to do any exhaust work on the car yet, that’s the next big job, but I had to modify the existing system in order to install the brace. I wound up cutting off the factory pipe in front of the rear axle and using a couple 45 degree elbows to route it out the driver’s side. There’s currently no muffler as I couldn’t see buying one just to throw it away in a few weeks.
When I cut the tail pipe from the original muffler, I found what I believe are chunks of the original catalytic converter.
Here are some photos:
did some work on the door panels, the original are toast so I cut some new backing from 1/8" hardboard and started to put some insulation on the doors. The local yard has a couple of upper panels with perfect rubber so I'll be picking them up tomorrow.
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