Suspended

I spent two full days working on the t-bird this weekend, minus a few hours for Church, meals, and sleep.  I had planned to finish the front suspension, and install the heat shield.  I got one of the to objectives completed.  I am exhausted, so this post will be brief.  I hope it will be coherent.

Yesterday, I assembled the steering gear.  I had several false starts, and ran into a wall when I tried to assemble the right outer tie rod into the steering arm on the right spindle...

The tie rod has been torqued into the steering arm.  That's as far as it will go.  Not far enough for the cotter pin.  Bummer!

 The hole for the tie rod is tapered.  A 7 degree, "1-1/2 inch per foot" taper.  Overall, the hole is too small.  What do do?  Well, I could remove the spindle and ship it back to the guy I bought it from (were talking weeks)... or I can find a work around.  I spend about half the day yesterday futzing with this, and searching for an appropriate tapered reamer that would safely let me enlarge the hole so the tie rod end would fit properly.  Napa, Autozone, Harbor Freight... no one stocks the reamer I need.  So, I look online.  Speedway has one... for $90.  I might get it in a week. Uncle Packard has a reamer, but it's not quite the right taper.

My serenity is suffering!  Clearly, I don't want to wait, but I also don't want the car to be unsafe.  I sleep on it, and this morning I take a different approach.  I drill the castle nut to accept a lower cotter pin.

This solution seems safe.  I'd like the tie rod end to fit properly... by the way, the left one is fine... but I'll ask Tire Guy about it when he aligns the front end.  He may have a reamer.  If not, I'll buy one then if I need it.  Crisis successfully postponed.

Yesterday I installed the ventilation ducts in the fenders.  They were hard to get out, and almost as hard to get back in.  Here's a shot from the front, showing the scoops at the sides of the front grille, and the ducts behind them.  The ducts go all the way back to the footwells, to provide cool air to the driver and passenger's feet.

I got the steering and suspension assembled, without springs or shocks, installed the bearings & rotors, and installed a wheel.  I then put a jack under the lower a-frame, raised the wheel to the bump stop, and checked for clearance.  The tire had plenty of clearance under the duct, but hit the fender lip when the wheel pointed outward.

Today, I bought some large fender washers, and ground them to fit as a spacer under the bump stop.

1/4" thick heavy steel fender washers - they make good spacers, but needed to be ground to fit.

With spacers

without spacers

A-arm raised against bump stop

About 1/2" clearance under fender lip

Plenty of room at full lock

Lots of room under the ducts with the wheels straight ahead.

This means I can use the 205/75R15 tires that Tire Guy recommends, even though I have lowered the front of the car about an inch or so.  These are close to the stock tire size, and Tire Guy can get them with 3" whitewalls.  They will look awesome!

Next, I installed the '92 Aerostar springs.  Since they are shorter than the stock springs, they are much easier to install.  I didn't need the spring compressor, but I still needed the heavy duty tiedown strap.

Right side

Left side - with shock installed

New shocks... gas monotube, highly recommended

Two days work... not much to look at, but I feel satisfied

Left side.  All the parts pinned and lubed.  Vent ducting has red lead primer inside.

Celebration shot!

I'm very tired.  I'll think about the spiritual significance of all this later.  The sermon this morning focused on God's healing power, and my pastor asked us if we think that God still heals us.  Maybe that's a clue.

Spindles

My goal today was to fit the front suspension.  Ideally, I wanted to also install the steering gear.  On a lark yesterday, I decided to repaint the rebuilt steering box, but it wasn't dry in time to install in the car.   I did manage to prime and paint the rest of the steering parts.  Here's what they looked like when #1 son and I took them out of the car:

Filthy!  Grime, paint dust, rust, old grease... ugh.

Here are the painted parts laid out on the workbench

At least they are clean.  And black.

Some assembly required

I couldn't install the steering parts without the steering box, but I did assemble and lube them.

My major achievement today was installing the A-arms and ball joints, and then test fitting the new drop spindles.  The lower A-arms had to be compressed a little in order to fit.  I never did this before, but I had a plan:

That heavy duty tie down strap has proven to be very useful!

Right side in place.  The hammer is handy too.

Both lower A-arms in.

It was then time to install the ball joints, and the upper A-arms.  The upper arms are shimmed to adjust camber and caster.  When I disassembled the suspension over spring break with #1 son, I used tuna cans to keep track of which sets of shims went under which bolt.

half done, right side

done, right side.  Left side was just as easy.

Next, I tried fitting the new disk brake spindles from drop'n'stop.  No springs, just a test fit.

Right spindle in place, but something doesn't quite fit...

Putting a nut on here would not tighten the spindle!  Did I screw up somewhere?

OK, I actually stopped and read the directions.  The spacer was included in the kit.

The spindle looks pretty good! 

Next time, I will assemble the vent ducting in the fenderwell,  install the front rotor & hub, mount a tire, then slowly jack up the suspension and check for any possible rubbing.  These spindles lower the front of the car about 1.5", which puts the tire that much closer to the vent ducts in the fender.  I may have to change or modify the lower A-arm bumper stops to keep the tires from rubbing over big bumps.  Either that, or get smaller tires... hence the reason that Tire Guy set me up with loaner blackwalls.

Personally, I'd prefer using full stock-size tires... because I can get them with 3-inch wide whitewalls!  Woo hoo!

I spent some time at a hotrod show today (that's two car shows in one weekend!).  Lots of early t-birds there.  Here's a 57 in Peacock Blue.  This is NOT stock for 57, but it shows how good the color looks on a baby bird!  I'm clearly not alone in loving this color!

This is by far my favorite baby-bird color!  Seeing this '57, I feel affirmed choosing this color for Grandma's car.

And here's a 55 in Starmist blue.  This is a '57 color, not originally available in '55... but the car is absolutely beautiful, with a matching custom leather interior.

Beautiful blue '55

Clearly, other folks have had fun with non-stock or non-original colors on their little birds, and their obvious care and attention to detail has resulted in cars of considerable beauty and character.  I'm feeling like I may be able to do the same thing, while honoring my Grandma and allowing God to redeem my past pain associated with this car.

I'm tired this evening, but feeling good about my choices, and my relationships.  I'm feeling blessed.

When Faced with Reality, Take Satisfaction in Small Steps

I really want big, dramatic steps with this car.  My weekends have become precious, and I want to get some feeling of accomplishment each day I devote to working on the car.  At least for now, progress depends on my efforts alone, and I'm feeling the weight of that responsibility... if responsibility is the right word.  I want to take Dad for a ride in it this year, and was hoping to do it late this summer.   Typical of my engineering mentality, I did a critical path analysis of what it will take to get the car drivable.  I no longer think it's possible by the end of the summer... I may not even have the car painted by then.

I spent much of yesterday working on the car, but I don't have much to show for it.  Mostly, I cleaned and refurbished steering components.  I had wanted to install the front suspension, but got caught up cleaning the ball joints and flushing them with grease.

After soaking in lacquer thinner and a good scrubbing, then time with the wire brush wheel.

After flushing with grease... lots of grease... and installing the washers

 I spent about 4 hours using a wire brush wheel on a bench grinder, getting the rust and debris off various steering parts, bolts, nuts, brackets, etc.  It didn't seem too productive, but it was necessary.

I have used the term "wire brushing" to mean removing the non-essential and exposing the valuable core... as in "that proposal needs a good wire brushing".  I know that my own heart occasionally needs a wire brushing, too.  The rust on these parts needed to be scoured off before they could be painted and reassembled.

Maybe my disappointment in my own progress is evidence of an attitude that needs wire brushing, cleaning, scouring.  The core, the goodness of my own heart needs to be revealed before I can invest it fully in this project, and in those I love.  For example, #2 son called today and said that he is having a very good weekend, and that things are going well for him at military school... for a change!  I am grateful for his recent success, and the encouragement he takes from that!  He's been on my heart a lot lately.

Here's a little bit of encouragement I got yesterday myself.  Tire guy had the temporary tires mounted to the rims, and I brought them to the car for the first time.  The color match on the powder coat isn't perfect, but it is very close.

Today, I primed and painted steering parts.  I also went to visit Uncle Packard, Uncle Cord, and Mr. Mechanic at a local car show... it is now officially car show season!  Tomorrow, I will visit another car show with a friend after church, and maybe start assembling the suspension on the t-bird.  If not, I will still be satisfied.  I've decided that satisfaction is actually a matter of intention and attitude, rather than accomplishment

Sometimes, I just get cranky...

It's been rainy over the last week.  I've wanted to paint t-bird parts in the evenings, but I find that the paint doesn't spray or cure properly in moist weather.

Now that the car is back from paint guy, all progress relies solely on ME.   Each day I don't do something on the car means another day's delay until it's running again.  I feel the pressure of needing to get this car functional enough for Dad to ride in it, at least once.  Still, I don't want to rush and do a crappy job.  Here's what I've been doing:

Last week, I took the seat parts, cover, and foam to an "Auto Upholstery Guy", who quoted me a high but still reasonable price to assemble the seat.  I looked at all of the Porsche interiors in his shop, and listened to him explain everything he had in mind to do.  He clearly does quality work, and knows how to make a sports car seat comfortable.  I agreed to his price, and left the seat with him.

I also stopped by a custom auto paint shop, and ordered paint color matched to the seat upholstery (Dresden blue) and dash upholstery (blue-green).  I will need this for the steering wheel (green) and lower dash (blue), as well as a few other areas of the interior.   Several weeks ago, I cleaned and conditioned the vinyl on the dashboard and garnish rails, and I'm convinced that they don't need to be replaced... yet.  The lower dash, on the other hand, does need to be refinished... as well as the steering wheel.  The timing of doing that is starting to wear on me.  If I want to do it before installing the engine, then that painting job will be on the critical path for completion.  Another stresser for me.

The wheels have been powdercoated and delivered to Tire Guy.  I purchased a New Old Stock wheel off eBay for the spare (which was stolen from my back yard 35 years ago), and got it to Powder Coat Guy this week. 

In hindsight, I really have been doing a lot to keep this project moving.  But, I've been feeling tense, agitated, insecure.  I've been feeling cranky.  Minor inconveniences have been making me angry.  Friday was a particularly bad day... I wasn't very patient with anybody.  I have to ask why.  Maybe it's pressure at work, which has been building up as I start to question my career direction.  Maybe it's concern over my Dad, and my frustration trying to have meaningful conversations with him.  Maybe it's just uncertainty, and not feeling affirmed or cared for.  Maybe it's lack of intimacy with God.  Whatever it is, I'm taking it as a wake up call, an indication of degrading emotional and spiritual health.  I need to take steps to get healthy.  This car contains a message about restoration, not frustration.  How do I change my attitude, and avoid the old resentment and despair that drove me to sell the car 35 years ago?

Last weekend I primed and painted the forward frame.  Yesterday, I pulled off the masking, revealing a suitable home for my freshly rebuilt engine:

That's more like it!  Some encouragement.  I need to take time to celebrate this, and not just focus on everything else that has to be done before the car can be driven.  The front A-arms are now ready to be assembled.  Tire guy pressed the bushings in for me yesterday.  He will install temporary blackwall tires on the freshly powdercoated rims tomorrow, which I can use to check for fit once the suspension is assembled.  If the size is OK, I will exchange them for wide whitewalls, but probably after the car is painted.

In the spirit of celebration & gratitude, I decided to mount the y-block emblem on the fender again.  Yes, it's only in primer, but I wanted to remind myself of the hope I felt as a 15 year old when I drilled the holes to reposition the emblem & remove the hashmarks.

No, I wasn't crazy.  It looks good!  It reflects my priorities and desire for simplicity.  Looking at it makes me feel somehow vindicated.

I've been helping Uncle Packard with his cars, too.  We are learning to more deeply appreciate each others company.  Driving home from his garage yesterday, I realized that I'm not quite so cranky.  Perhaps everything will be OK after all.

Reflections on Resurrection

It is good and proper that we should each wrestle with the meaning of our own lives.  This is not a Christian, Jewish, or Hindu thing... it is fundamental to our human nature.  It is how God made us.
Please listen to the finale of Mahler's  Resurrection symphony... if you don't have time for the all of it, at least catch the last 3 minutes.  If there is a heart in your chest, it will be touched.

"What does the worker gain from his toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on men.  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end" Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 (NIV)

Mahler, an ethnic Jew like Solomon, also wrestled with the same fundamental question about "what God has done from beginning to end".  The difference is that God blessed him with the genius and creativity to articulate it through music in such a beautiful, dramatic, and compelling way.  This music declares that there must be something more than this fleeting, corporeal existence!  Something that endures!  There must be something in life that has meaning, significance, and weight!

How does this relate to auto restoration?  Last night, on recommendation from my #1 son, I watched "Love the Beast".  I was touched.  Please indulge me in one more video reference.


The original designer makes a car the way it is for a reason... with vision, care, forbearance, and in some cases, with passion.  The car, when new, put "flesh" on that vision, inserted it into our corporate reality.  Over time, the accumulating rust, verdigris, grease and grime, the dents and "pitted chrome" provide evidence of its existence in that reality.  Of its journey.  What is important is not the car's condition, but the memories evoked in the hearts of those who experience it.  Eric Bana's film centers on what appears to be a relationship with an inanimate object... but it is actually much more than that.  It is an icon, a talisman, a reminder of key relationships in his life.  "A campfire to me and my friends"

To my "car culture" generation, the loss of a beloved car is an emotional blow more severe than the lost of a favorite pet.  Through my Uncles, I have been taught that cars should be honored.  They are repositories of memories and emotions that mere photographs and videos can't convey.  I'm now feeling the responsibility associated with restoring my Grandma's car.  This is not a responsibility that I take lightly.  It is somehow profound, a sacred trust.  And it is a part of my own restoration, of reconciling memories and giving weight to my experiences... both good and bad.

Resurrection is about new beginnings.  It's about hope, not just for myself, but for those I care about... both now and in the future.  Being renewed, day by day.  Regardless of my past, I can still be a joy to my Creator.

My hope for this t-bird is not just to give weight to my story, as compelling as it may be.  It is also not just to honor the memory of my Grandma, and the previous owners in my family.  My hope for this car is the future experiences and friendships that form around it, and the future relationships it engenders for myself and my family.

Resurrection is not something to be experienced only after this earthy life is over.  It is something to be experienced now.  God has provided a way to make me right with him... today!  I simply need to seek eternity on a daily basis.

"I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?"  John 11:25-26 (NIV)

Bird Bones

Last weekend, my extended family gathered around Uncle Packard to celebrate his 80th birthday.  I was in his garage early Saturday to start preparing the t-bird front chassis for paint.  He was in his garage adjusting the timing after replacing the rods on his 36 Packard convertible sedan.  As I worked, each of my cousins came by, one at a time, which allowed me to have a delightful stream of private conversations.  "Cousin Mustang" helped me put the rear window in the hardtop and take the top off the car.  He then helped me place the seat in the car, and place cushions on the springs.  We both sat in the car, and determined that it wasn't practical to attempt to move the seat back any farther.  Cousin Mustang then picked up a power scraper and helped me scrape and sand the forward part of the frame.

It's probably just vanity on my part, but I want the car to look like I have done a "frame off" restoration, even though I haven't.  There is something inherently right about seeing a freshly painted frame under a freshly rebuilt engine, in a freshly painted engine compartment.
Having the seat in the car provided a venue for conversations with each of my other cousins, in turn.  We talked about grandma, and about Dad.   I got to tell the story of the car many, many times... I hope I'm getting better at it.  The party lasted all day, and well into the night.   Parties in my family tradition involve large quantities of conversation and food, and a fair amount of alcohol to accompany each.  This was a very good party.  My cousins are very good company!  Sadly, Uncle Packard couldn't get his 36 convertible sedan to run correctly.
Today I went back to Uncle Packard's garage to prime the frame that we stripped last weekend.  I used black epoxy primer, which is pretty cool stuff!  I'm pleased with the results:

I will return and paint the frame tomorrow.  It probably won't look much different with black paint on it, but it will be more durable.
Uncle Packard was still having trouble with the '36, so he invited Mr. Mechanic to help out.  It turns out that the engine timing was off 180 degrees, which is a common mistake.  By mid day, the engine was purring like a large cat.  Uncle and I had another light lunch together, and spoke about Dad.  We both agree that Dad is a difficult person to like, but we both care about him deeply. 
I'm struck by this paradox.  I love my Dad, but he seems to make every effort to avoid emotional connection with me.  He and I will be driving to #1 Son's graduation next month, a road trip taking several days.  I have mixed feelings about spending so much time with him.  He is not a gifted conversationalist... he tends to lecture, seldom listens, and very rarely asks.
Has my relationship with him gotten worse over the years?  No, in fact it has gotten better.  It's just that, after dealing with my Mom's death, and my Mother-in-law's death, I really have little tolerance for empty "conversation", or lectures.  I want weight in my relationships.  I want bones.
The front end of my t-bird is now hanging in pieces in my garage, having just been primed and painted.  They are like the bones of the car, of this family hierloom.  Bird bones.

They have been carefully cleaned, scraped, wire brushed, primed, and painted.  Restored.
Right now, I'm not so confident that the bones of my relationship with my father can be so easily restored, let alone identified.  Many are broken, some are missing.  Dad is slowly dying, but he's not yet ready to face that reality.  I feel helpless.
Ezekiel 37:7