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.