Sunday, June 8, 2014

A More Peaceful Existence


Muffler Guy replaced the passenger side muffler on Friday.  As you can see, the hole in the top of the failed muffler is pretty dramatic!  No wonder the exhaust noise was so loud!  The rest of the muffler looks fine, and the driver side looks fine, too... no external signs of overheating.  The cause of this failure is still a mystery... it is a solid, well-made muffler with double-wall construction.  The replacement muffler (Walker 17867) is almost identical... the manufacturer of the muffler that failed was recently purchased by another company, and this model is no longer available.

Friday evening, #1 Son and I drove Nell to Cruise Night.  It was a very pleasant (and quiet) ride, and a good bonding experience.  The turnout was much heavier than earlier in the season, and there were quite a few new cars there to look at.  Nell seemed right at home, and got plenty of attention.
There are still a few minor things that I would like to do to the car... some minor wiring updates, installing the 4-way flashers, a better solution for the exhaust tips, maybe fabricate a new seat mount to gain another inch or two of leg room.  None of these things are urgent.  I'd like a nicer set of hubcaps, but that's not really important either.

What is important to me right now is just to remember how gracious God has been to me, and to let that gratitude flow out of me to the people I care about.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Near Disaster

I took Nell to the muffler shop this morning.  The passenger side muffler has a huge hole blown out of the top, just under the floor!  No wonder the exhaust noise was so loud!  Muffler Guy ordered a replacement, and I'll have it installed on Friday.

I came home and pulled into the garage, opened the hood to disconnect the battery like I always do when I leave the car for any length of time, and then noticed that the fuel pump looked a little funny. As I reached down to wipe the wetness off the fuel pump, my hand brushed against the flexible fuel line that goes between the frame and the pump.  The line cracked open a little at this slight touch, and fuel started spilling out!  I had just filled the car up with gas, and the fuel leak was below the level of the gas tank!

Thank God that this happened in my garage, and not on the road somewhere!  I quickly jacked up the front of the car, elevating the leak above the level of the gas tank, and removed the damaged hose.  Here's what it looks like... it came apart as I was taking it out:
I'll be picking up a replacement hose (or two) from Ford Guy this afternoon.  He claims that the mandatory ethanol in our gasoline has significantly shortened the life and increased the failure rate of rubber parts like this, and there is really no effective substitute yet.  Looks like I may have to stock up on these little guys, and be ready to replace one every year!  Bummer...

But of course, things could be worse.  At least Nell didn't go up in a fireball as we were driving down some mountain road, and my family and I are very much alive and healthy!

Update: I got two replacement flex fuel lines from Ford Guy.  After this experience, I think I will always want to carry a spare!  Here is the victory shot.  Nell is running again:

It seems that my experience with Nell is transitioning from "restoration" to "maintenance".  That sounds a lot less fun, and a lot less predictable.  Things break when they want to, and I have no control of that.  I still greatly enjoy driving this car, and really feel blessed in doing so, but I'm also starting to realize how unpredictable my life is, and how tenuous is my hold on it.  There may be another unforeseen 'rotten fuel line' somewhere else in my life, on the verge of bursting!

Well, the best I can do is to take life one day at a time.  At least the future should be exciting!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Another 23₵, more shrapnel in the oil pan!

Well, I replaced the Mallory Unilite distributor with the re-curved '57 Ford distributor.  Nell is running well, except for the muffler noise.  I'll take her to the muffler shop tomorrow.  My son even helped me do the distributor swap today.  I'd be feeling very good about this, if it weren't for a rather disturbing discovery about the Mallory distributor...
Yes, the rolled pin broke off... again!  I tapped it out with a drift for a better look.
About a third of the pin broke off, and is now somewhere in the engine.  I'm hoping that its in the bottom of the oil pan, in pieces large enough that they won't make it through the oil pickup screen.  I gotta get me one of those magnetic drain plugs!

I replaced the pin (again), and I'm keeping the Mallory as a backup distributor.  Let's hope that I don't have to use it.

Here's a couple of cellphone "victory shots" of the Ford distributor installed.

The resistor isn't hooked up... the Pertronix unit doesn't need it.  I kept it on the engine in just in case the Pertronix unit fails and I have to install the points and condenser.