Entering Dark, Unknown Places

This weekend I went somewhere with the t-bird that I had been dreading. The entire underside of the car had been a pretty unpleasant place, but I had been deliberately avoiding the rear end. It had been covered with grime and mud, and it had been leaking. Because of the holes in the gas tank, it stank. Fixing differentials seems to be more of an art than a science, a kind of expensive black magic.





Frankly, I was a little scared of what I might find back there. There was clearly rust and grime, but I feared decay, neglect, and disappointment. Much like the dark underside of my childhood home. I don't like thinking about that either! But I felt called to face my fears, and enter into this unknown place... the one remaining area of the car that I hadn't yet touched.

Friday started well. I was worried that the drums would be frozen solid on the axles, and it would take hours or days to get them off. I was wrong! A little penetrating oil, and two moderate taps with the light sledge, and they each broke loose and slid off!




It had been a long time since I had worked on drum brakes. I was thinking that would be hard... but after reading the manual and finding the brake tool, it was no problem!















OK, well, the axles have to be hard to get out, right? The manual says I need a special tool, with a slide hammer. I don't have a special tool, but I'll try anyway... Hey, it's pretty cool how the hole in the axle flange lines up with the nuts on the housing!




No hammer required... the axles just slid out!









I took the drums and axles down to Tire Guy's shop, and left them for turning and pressing new bearings, respectively.
I was feeling pretty good about this. It seemed like the car WANTED to be fixed! I began to reflect on how much more pleasant life is when things like this go smoothly, especially when I was expecting the worst. Then I started remembering those times when I had made life unpleasant for others, even in their own pain. I deeply regret the way I acted then.

Saturday didn't go so well. Tire guy told me that the drums had been turned too many times, and were out of specification... the walls were too thin now, and they could overheat. I should think about getting new drums eventually. He pressed the new bearings on the axles, and I took them back to the garage and prettied everything up




While the paint dried, I installed the front calipers, and then the front sway bar. There is a good chance that I got it in upside down, but I won't know until I try to put the radiator, stone guard, and grille in place.















I worked entirely too late on Saturday night, spending nearly 8 hours under the rear of the car with a power drill and wire brush wheel. My hands were numb and my forearms sore. The amount of dirt and grime under there was really remarkable! Especially so knowing that the car sat still, covered, for the last 40 or so years! Where did all this dirt and grime come from? Well, probably from the neglect and abuse it suffered during its first 17 years of life.




Neglect for the first 17 years of life... that got me thinking. At 17, I escaped my home of origin and fled to college. I enrolled in ROTC, so I could be sure of staying in college... and away from home! I closed the book on my childhood, determined to move on and not look back. I found a very sweet, supportive, attentive woman who later became my wife. But I left behind my brother and sister, and they lingered in that neglectful environment for another decade.

How can I possibly clean that up? No amount of wire brushing will restore those relationships! Or will it... I am pleased to say that I now have a close, supportive relationship with my sister, and we relied heavily on each other through Mom's lingering heart disease and eventual death. Now that Dad's cancer has advanced beyond any curative treatment, my brother seems more interested in mending his relationship with me. I have longed for this for decades!

After the wire brushing was done, and the area wiped down with lacquer thinner, I drained the nasty old gear oil and removed the rear cover. I was curious, but kind of fearful.









Well, there are no broken teeth, and no hideous wear marks! There is, however, a layer of varnish, a very sticky thickened oil, on the lower part of the ring gear and casing. I'm guessing that this was deposited as the car sat in a single position, unmoved, for decades on end. I need to consult with Mr. Mechanic, but this varnish doesn't seem to effect the gears when they are turning, and I suspect that trying to get it off would do more harm than good.

I then focused on priming the differential "pumpkin", housing, and springs with red lead "rust destroyer". That's how I left the car for another week, until the primer dries and I can paint it over with chassis black, and start reassembly.




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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.