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WHICH WAY MADNESS
Apr 28, 2009

You recall this living nightmare, you take comfort in its familiar pain. You smell fermentation and can hear a dull, unending beeping. Someone shouts in a language you do not know.
You love your family. YOU. LOVE. THEM.
Welcome to Red Lobster. Come see what's fresh. Today.

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

Edit: Even though no one reads this thread...

I am! Just caught up, wanted to let you know I think you're doing a great job. Make sure to get video when you get her rolling again. My dad had a '73 Nova, but my only experience of it was seeing it sit in a field until he sold it. Would have loved to have been able to do what you're doing.

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Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Saturday morning. Work commences.

Parents came up for combo my birthday/mom's birthday so the plan was to use dad's hands and tools to wrestle the heart back into this pig. I'll say this right out front: assembling the hoist was a hell of a lot easier with 2 people. Anyway, got poo poo moved out of the way and hooked up the hoist.

Up we go:

(Yes, that poster is what you think it is. It will be hung soon.)



Initial insertion wasn't too bad. Rubbed a little paint off the steering box, but everything else was clear. I was concerned about the master/booster, but no problems there.


Dad brought a little come-along that ended up being really drat handy. It helped to bring the transmission up a bit since we didn't have a load leveler


Next few pictures are standard engine going in fare:






Once the major obstacles were cleared, we could shift focus a bit to the actual mounts.


Featuring my expert trans cooler line wrangling:



Got the mounts fairly lined up so I went under. I would be under there for the next two hours or so. Unfortunately, the creeper wouldn't fit between the jack holding the transmission up and the ramp. At least it wasn't cold.



No pictures here as my photographer (wife) went on a walk with my mom and the dog. We wrestled with two loving bolts for almost two and a half hours. Got the driver side in, couldn't get the passenger. Fought that for a while, but gave up. Pulled the driver side out and got the passenger side right in. Now the driver side (that went RIGHT loving in the first time) didn't want to line up at all. We fought this for longer than we probably should have, but my dad and I are both stubborn asses so time marched on as we struggled. Eventually, we came to the realization that we should shift focus to the passenger side. Out came the passenger bolt, driver side went right in (bastard) and we took 5 minutes to think. Eventually, I got the passenger bolt about halfway home and dad lifted the engine just a hair with a length of 2x4. As soon as he hit the sweet spot, the bolt sunk home.

Eyebrows raised in surprise


Threw the nuts on the bolts and grabbed the vacuum hose for the brake booster.





So here it sits. It's been out of the car for drat near 18 months and it's finally back in. Nothing else is hooked up or installed as I was too loving sore to turn any more wrenches and we were both ready for some liquid celebration. So we broke the hoist down, returned it, and hit the showers. After all, it was my birthday weekend and I had somewhere to be that night:


I'll start getting poo poo put back together this weekend and probably snap some more pictures of the progress. The next time this fucker comes out it won't be going back in.

Whaddya want from me?

WHICH WAY MADNESS
Apr 28, 2009

You recall this living nightmare, you take comfort in its familiar pain. You smell fermentation and can hear a dull, unending beeping. Someone shouts in a language you do not know.
You love your family. YOU. LOVE. THEM.
Welcome to Red Lobster. Come see what's fresh. Today.

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

So here it sits. It's been out of the car for drat near 18 months and it's finally back in. Nothing else is hooked up or installed as I was too loving sore to turn any more wrenches and we were both ready for some liquid celebration. So we broke the hoist down, returned it, and hit the showers. After all, it was my birthday weekend and I had somewhere to be that night:


I'll start getting poo poo put back together this weekend and probably snap some more pictures of the progress. The next time this fucker comes out it won't be going back in.

Whaddya want from me?

:frog: Well hey, you keep making steady progress like this, pretty soon you'll be...

:frogc00l: Back in the High Life Again...

Yeaaaaaahhhhh!




(:smith: I'm sorry, I couldn't help it)

Looking good, also, happy birthday!

StormDrain
May 22, 2003

Thirteen Letter
Great success! I hope that builds momentum.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





So I'm reading through this and the further down I go, I start flashing back to holy poo poo I'm old about 15 years ago when my dad and I were replacing the engine mounts in my GMC. "Huh, yeah, those things were a cast-iron bitch, wonder if he had trouble with a hoist..."

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

No pictures here as my photographer (wife) went on a walk with my mom and the dog. We wrestled with two loving bolts for almost two and a half hours. Got the driver side in, couldn't get the passenger. Fought that for a while, but gave up. Pulled the driver side out and got the passenger side right in. Now the driver side (that went RIGHT loving in the first time) didn't want to line up at all. We fought this for longer than we probably should have, but my dad and I are both stubborn asses so time marched on as we struggled. Eventually, we came to the realization that we should shift focus to the passenger side. Out came the passenger bolt, driver side went right in (bastard) and we took 5 minutes to think. Eventually, I got the passenger bolt about halfway home and dad lifted the engine just a hair with a length of 2x4. As soon as he hit the sweet spot, the bolt sunk home.

:ortiz: That sounds very, very familiar. Congrats on the progress!

Seat Safety Switch
May 27, 2008

MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.

Pillbug
Fuckin' psyched! This car rules.

Slung Blade
Jul 11, 2002

IN STEEL WE TRUST

Your birthday is one day before mine.


What the actual gently caress.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...

Slung Blade posted:

Your birthday is one day before mine.


What the actual gently caress.

It's actually on the 15th, but Wednesday's a bit of a poo poo day for birthday celebrations. Happy late birthday!

Slung Blade
Jul 11, 2002

IN STEEL WE TRUST

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

It's actually on the 15th, but Wednesday's a bit of a poo poo day for birthday celebrations. Happy late birthday!

Still though!


Same to you man.

mafoose
Oct 30, 2006

volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and vulvas and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dongs and volvos and dons and volvos and dogs and volvos and cats and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs
That's a bad rear end hoist! I can't do motors with that much slack in the chain. Also the come along thing is a great idea, if you've ever used a load leveler, you'd know they rarely do much good, and are a pain to adjust under load.

It's too late on the mounts, but what I usually do is have them loose on the pedestal to motor or pedestal to cross member (which ever is easier to get to) and then slowly tighten them up and lower the motor once everything is close. They usually pop right into place this way, and it's the only way I've been able to do engine swaps by myself.

Get rid of the metal fan! Since you're "retromodding", get a Volvo/Taurus/Contour efan setup (they move a lot of cfm and usually one of them should fit your rad), Volvo 2 speed efan relay, Saab coolant tee, VW efan 2 speed switch, wire it up and you have a dummy proof almost OEM efan setup.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...

mafoose posted:

That's a bad rear end hoist! I can't do motors with that much slack in the chain. Also the come along thing is a great idea, if you've ever used a load leveler, you'd know they rarely do much good, and are a pain to adjust under load.

It's too late on the mounts, but what I usually do is have them loose on the pedestal to motor or pedestal to cross member (which ever is easier to get to) and then slowly tighten them up and lower the motor once everything is close. They usually pop right into place this way, and it's the only way I've been able to do engine swaps by myself.

Get rid of the metal fan! Since you're "retromodding", get a Volvo/Taurus/Contour efan setup (they move a lot of cfm and usually one of them should fit your rad), Volvo 2 speed efan relay, Saab coolant tee, VW efan 2 speed switch, wire it up and you have a dummy proof almost OEM efan setup.

Thanks! After 5 minutes of research, I think I may look into a Contour setup. I'll be going aluminum rad/e-fan setup eventually, but if I can get a cheap one put together for now, I may do it.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
More progress made last Saturday. No pictures as it was just me and I got pretty grimy. More focused on the job at hand and all that. Engine is pretty well buttoned up and ready to rock.

Let's roll back a little bit to the Saturday before (4/25) for a minute. I wanted to change my trans filter and gasket as it'd been pissing fluid all over my floor for the last 15 months and I figured the opportunity was ripe since I didn't have a crossmember to gently caress around with (not installed yet). Drain plug out, no drama. Pulled the pan bolts out to drop the front of the pan to facilitate draining and I heard the very distinctive sound of something metallic and large-ish rolling/clacking around in there. Crap. I didn't remember any weird issues from when I drove it home. Fluid drained, pan all the way off, cringe and look to see the source of the noise...

It was one of the 2 screws that hold the filter in place. Ok then. Old filter and gasket off, new filter and gasket on, BOTH screws tightened. I cleaned up the pan and hit it with some paint, too. Why not? New pan gasket and pan back on. Time to get the crossmember in. As I'm looking at the transmission mount to get that back together, it dawns on me that I'm only holding half of it. The other half is still bolted to the transmission. Hm. Unbolted the half still clinging to the trans and hit the internet to find somewhere with a replacement. The hunt begins.

Autozone claimed to have one in stock so I rolled over to see. Luckily, I brought a bolt with me to make sure. I like that they ask what engine the car has in it, but they don't ask about transmission. These cars had no less than 4 different trans options. Sidenote: if you go to a parts store looking for poo poo for a classic car, you will get dumb comments. It's inevitable. Anyway, counter monkey says they have one in stock so I have him grab it. I try the bolt and it's not even close. I had found a mount online with a different model number than what he gave me so I asked him about that one. None in stock. I leave AZ and head down the road.

Not 2 blocks away there's a new O'Reilly store so I swing in. Rattle off the car (again, engine choice, no trans choice) and he pulls the same drat thing out that AZ had. I ask him about the other part number (can't remember the drat thing now) and he's got one. I ask to see it and it's a winner. Grab 3 quarts of fluid and I'm on my way.

Get home, mount on, crossmember on, bolts torqued, zero problems. Call it a day.

Moving ahead to last Saturday (5/2) and it's basically just a few hours of hooking poo poo up. Torque motor mounts, trans linkage, manifold flanges (one of which was being a right bitch and got notched for its efforts), wiring, blah blah blah. All that poo poo's now done and I just need to get the radiator support back on so I can get the radiator in and finish plugging in the rest of the wiring. It will be nice to not be under the car for a change. My back's just about fried at the moment.

Got a pretty good quarterly bonus from work a couple weeks ago. A good chunk of that will be buying new tires for the 'stang, but the rest will be going in the budget. Tires are getting put on this weekend. Should have around 200 bucks to put in the kitty.

New springs are in the immediate future.

Elmnt80
Dec 30, 2012


Transmission/engine mounts are a shitshow to look up no matter what its for and are incorrect about 50% of the time, even with the correct info or a vin number entered on a newer car. Making it a classic car throws a whole new level of fun into the mix. :eng101:

How far would you say you are from being able to actually go for a drive this thing? It seems like you're pretty close.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...

Elmnt80 posted:

How far would you say you are from being able to actually go for a drive this thing? It seems like you're pretty close.

Not too far off, I don't think. I obviously need to get the front end put back together so I can get it running. Once that hurdle is cleared, I'll definitely be swapping rear springs and possibly front springs. Probably new shocks, too. I need to get the instrument panel back in there, too. Once I get it to where I'm actually comfortable driving it, it needs a sticker and insurance. I'd like to have it on the road at some point this summer.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...


:hellyeah:

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
DUN


DUN


DUNNN...


Got into a pretty good groove yesterday and got the front end drat near buttoned up. I'm still loving with the headlight buckets as I don't really remember how the spring attaches. I've got the driver side installed with the spring on the bucket itself, but it doesn't feel right. Spring's all out of whack, too. I'm thinking it may actually go on the trim ring around the lamp. I'll have to go gently caress around with it. I'll say this, though: super loving happy with how the grille looks. Really glad I went with the black. It was a bitch getting the support and the grill/filler panel in there, but I managed to do it without breaking anything, so I can't complain too much.

Rear leaves should be here on Tuesday, so I'll start loving with those next weekend. Can't wait for that. The front suspension has been nagging at me, though. It's still at basically full droop even though the engine's back in. I figured it would settle back down once it went back in, but it hasn't really happened. Front springs will happen after the rears; might even happen this month. I figure I'll get it all figured out when those go in.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

I've got the driver side installed with the spring on the bucket itself, but it doesn't feel right. Spring's all out of whack, too. I'm thinking it may actually go on the trim ring around the lamp. I'll have to go gently caress around with it.

It's been a long time since I hosed with sealed beam lights (and they were all squares anyway), but I want to say the springs go on the mounting ring that holds the headlamp in the bucket, not on the bucket itself.

jhcain
Nov 8, 2005

EXCEEDING THE LIMIT? I'LL RUN YOUR ASS OFF THE ROAD 'CUZ I'M A PASSIVE-AGRESSIVE SPHINCTER-SUCKER. I FEEL INADEQUATE AS A MAN.

some texas redneck posted:

It's been a long time since I hosed with sealed beam lights (and they were all squares anyway), but I want to say the springs go on the mounting ring that holds the headlamp in the bucket, not on the bucket itself.

Yup. Goes on one of the annoying, possibly sharp tabs on the stainless ring that mounts the lamp itself. I usually install that last, after the retaining screws. Helps to have a little skinny hook-ended spring installing doodad handy.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Yeah, after looking at some illustrations in the manual(s), I'm pretty sure it goes in the trim ring. That's what I get for not taking pictures.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Welp, ordered the springs last week and FedEx said the package was delivered today.

The package was delivered. Here it is:



ARE YOU loving KIDDING ME? YOU ASSCLOWNS hosed UP LEAF SPRINGS WITH A loving BIKE RACK? COME THE gently caress ON!

Customer service has been contacted...

Some of the Sheep
May 25, 2005
POSSIBLY IT WOULD BE SIMPLER IF I ASKED FOR A LIST OF THE HARMLESS CREATURES OF THE AFORESAID CONTINENT?
Lol wtf.

JBark
Jun 27, 2000
Good passwords are a good idea.
Haha, though in their defense, that's a top of the line rack, goes for $400 on Amazon. :)

Commodore_64
Feb 16, 2011

love thy likpa




Vertex Swing is almost Leaf Spring, right? I once had Amazon ship me 5 spark plugs and a tube of lipstick that was roughly the same outer dimensions but obviously not the same packaging. Looked like someone put a barcode label over the existing one to fool the inventory. Later I read that failures to fill orders counted against the poor footslogging warehouse workers who go to grab the parts regardless of reason, and it all made sense.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
I CAN SEE!


drat I love that grille.

So the vendor was apologetic and replaced the springs pretty quickly. Got the replacements on Friday. Box was a little beat up, but I expected that with 90 pounds of bullshit in a cardboard box. All parts were accounted for and in good shape, but I was crushed to find a gross lack of stickers. I just registered the springs so maybe they'll mail me some.

I didn't get the springs totally installed today, unfortunately. Apparently, I don't own a 5/8" drill bit so I need to pick one up so I can hog out the holes in the anchor plates so the new U-bolts will fit. They're pretty beefy. Need to pick up a 7/8" deep well socket for those, too. I got the driver side installed front and rear, so I just need to get the anchor plate done and I can call that side nearly complete. Passenger side is currently naked. The new springs reuse the front mounts, so I decided to clean up and paint the passenger side mount to match the driver's. I didn't pull it off when I swapped the rear end so it was still pretty nasty. Kinda put a damper on things since I had to wait for the paint to dry. Ah well. Cleaned up what I could back there and called it done for the day.

As you can see up there ^^^, I got the headlight springs figured out. Swung by Horrible Freight and picked up a little spring tool for 5 bucks. This guy. Got the retaining rings situated and yanked the spring on there. Weaseled the bulbs in and that's that. They'll need to be aimed since I replaced the adjusting hardware. Got everything plugged in, routed some wires, bolted the battery tray in and dropped in the battery. It's probably deader than gently caress so I'll need to borrow my father-in-law's charger again. Filled the radiator and the transmission with appropriate fluids. I need to pick up a quart of power steering fluid to top that off, too. With all that done, I turned off the stereo and called it a day.

Things are progressing nicely. It's a pleasant change to be dealing with clean suspension components.

E: gently caress, I'VE GOT A STEP-BIT THAT WILL DO 5/8". DAMMIT.

Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 22:21 on May 17, 2015

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.
Maybe it's just me, but it looks like the driver side light is not put in straight. Usually there is a tab on the bulb, and a notch in the bucket. So, if it really is crooked, either the bulb isn't seated in the bucket right, or the bucket isn't lined up to the car right. I think?

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
It's not straight, but it's not keyed. I can probably loosen a couple screws and spin it, but I'm not worried about it.

Raluek
Nov 3, 2006

WUT.

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

It's not straight, but it's not keyed. I can probably loosen a couple screws and spin it, but I'm not worried about it.

Oh, strange. The ones on my Impala are, I wonder why they changed them.

jhcain
Nov 8, 2005

EXCEEDING THE LIMIT? I'LL RUN YOUR ASS OFF THE ROAD 'CUZ I'M A PASSIVE-AGRESSIVE SPHINCTER-SUCKER. I FEEL INADEQUATE AS A MAN.

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

It's not straight, but it's not keyed. I can probably loosen a couple screws and spin it, but I'm not worried about it.

Oh, it's keyed. DOT thing - if it's crooked, the beam shape will be canted, as well. The stupid little nub and associated notch in the bucket are difficult to find and line up sometimes, but it's there. Love that nova.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Ok, so maybe it's keyed :). I'll loosen the screws tonight and I should be able to turn that bulb.

Edit: Tadaa

Boaz MacPhereson fucked around with this message at 01:39 on May 19, 2015

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Question: How many holes can be drilled with a Harbor Freight step-bit?

Answer: Approximately one and three quarters.


I really wanted to get the rear springs finished this weekend, but was stymied. The holes for the u-bolts in the anchor plates need to be hogged out to 5/8" to fit the new bolts provided with the kit. As you can see above, I didn't get very far with that. Oh well, gotta buy a bit. I did get the passenger leaf up and in place, though. I wish they would have provided a little more lube for the poly bushings. I feel like some may have been a little lacking. Oh well. If it squeaks, it squeaks. Front mount bolted right up, but as I was fighting with the rear shackle I managed to drop the loving thing on my face. That was really fun and I can't wait to do it again sometime. Luckily I have a really hard head and it didn't cause any serious damage. The spring is fine.

So with the springs hung and the axle resting on them, I stopped for the day. I'll need to get that bit so I can enlarge the holes in the plates. Might need to hit the mounts on the axle itself as well as the u-bolts don't really want to go in the holes. Got one in, but the others are being pretty stubborn.





Those shocks are sexy, right? Bilsteins will be in the near future. Front springs will be the next purchase though.

Got the power steering fluid topped off and the battery installed as well. Battery's deader than fried chicken, so I need to borrow my father-in-law's charger again to get that going. I'll probably see if the loving thing will start next weekend.

WHICH WAY MADNESS
Apr 28, 2009

You recall this living nightmare, you take comfort in its familiar pain. You smell fermentation and can hear a dull, unending beeping. Someone shouts in a language you do not know.
You love your family. YOU. LOVE. THEM.
Welcome to Red Lobster. Come see what's fresh. Today.
Well I'm glad the spring is ok :v:

Glad you're alright, can't wait to see this hit the road again.

mafoose
Oct 30, 2006

volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and vulvas and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dongs and volvos and dons and volvos and dogs and volvos and cats and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs and volvos and dogs
I forget, did you do the front suspension bushings?

If you did, and you tightened it up at full droop, that's probably why the front is so high. You have to tighten them up under load. I usually put the front tires on ramps before tightening everything, give it a few bounces, then torque everything to spec.

You could also remove the tires, loosen everything, place a jack under the knuckle, jack it up til it starts to lift the car, then tighten everything. Sway bars need both wheels load though.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Front suspension is all completely stock as of right now. Front springs will be happening soon so it's all coming back apart. I torqued a few things I probably shouldn't have so I'll make sure to put it back on the ramps before I get the torque wrench out next time. Probably pick up the other front shock and do those, too.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
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Got home from work yesterday and found an alarmingly large puddle under the front of the car. Eventually, I trace it back to the feed line on the power steering pump. When I topped it off the other day, it proceeded to leak right back down to the level of the fitting. Now I get to figure out how the hell to get a wrench on it.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
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Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
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ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Didn't feel like loving with the PS pump this weekend. Shifted focus a little bit. Went out on Sunday with the intention of buying a drill bit for the spring plates and some parts to rig up the parking brakes.

As you may recall, I swapped in the brakes from a late fourth gen F-body. The parking brake setup is obviously a bit different than the original drums that the car was equipped with. The solution I found and will be using is to get a couple replacement F-body parking brake cables, build a bracket to mount them to the backing plates, shorten the cables, and then hook them up to the intermediate cable.

As I said, I went out Sunday to get all these parts and pick up a drill bit. The bit was a bust and I didn't feel like spending 40 bucks on a step bit. I'll be getting one online for about $18. Much better. Parking brake part acquisition went much better. Got some 1.5" angle iron and a couple round steel spacers to make some new ends. Picked up some brazing rod to hold them on as well.

Main task of the day was to get the brackets roughed out. Three feet of angle iron plus some quality time with a hacksaw yielded these:


You can see an end of the cable at the top of the paper there. The brackets will get two more holes for the backing plate bolts and an arc cut out to clear the axle tube. I'll try to finish those up this coming weekend. Once I get them bolted up to the backing plates and get my anchor plates on, I can route my cable to see how much I need to cut off. Once I get the outer cable trimmed down and the end reattached, I'll attach my spacers to the inner cable and I can call my parking brakes done.

Also, 93% humidity in a garage can eat my rear end.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
Went out and got my big boy bit. Hogged out the holes in the spring plates and the rear leaves are now done (minus torquing the shackles). Just need new shocks and a swaybar back there and the rear suspension will be done.

Surprisingly enough, my front springs showed up much earlier than I expected them to. I'm not ready to install those quite yet, but I'll start that project soon. Need to pick up another front shock as well.


With the rear leaves and plates mounted, I was able to move back to the parking brake brackets. I've got them finished up and hit them with some paint. I'll try to get those on this weekend so I can finish up the cable itself. Need to buy another one...


I still need to get that battery charger and see if this pig wants to start. I'll need to look at the power steering pump before that happens, though. Not super excited about that, but it needs to be done.

I know my updates aren't that exciting, but progress is progress I suppose.

Suburban Dad
Jan 10, 2007


Well what's attached to a leash that it made itself?
The punchline is the way that you've been fuckin' yourself




Boaz MacPhereson posted:

I know my updates aren't that exciting, but progress is progress I suppose.

More exciting that what's going on in my garage. :smith:

Keep it coming.

Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...
I LIVE. I DIE. I LIVE AGAIN!

Holy poo poo, it's been a while, yeah? Sorry for the gross lack of updates, but weekends have been crazy busy lately and the motivation has been lacking for whatever reason. I'm sure you all know how that is.

So where were we? Parking brake cables. Driver side is done as of a few weeks ago. Didn't really take many progress pics, unfortunately, but it took some work. The LS F-body cables are a smaller inner cable that connects the parking brake arm on the backing plate to the intermediate cable. This smaller cable rides inside of an outer cable that gets clipped into place. These cables pull towards the back of the car and run up and over the axle so they're a loving mile long. Basic rundown to shorten the F-body cable is:

- Cut off the barrel-end from the inner cable and pull the cable out.
- Twist off one of the ends from the outer cable. Nothing fancy, they just pull off.
- Take your monster outer cable with one end still on it, stick it in the bracket, route it through the holder, and mark it for length at the bracket on the frame.
- Cut down the outer cable and spin the end back on. Marvel at the fact that the cable is now less than half as long as it was.
- The inner cable has a spring on the end that hooks to the backing plate. Chop off about an inch and a half of that.
- Hook the inner cable up to the backing plate and run it through the outer cable to see where it needs to be cut to meet the intermediate cable. Not exactly easy with only two hands.
- Cut the inner cable at the mark. Slide it back into the outer cable.
- Take your new end and slide it on the cable. Clamp the thing to something to keep it all together (old hacksaw blade) and hit it with a torch until it's really drat hot. Hit it with the brazing rod and finish the job.

Lots of finnicky poo poo with the measuring and checking clearance and all that poo poo, but I'm happy with how it turned out.





So that that for the cable. I've got the other one at home waiting to get chopped up and installed, but didn't really feel like doing it this past weekend. I had some work to do on the Mustang (that I've been putting off for too loving long) and wanted to clean up the garage a bit. A couple weeks ago I went down to see my parents and my dad gave me his old battery charger.

The Silver Beauty in all its glory:


It still works (or did, anyway. More on that in a second), but it's a little crusty. I figured I'd spend a little time and effort and clean it up. I figured the inside could use a good blow-out and I was right. While I was opening it up, however, I managed to completely loving destroy a spade connector inside. I'll grab some spade connectors and replace a bunch of them. I'll probably pick up a new toggle switch and some banana connectors as well. The only date I could find inside of it was on the back of the gauge. 1959 :stare:

I hit the ring around the gauge with some fresh paint and scrubbed up the front with a Magic Eraser. It looks a lot better already. I'm going to try to find a similar paint for the outside cover so I can freshen that up too. Kinda punched myself in the dick with braking that spade, but oh well. Still haven't touched the power steering pump...

Spent the last hour or so of the day just cleaning up. My work bench was a loving nightmare. poo poo all over. You all know how it goes. Tossed some poo poo, reorganized some more, sorted some fasteners and whatnot. Got my spiffy new hex keys out there too. I have some room to work now, so that's pretty drat nice.


So that's where we are. Not much progress made on the Nova, but i just had another bonus come through so I think I'll pick up some rear shocks and maybe the rear swaybar so I can call the rear end completely done.

Until next time, keep your dick in a vise.

Magnus Praeda
Jul 18, 2003
The largess in the land.

Boaz MacPhereson posted:

I LIVE. I DIE. I LIVE AGAIN!


Where did you get that cord winder/minder thingy?

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Boaz MacPhereson
Jul 11, 2006

Day 12045 Ht10hands 180lbs
No Name
No lumps No Bumps Full life Clean
Two good eyes No Busted Limbs
Piss OK Genitals intact
Multiple scars Heals fast
O NEGATIVE HI OCTANE
UNIVERSAL DONOR
Lone Road Warrior Rundown
on the Powder Lakes V8
No guzzoline No supplies
ISOLATE PSYCHOTIC
Keep muzzled...

Magnus Praeda posted:

Where did you get that cord winder/minder thingy?

My dad actually gave me that. He had it for years and never used it so he sent it my way. I love it. Looks like Amazon's got 'em http://www.amazon.com/Green-Leaf-WW-1-Wonder-Extension/dp/B00005A1K1

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