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Thanks for the info Matt.
The original mileage is unknown. The car went into a barn back in 1984 and did not come back out until a year or so ago (when the dashpad cracked - arg!) I know that the original motor had died due to an oil issue, and was going to be rebuilt, but was instead replaced with an identical B18B engine from another 68. The engine has 175-180 dry psi per cylinder (very nice) but that tells me nothing about the overall wear on the car.
Also the odometer gear was dead, stopped at about 43,000. I revived it (and then the trip konked out!?!).
What I do know is that the right front suspension was very worn. The steering arm was bent and loose, the upper balljoints was bad, and the front tie rods were also worn-out.
What all this tells me is that the car got some use before it was put into storage, but the rest of the car is in amazing condition. I've checked the 68's suspension bushings several times and they look good (I replaced several on my 67 wagon - so I do know a worn bushing when I see it). Things are nice and tight. My right rear shoes need to be adjusted a bit.
I did say a 1/4" of movement, but sfter getting under there and really playing with it, I'd say that it is much more than that - 1/2" to maybe 1" of rotation. I'll need to recheck it later today.
I guess it does operate fine and shows no evidence of breakdown, it just worries me a little with the clunk/thunk.
When I was installing my 1971 1800E rear axle into the wagon, I mistakenly whacked the pinion shaft - driving it back into the pumpkin. This cause the gears to lock and spin oddly. I was lucky that I was able to re-torque the pinion nut and fix it. I was thinking that this problem might be something similar - that the pinion shaft has worked backwards out of its optimal position....
No way to tell until I feel like removing the driveshaft and checking for play...
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