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I was going to put in new center tie rod ends yesterday and found the idler arm bushing had separated
into two unequal parts. I had a new bushing so this morning I tried to use my lathe's tailstock to press
it in, but didn't have enough traction. So I tried pressing it in with my vise but didn't have enough soup.
I called Curtis over at B&C Automotive (SHAMELESS PLUG- A REALLY NICE GUY!!) and he offered the use of his press.
I found a pipe coupling that made a pretty good spacer and in less time than it took to get over there I had the
new bushing pressed in.
When I got home I sorta fell in the creek and didn't get wet. I adjusted the rod to fit the toe-in
of the wheels as they sat and put it together, ran a strip of tape around the tires and drew a line around them
and measured between them front and back. 1/16" wider in back or JUST RIGHT!!
No further adjustment required!
I cranked it up and drove over to the gas station and put another 8.5 gallons in at $2.44 which filled it.
Then I drove it up to B&C so Curtis could see it but I noticed that the amp light was on.
I pulled the air cleaner so I could get to the Voltage regulator, opened it up and cleaned the points
but it didn't help. I was in the process of changing the alternator (which I really didn't want to do)
when I noticed that the output terminal was on the alternator but the wire was not connected to the terminal!
The wire was too big so it would not fit into the terminal. I took a new terminal and opened it up
and soldered it onto the wire so I think it is good to go. Minor voltage adjustment to the VR and it was good.
The hood is bent from being left open (not on my watch) for a couple months and the hinges got rusty.
Today the problem of not being able to unlatch the hood surfaced. Some work on pulling the grille, fixing
headlight mounts and some hood adjustments seem to have helped this problem.
If not enough, prying it to the left helps....
So I finally got to the rewarding task of scrubbing it down. It is indeed a different color!
I scrubbed a lot of white chalky stuff and black algae staining off and it looks ALMOST presentable.
I also found my 2009 registration sticker!!
So as the time approaches, so does the state of readiness.
Perseverance will succeed where genius will not. Both is better yet!
Hope to see you guys in Tulsa in a couple days!!
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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