"Ambition is the last refuge of the failure."

 Removal of the pedal assembly was Job #1.  I managed to remove the old assembly, replace the clutch cable and get the new one installed.  There's an odd rubbing going on inside the tunnel - something to do with the heim link clutch cable end and the tunnel.  I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to diagnose the issue.

The older accelerator cable doesn't play well with the new assembly so I'm going to replace the cable the next time I get out to work on the car.  I got distracted fixing other things so this didn't get finished like I'd planned.

 The torn bellows boot was the first thing I noticed when I crawled under the car today.  I replaced the boot and the clamps as those on the car had stripped screws.

 Then I discovered that the axle boots leak - a lot.  They didn't leak until I jacked up the car.  The boots are cheap EPDM rubber (they're rather stiff) but I'm not planning to replace them just yet.

I suspect there's something wrong with the transmission.  I tried to get it into 2nd gear and it nearly grinds...a new cable and proper adjustment did nothing to cure the problem.  The shift coupler and bushing are both fairly new looking and in good condition.  I have a rebuilt transmission in the garage and a rear suspension triangle ready for assembly.   Might be time to get on that and just swap them out.

 I discovered that something up here is leaking oil and there is a rather loud knocking during idle.  I may have to pull the head to find out what it is and that'll be a lot easier outside of the car.

I think I'm going to finish off the 1500 S engine (exhaust is all that's left) and replace the 1600 with the 1500 S.  I don't like the noise coming from this engine.

At least after the engine swap the car will be period correct.  I didn't plan on pulling the engine given that this one is a recent rebuild.  I'd rather swap engines than spend a whole day attempting to troubleshoot this one.

It'll buy me some time to figure out what's going on inside this engine.

This is how the day wrapped up.  A few things finished, a few things not finished.

I wound up replacing the right rear light housing -  the one on the car had a broken screw in it so the lens would not fasten to the housing properly.

In addition to that, I replaced the hood trim piece with one that didn't have dents.

I removed the engine cover seal but still have some adhesive to remove and a few small dents to bang out before installing the replacement piece.

I have a feeling that I'm going to have to replace the master cylinder and some steering components soon.  The brakes are decent but I suspect that the wrong MC was used during the EMPI disc brake conversion.

It's going to be about a week before I get to work on the car again.  It was a good start but showed me that there's quite a bit more work to be done.

Next weekend is a visit to see how Ferris is coming along in body work and pick up the remaining pieces of Icarus...some of which may wind up on this car as they're the same color.

Making plans for Nigel

 I managed to dig out all of the pieces for the pedal assembly.  It's made up of parts from three vendors and I, for some reason, decided to store them in three different places.

The main assembly was rebuilt by Scott Stuart at Pedal Werks and he added a heim link clutch cable fitting from CMA during the rebuild.

In addition to the heim link clutch cable fitting, it's also got a zerk so that I can lubricate the clutch shaft and reduce wear.  With some minor maintenance, I shouldn't ever have to replace parts on this thing.

That was the goal.  Spend the money now to eliminate frustration later.

 Fully boxed clutch pedal to reduce flex-bolted to the shaft vs. the locating pin that's stock.  Firmer pedal feel by reducing the flex.

I really like to keep things stock to maintain the integrity of the car but this is one area where I don't mind going off the beaten path a little bit to ensure that I eliminate future issues.

The third piece is a Z bar conversion kit from Unique Parts that not only allowed me to eliminate the Z bar system but also augment the strength of the whole system.  The top piece is the accelerator lever that comes with the Z bar conversion kit.  It's at least twice as thick and has a full support welded to it.  The locating pin has been lengthened and will be secured with a C clip on the end.  The stock pin just sits in place.




I'm looking forward to pulling the Z bar system out and replacing it with this one...which will function SO MUCH better.

I didn't nickname the car Nigel...the post title just sounds 'catchy' and I can dig some old XTC.

Sometimes the obvious thing to do is the hardest to acknowledge

Two cars, two blogs.

The idea is that I will better chart the progress of each car via their respective blog.

Let's see how that pans out...

The first 24 hours

Push button assembly.  It's supposed to be in perfect working order.  I don't know for sure since I've yet to test it.

The under dash area.  Everything looks to be in order.  An extra wire clip stuck to the hose cover piece, the steering wheel/column needs minor adjustment.  Ashtray handle is from a 67.

Right side hinge area.  Hinges are solid but need lubrication.  Carpet is very worn.  Front seats are covered in black leatherette.  The correct color is Grey Cord Leatherette-which I will likely get from SMS when I'm about a year away from needing it.

Passenger side door and panels.  Interior is in great shape.  Exterior has a few minor dents/dings.  Window scrapers are pretty well gone.

Driver's side door.  Grey arm rest is torn up pretty good.  The car came with a replacement piece (I haven't looked at it yet).  Window crank is shot.  I'll be installing 66 window cranks-they're a much better design-and keep my NOS handles for later use.

Perfect, uncracked, unfucked with wrap dash.  They're a bitch to clean completely but it'll look super nice when it's clean.

The rubber floor mat has lots of wear marks and is tearing in a few places from age.  I'm going to do my best to keep it together as long as possible.

Front trunk area is super clean.  The apron took a few hits  but I'm pretty sure they can be pushed back out without much work.

Front clip, otherwise, is clean and accident free.   Side panels are good, bumper brackets are clean.  Wiring is intact and clean (not hacked).

Another view of the front trunk area.  Very nice.  Very clean.

Front foot well area.  A few small tears in the rubber mat near the pedal assembly and around the seat tracks.

The Z arm pedal assembly is coming out on Friday.  I dug out the PedalWerks assembly that was rebuilt last year.  So shiny and smooth.  I also have the flat pedal/delrin ball set up from CMA.  It'll be a lot smoother.  Also going to check the shift rod bushings to see if I can work out the hard shift into 2nd.

A car is made up of thousands of pieces-fit together to create a mechanical beast, yet this is the first thing I looked at when the car came off the truck.  The wrap dash.

I'm happy that my search for one is over.

I will eventually find one for the N model...a little easier, I hope.

The rear cargo area.  Standard fare for a 50 year old car.  I was a little bummed to see that the hook for the hatch is broken...so I'll have to find one.  I thought I had one but I do not.

Something new for the list.

The engine.  It's a 1600 that looks just like a 1500 S.  ZV/JCU 4R3 distributor, correct fuel pump, bolt top fan shroud, etc.  The only thing I've noticed that's not correct is the exhaust/muffler.

The engine bay is super clean and rust free.

I've found the replacement tube for the heater pipe under the back seat (it's missing) and a replacement piece for the front tube as well as a NOS trim piece for the pushbutton assembly  I tracked down the correct early elbows, straps and clamps and connection pieces for the elbows.  I have also found the spring that goes on the breather hose.  I'm working on finding the correct spark plug wires.