Friday, August 31, 2018

Walk on following a fate line

We're this far - the engine is nearly complete.  Everything is hooked up and, absent the pulley cover tin, the engine is ready to go.

I received the AN fittings and the hose - once Jim is done with the engine, I'll be moving on to getting the exhaust collector welded up properly and then figuring out where to put the oil filter and the oil cooler - which will lead to getting the oil lines and fittings sorted.

There was also discussion about swapping to DCNF carburetors - Jim's got a line on a brand new pair of Berg Specials with Berg manifolds.  I may just pick them up to have them on hand if the price is right.
I pulled the warm air mixing box out of the Evaporust this morning.

The left side is 'before' - the right side is 'after'.  Almost all of the crap on the insulation came off but I left it in the mix too long - after I rinsed it off, most of the paint came off as well.  I may wind up pulling the top hat off and removing the insulation to restore them completely.  It'll be a nice 'side project' once the car is back together.

This is one of the two boxes that I received today - exactly as it was packed.  All of these parts could have easily fit into one box and saved me $50 in shipping.  Sometimes it's a giant pain in the ass to buy online...it's really annoying when people ship super dirty parts.  This is likely going to be the last time I buy from this guy.
The bump stop mount was full of rocks between the rubber and the mount - it's crusty - who knows if it'll clean up.  It is a hidden part of the trailing arm so it's not the end of the world but it would be nice if it didn't look like shit.
Bump stop mount is crusty - the rest of it is mostly straight.  I'm going to pull out the grinder next week and see if I can get them clean enough to paint...or if I should give up and get another set that's in better condition.
Might be hard to believe but this was the clean one.  I cleaned them off with some gasoline so that I could find the clips that hold them in place.  3 of the 4 CVs came out with a little work and the 4th one refused to budge.
I got the trailing arms fairly clean once I got them apart.  The stub axles were bent/trashed, the bearings were super worn and made in China.  I just have to get the rubber bushings out of the trailing arms.

Next week's task is cleaning them up - straightening out the bent section on the shock mount and try to clean up the bump stop mounts.
It took so much pounding to get the axle free of the CV housing that I broke my sledgehammer.  I have beat the ever living shit out of all kinds of stuff and not broken this thing.  FYI: It hurts a bit when the head gets free and lands on your shoulder.
The majority of what remains of what was sent to me.  The torsion cover plates are in Evaporust.  The torsion bars are correct for stock set ups but they'll need to be stripped and painted because the current paint is damaged.

I'm kind of wishing I'd just bought the aftermarket shit - I wouldn't have to clean anything and deal with an endless supply of old grease, crusty parts and sub-par nonsense.

Background Tune: "Circles" by Birds of Tokyo

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Pan progress

Here's what Bob Ross would call a 'happy accident'...I dropped the warm air mixing box into some Evaporust thinking that it would clean off the crust on the inside of the tube and the stuff on the outside.  I didn't expect that it'd clean the insulation as well.  The black stuff that remained is undercoating - I can get that stripped off with Bug & Tar and I'll try dipping the whole thing to see what happens.
I stopped by the shop to check on the progress of the pan - one side is nearly done and the other side is ready to be installed.  They communicated that the pan AND subframe will be completely done by next Friday.
The rear end corner of the pan.
This shows the location of the cut on the pan to make it fit properly and deal with the missing hole on the Klassic Fab pans.
The tunnel metal was removed to replace the fuel line.  This is the rearmost area - it's very clean inside the tunnel.  After looking at the routing of the fuel line - I don't quite understand how Volkswagen expects that the fuel line can be replaced without opening up the tunnel.  The two tabs that support the line through the tunnel are very snug
The front of the tunnel - clean paint - but I'll be using cavity coater once it's all back together.
 Middle of the tunnel.
Front of the pan - should look really nice once it's cleaned up and painted.

The engine was started up for the first time yesterday - using different carburetors - I'm going over to check it out and see if there's another option for mounting the oil cooler off of the engine.  The exhaust should be mounted and the carbs could be attached while I'm there - I'd like to get the start up with the Webers and the Python on a short video.

I ordered gauges for the car today - Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature, Cylinder Head Temperature - the plan is to mount them in a 3 gauge cluster where the radio normally goes - so the bone stock interior them will be 'off' with this gauge cluster.  Routing the wires is another task that will get added to the list - I may try to do most of it while the car is still in pieces.

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Laughing at weeds running out the door

These fasteners here belong in the 'overkill' department.  I bought locking fasteners for the CV joints - made by Stage 8.  I did a fair amount of searching and reading up on the IRS rear suspension while I was trying to determine what I needed and wanted.  One common theme was that people complained about the bolts on their CVs coming loose.  Since I'm going all out on this conversion anyway - it only made sense to add these to the list of improvements.
And while we're on the subject of 'unscheduled purchases' - I stumbled into a conversation on Facebook about fenders and wound up buying NOS rear fenders.  They don't have the trim holes in them but they're otherwise really nice parts.  They are in South Carolina and will be shipped to me in the next few days - and I'll put them in the rafters in the garage to keep them safe.  Nice to know that I don't need to worry about the cost of body work on my OG fenders any longer.

Getting back to the project at hand: I am expecting the box of IRS rear suspension parts to show up on Friday.  The rebuilt transmission should arrive mid-next week and the engine should be rounding the bend and near finished real soon.  I can't wait to hear it fire up with that Python exhaust on it...

The new pressure plate, throw out bearing and clutch disc showed up today.  The AN fittings and hose are due tomorrow.  I bought a trial size of the oil cooler hose and the fire sleeve after talking with the manufacturer - I may see if I can cut and fit the hoses myself to save some time/money.  I won't know about brake lines until the subframe is back on the car so that will wind up being a late in the process decision - along with the location of the oil cooler and the filter mount.

The pan and the subframe are due to be ready for pick up at the end of next week - it'll give me about a week to get it back together before the Crystal Lake show (last of the season around here) - so I think I'll be able to make a bit of progress but it won't be enough time to drive the car to the show...but who knows - maybe I'll have a stroke of good luck and it'll all just go back together.

As my self-imposed deadline of September 15th goes whooshing by while I'm in the garage surrounded by car parts - I have to keep in mind that I'll likely have near zero time to wrench on the car once I start back full time in the working world.  Things are getting close...

Background Tune: "The Wolf" by SIAMÉS

Friday, August 24, 2018

Progress is never linear - more like fluctuating positively upwards

The engine is now at the final mock up stage.  I took the exhaust and the remote oil filter/thermostat over to Jim's to see if the standard bracket would fit/work.  At first glance, it looks too good to be true.
I was cautiously optimistic that the oil filter would simply mount right up to the car given the complexity of the pipes and from this angle - it looks pretty darned good.  The standard FastFab oil filter bracket fits - the thermostat/filter mount fits and it's not super close to the exhaust.
It does appear, however, that the j-tube is going to exit the rear of the engine right about the same place that the oil filter will occupy when mounted here...so another solution may be required.  A test fit with the j-tube will ultimately determine what happens next.  This photo additionally shows the flanged bolts making contact with the engine tin - that was quickly resolved by swapping them out with button heads.  EDIT: The oil filter mount isn't going to work in this location because the j-tube will foul the oil filter (or vice versa) so another solution will need to be found before it can be finalized.

It's hard to see - but the exhaust pipe curves slightly back toward the engine.  That will prevent simply extending the bracket for the remote oil filter - I may have to come up with a completely different solution.

I received a message today that one of the sellers of IRS rear suspension parts is planning to gather up all of the parts and ship them to me tomorrow...which would be a very welcome step in the right direction.  There's a chance I may be back to work in 3 weeks so I won't have nearly as much time to do this stuff once that 'work life' thing kicks back in again.  I would love to be back working like a normal person again.

I was going to order new spring plates for the swing axle torsion bars and see if I could use them in place of the stock stuff since neither of the people I've contacted had gotten back to me for over a week.  I've figured out that the short torsion bars are Type 1, the intermediate torsion bars are Type 3 swing axle and the long ones are Type 3 IRS.  I could use my existing swing axle torsion bars with new spring plates and retainers as a next step.  Or I can go 'all in' and get short torsion bars in a larger diameter, Jaycee retainers and Swayaway spring plates to replicate a cleaner look done by another Type 3 owner.  I like the look but don't know if it would be too stiff so starting with the stock set up is probably the best idea for now.

The next three weeks are going to be busy with job searching, interviewing and trying to get this car back together - pivot and persevere scheduling, problem-solving and multi-tasking are good for my brain.  Most of this will come together pretty quickly but there will be some details that are going to be tough to chase down but I'll get them...the momentum is building.

Background Tune: "Lone Digger" by Caravan Palace

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Wolf

I got word yesterday that the long block is complete with the following information: 8:1 compression, .045 deck, .004 crankshaft free play.  Sounds like the engine and transmission will be done and in my garage around the same time.

The rear suspension part has been a bit more of a challenge.  I received the stub axles and the EMPI spring plates.

I'll be keeping the stub axles and returning the spring plates.  The ends are jagged/crooked.
 Overall finish on them is very poor.
Yeah, I should have known better but I was trying to have an open mind about the possibility of EMPI having improved their quality.
Now - I'm at a junction again - go to dual spring plates and use stock parts (the torsion bars are a bitch to find) or modify the plan, spend a bit more money and get SwayAway short torsions and spring plates with Jaycee retainers.  The rear end will be a lot stiffer but that won't necessarily be a bad thing.

The funny part?  I've had at least four people tell me that the EMPI stuff is better than the Swayaway stuff - but having the EMPI parts in my hand - I can't really see how that's possible unless the Swayaway parts are made from PlayDoh.

Seems like - no matter how dead simple this should be - I'm running into just about every barrier possible.  The self-imposed deadline that's three weeks away is slowly morphing into a wall that grows by the day.  I have to figure out how to get up enough momentum to get over it - and probably at the last minute.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

A little bit of progress

A few hints of progress for the various tasks to get the car back together:

Engine: I dropped off the remainder of the engine parts to Jim's place today - he now has everything except the exhaust.  I'm guessing it'll be the end of the week before the engine is put together - perhaps even into next week.

Transmission:  I placed the order for the transmission yesterday.  IRS, SuperDiff, welded 3rd and 4th, 4.12 R/P and .82 4th gear.  It'll be shipped to me the middle of next week because I caught the shop in a small lull in business and I'm a returning customer.

IRS Conversion: Another group of parts is due to arrive this week - spring plates, stub axles, bushings, bolts for the CV joints, etc.  I now have two different shops trying to cobble together the parts for the subframe - one in California and one in Arizona.  Neither one has gotten back to me to confirm they have the correct torsion bars though.  Trailing arms and axles are the easy part - the torsion bars in stock length are, apparently, a giant pain in the ass to find.  I don't know when the subframe will be done but I hope it's soon...

Pan:  The pan is 'almost done' - I hope that means that by this time next week, I can be working on getting brake line and shift rod installed.  I'll be building a new cart for it to get it lifted up to the correct spot for reattachment.  The hardware was cleaned in EvapoRust and came out really clean.  I'll probably save it for the next plating run to conserve cost and use the stuff that was done in Atlanta.

The fuel pump that was rebuilt and then gone over to make it look better turned out really nicely.  I sent another pump to the guy who did this work and this one is being sold to a local guy with a 67 Fastback.

I also found another tail light lens for his car - so he'll have a pair of brand new lenses and they should look real nice on his car while helping me to sell off a couple of parts in the process.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Oil pump and axle tubes

As planned, I pulled the axles and nose cone from the transmission yesterday and posted them up for sale online.  They're a hard sell - meaning that I'll probably have them for quite a while before someone buys them from me.

I cleaned off a shelf in the cabinet in the garage for all of the pieces that are slowly making their way to the house for the assembly process.  I have one order out there somewhere - the spring plates, bushings and stub axles.  I called them today and they're expecting the parts either today or Monday.  Given that it's late on Friday, they'll probably call me on Monday with an update.
The oil pump was too small for the bore of the engine case - so I reached out to engine dude to see if we can work out a trade for something else...Jim has a proper fitting oil pump so he's going to use that for the engine.

Jim has the short block together - it'll sit for another day or two before he gets going on the long block, then the tin, then the exhaust and the oil cooler figuring...

Still no word from the guy with the axles, torsion bars and the trailing arms...he's the least cost option right now - if he flakes out, I'll have to spend twice as much getting the parts and that'll suck for my budget.  I am still selling a decent amount of parts but the 'good stuff' is about gone and I imagine the sales will drop in line with the selection.

Monday is update day for the pan - I'm going to be looking for a due date for it to be finished so I have time to get it back together and get the front end on it...there's a lot to do with it once it shows up so I'm eager to get it back here and get started.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Perhaps a little progress might help?

Very small update on the inbound parts and progress...

The box of parts for the engine arrived today and were taken straight to Jim's to be checked out.  I suspect that'll happen tomorrow.  The box was packed pretty well and what I requested was in the box so that's a good start.  I imagine the engine will be ready to go in about a week and then I can scratch that off of the list.

I'd found a local guy with a new ProStreet IRS transmission but his price was pretty high and the gearing wasn't exactly what I wanted...so, once again, I listened to my inner voice and passed on both that specific transmission and shop.  I'm going back to Transaxle Engineering for this transmission - they'll build up a transmission and ship it within 2 weeks (it's their slow season).  I'm going to use a stock Sachs pressure plate and the Daikin 503a disc on the clutch - the transmission will be a late dual side cover trans so it'll have the collar and the updated throw out bearing.  Additionally, I sold the swing axle transmission so tomorrow I am going to remove the axles and boots - get them cleaned up and posted up for sale.

I bought KBS paint and had it shipped to the shop for the pan and the IRS conversion, I found the rest of the parts I need for the IRS conversion but the guy is a tad slow so it probably won't ship until next week and I'll get it at the end of next week.  Most of the stuff I ordered is going to arrive tomorrow, although there is one shop to follow up with for parts.  I may wind up prepping and painting the spring plates and trailing arms myself if they don't show up in time for paint at the shop.

The IRS conversion parts are the hang up - I have two people who have the trailing arms but neither has communicated about being ready to ship them - I'm getting tired of asking them to let me buy stuff they don't want.  I'll have everything except the axles, trailing arms and torsion bars - you know, the important stuff needed to make this all work.  I can probably find it somewhere else but I'm hoping to keep the costs under control since I'm technically not in a rush.  But then there's that little voice telling me that it would be nice to drive it before winter...because it won't come back out until  April or May of next year after the snow has melted and the salt has been rained away at least twice.

Overall, parts sales have been good - I've sold over $2k in parts in the last few days - all of which is going right back into this car so it's not in my PayPal account for very long.  I still have Noico 80mil sound deadener and DEI Boom Mat to buy for the pan but it seems so far away that I haven't really concerned myself with it just yet.  It's a big expense and I'm trying to hold off as long as possible just in case something else more pressing requires adequate funding.

I've begun prep for the Crystal Lake car show/swap - the last local one of the season - by collecting everything I want to sell into bins and boxes.  I don't have high hopes but it would be nice to sell some of it at the show.  I'll make a decent presentation in my space but focus on friends most likely.


Monday, August 13, 2018

Action is the foundational key to all success

Long day today...

I started out by driving out to Seward and picking up some IRS conversion jigs from Adam Kottke - super nice guy who knows his shit - he's about 85 miles away and every highway between us is under some form of 'construction' - littered with traffic cones and those sign trailers that tell you that there are 'workers present'.  I only seem to drive past these work sites when everyone is at lunch because there are very rarely people out there working.

From there, I headed over to Woodstock - a little over an hour from Seward - to drop off the jigs, stock IRS pockets and the final jack point for the pan.  I checked out the shop - and their work on my pan.  Seems like I should have the pan back within 2 weeks with the IRS conversion done/painted as well.  We talked paint, timeline and cost...we're on the same page so things are moving forward.  I was on such a bender to get this stuff done that I didn't take any pictures today.

I departed that shop and headed home - detoured by 'construction' and it took 30 minutes longer than normal because of all of those traffic cones and the self-absorbed douchebags who can't be bothered to zipper merge when those traffic cones decide they need more space on the highway.  All in, I put 226 miles on the odometer today and spent over four hours in the car.

A conversation was started with CSP about the Python and their tuning cones - here's what they said regarding the tuning cones:
The cone inserts increase the venturi effect in your exhaust system which helps to get rid of the exhaust fumes faster. On some engines these cones can help to adjust the exhaust to the special engine characteristics, but it definitely requires a dyno and some engine tuning experience.

It is not absolutely necessary on a street driven engine, which usually is not highly modified.

Hope that helps a bit!

As banal as that all sounds - it's actually great news because it means one less thing to deal with - the engine build can resume until it's complete and ready to install.  This was the last potential bottleneck.  There's some exhaust welding to take place, header wrap and the oil filter mount to resolve.  The oil cooler probably won't get worked out until the engine/trans are back in the car.

The first order of parts for the IRS conversion arrived today - the pivot bolts, axle spacers and CV washers.  The bulk of the rest of it should arrive by week's end.

Ordering up the transmission is next up on the list - I decided to just order a new transmission vs. ship this one for conversion - I'm pretty sure I can sell it once it's ready to leave the garage.  Thursday or Friday, I'll pull the axles and tubes and get it ready for sale...I still need to find axles and torsion bars.  Tomorrow, I'm checking up on the spring plates and the control arms.  If the guy in Indiana can't deliver the control arms, I'll have to start digging for those again.  I'll get progress on this stuff - even if I have to put another 200 miles on the car to make it happen.

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Pivot, Patch, or Persevere

Some might say it's best to start with the goal in mind...so here it is, again.

This one is deep pocketed for T2 CVs which I will probably never need but the rest of it is on point.

Since all 'projects' need due dates - I've given myself the deadline of having the car 'done' and functional by the date of the last car show of the season here - September 15th.  That's just over a month away to get pans welded in, get the pan painted, rebuild the engine, install a new exhaust (and tune it), do an IRS conversion, secure an IRS transmission and get it all back into the car.  Most of this stuff is in some state of forward motion but I know there are a few unknowns out there: 1. Will the current parking brake cables work on the IRS conversion?  2. Will the current brake lines work on the IRS conversion?  3. Do I attempt to ship the current transmission to California for conversion or just order another one?


This set of jigs were made from an IRS subframe - different approach but would work for both Type 1 and Type 3.  I like the simplicity of these things.












This specific set of jigs was going to be loaned to me by a guy in California - we chatted via messages and he agreed to ship them to me if I provided a label.  I sent the label last Monday - and asked again on Wednesday - and he has yet to ship them.

Now that I've gone 'all in' and ordered nearly everything - the missing jigs have suddenly sprung to the front of the list of things that are holding progress at bay.

I asked around and a local guy says he's got the jigs and I can borrow them...so tomorrow, I'm going to load up the car with the stock IRS pockets, the Swing Axle subframe, jack point and drive over an hour out to pick up the jigs, then an hour East to drop off the jack points and all of the IRS conversion bits - chat about the paint situation for both projects and then drive home.  It's a 200 mile round trip just to get shit done.  I'm guessing that the pan will get done and delivered - giving me time to get the front to rear brake line installed, the rear hard brake lines installed, get the front beam on and prepare for getting the subframe installed a week or so later.

The engine, thank fuck, is a completely independent project and will be done way before the pan and IRS conversion are completed.  Fortunately, it's well managed and I'm not really all that worried about it right now - parts are arriving in 3 days and the engine will be running in about a week or so - getting the exhaust tuned may be the bottleneck in that operation - I may have to buy a tuning cone for the exhaust to adjust the backpressure.  I've also got to resolve the oil filter mount and hose situation.  Fortunately the turn around time on the hoses is less than a week...let's hope it's that simple, yeah?

Then I get to dig into the seatbelt situation!  The goal is to have 3 point retractable seatbelts at all four seats...this will require a little bit of modification.  I went looking for a solution that didn't require digging into the heater channels or rockers.

I've got some solid ideas that I think will work out pretty well until the body work is done.  Once it's body work time - I'll raise the shoulder height of the top mount so that it's in a better place.

Last up on the order wheel: Getting the sound deadening for the pan so that I can install it and finish it properly.  There's a nutty amount of money to spend on this stuff...but it'll be worth it when the car is quieter.

It's an exciting time in the life of this car - things are happening - and whether I accomplish this stretch goal before the deadline really doesn't matter - it'll get done and I'll either drive it to the show or right after it.  I simply like the idea of having something to push for and this week is going to be a good one for the car.

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Kinetic energy

The cargo light arrived yesterday - it's absolutely beautiful!  I took a few pictures of it, wrapped it back up and put it away.  So nice to have this checked off of the list!









Somewhat impulsively, I bought these OG mats from T3HQ.  I think they'll look good on new carpet when the car is done.
The wayward jack point showed up yesterday as well - nice to see it came before I had to go chasing after it.

The timing for the pan work is a little iffy...I want to get the IRS conversion done and then paint everything at once but it might not quite work out that way...flaky people are fucking up my progress.

It seems like the pan will get done/painted and installed along with the front beam, and then the rear end will get done later...I'm going to check with the shop to be 100% sure that's how it'll work out.  Probably better because then I won't feel rushed to get it done all at once.
The trip to Adam's shop was productive - I got a bare IRS subframe for a pretty good deal.

I dug through a pile of torsion bars and didn't find any for a Squareback.  I decided on site to buy new spring plates so I left the dual spring plates there as well.

Later that day - after consulting with a few others, I figured out what I needed to buy and did just that...I have to get this thing moving forward in a big way.  I found trailing arms in Indiana, and almost everything else was purchased new.  All I need now are torsion bars and axles.  I should have those secured by Monday.
The next day - I got the stock pockets off of the IRS subframe and then realized that I should have just left it alone so that the shop could make their own jigs and speed up the process...sucks that I got a little ahead of myself because I don't know that the jigs are going to show up anytime soon.  The project can't really go anywhere until those pockets are welded in...


The Fast Fab bracket arrived and it bolts right up to the oil filter mount/thermostat.  I think this is going to need an extension made but I have to wait until the exhaust is on the engine...lots of contingencies to deal with at this point.  It would also be pretty fucking awesome if it just fit as it is.
The Setrab oil cooler now has fittings and a thermostatic switch to turn the fan on and off...just need the hoses now.  Feels super close and a little far away still.

Engine parts finally shipped and will arrive on Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to next week - lots of fun stuff coming to the door.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

I've had quite enough or lack thereof

I continue to take it easy on my back to make sure I'm in good shape later - so I spent most of the day fairly sedentary today.  In my mostly seated position today, I went through the parts book and the online sources to get a feel for the IRS conversion process.  To get decent parts - it's going to cost a bit more than I expected...although all could turn out just fine if I'm smart about it.

I cleaned up the garage as it was left over a week ago - pulled out the floor pan seal and discovered that it's not in all that bad of condition - albeit a bit flat.  I can use window adhesive to fill in the gaps when the body is dropped back on the finished pan - especially since it's temporary until I pull it all off again for body work/paint.  It would solve a rather large hassle in this 'round of assembly.

Speaking of the pan - I was informed today that the pan work has begun at the shop today.  I have a jack point en route that'll have to be dropped off before paint...and we'll then discuss the IRS conversion cost/timeline.  Still a bit up in the air on that project but it looks like I'll be using T1/T3 stock parts for the first 'go round' and if I break something, I'll look into upgrading at that point.

I have to call and check in on the status of the parts shipment that was to have taken place today.

I'm going out into the world tomorrow to check out some parts at a local shop - hoping it bears fruit for this project.

Pieces are coming together - albeit MUCH slower than I'd hoped - but I'm learning to be okay with it as long as things are moving forward.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today

During the 'review' of my current parts collection, I came to realize that I had a rear trunk light for every model of Type 3 except mine.  This light (PN 151 947 111 A) fits Notch, Fastback, T34 - but not Variant.  I put it up for sale in a few places and it generated interest but no takers...and then a friend restoring a T34 let me know that he might have a light that I could use and was interested in a trade.
I received this picture today - it's a NOS Squareback hatch cover light (PN 111 947 111 D).  The perfect solution to my seeking - it's the correct lens without the chrome trim and super nice.  After some information sharing - we came to a deal to swap the two lights as there's a mutual 'need for the other light'.  I shipped 151 947 111 A off today and will see this light some time in the future.

The pans are due to be completed this coming Saturday - but I've seen a few very recent pictures that indicate that they're not yet started...so I don't know that the date will be met.  To be fair - I'm still waiting on the shipment of the second jack point that I bought last week.  I don't know that it what's holding things up though.

For the future IRS conversion - I've found a set of jigs that'll be shipped to me this week 'on loan' - the shop will clone them and then I'll send them back to their owner.  Pretty fucking cool that there are people out there who will do this to help others out.  The original guy I contacted about doing the IRS conversion has gone radio silent - which tells me that he doesn't want to do it - so I'm making plans to have it done elsewhere.  The parts collection is going to be the hardest part because I know jack shit about IRS rear ends or how to convert to the Type 2 CVs.  I hope to get through the parts collection without turning it into an expensive lesson...I may have a local solution but I won't know for a few days if that pans out.

Engine parts should be getting shipped soon - just have to wait for it to get shipped...but it's looking like it's going to be next week before the parts show up.

Friday, August 3, 2018

Windowlicker

A few days ago, I pulled a muscle in my back.  I went to urgent care and the doctor basically told me to relax, take some muscle relaxers and OTC pain meds and wait it out...and once I was no longer in pain to do some 'core strengthening' exercises and stretching.  Err...yeah, okay.  I guess getting on the bike once in a while and going for a walk wouldn't kill me.  I do need to get out of the house more often.

Anyhow, not being able to lift or push anything, I went out looking to solve simple problems: new rubber plugs for the body and new 'pads' for the seat release cable lever at the door.  The driver's side pad disappeared and the bare lever has been eating into the door.  It was high time to solve this problem.
While out in the garage looking for something, I slid open one of my cabinet doors and had an epiphany...the doors have glide pads on them.  I pulled one of the doors off, flipped it over and took a look, and noticed that while these specific pads were too big (I thought about stealing them for the car) - I could probably find something online that would work.  So back in the house I went looking for a solution online.

What I found was really close to the correct size - and inexpensive at 35 cents each - so I bought six knowing that I'd trim them down, probably screw up a couple of times before I got it right, and then install the last one when I figured it out.
In a moment of zen, I was able to trim the pin portion down slightly with a sharp box cutter and it fit perfectly into the hole.  The originals are melted in place on the back side - I didn't do that with this one.  I will, however, experiment with doing that in the near future because I have five extra pieces.  I need to figure out how to get something hot in the back side to melt the back down (I don't really want to take the lever out of the door if I can avoid it).

I haven't been able to find a solution to the rubber body plugs yet.  I can say that none of the hardware stores within a 20 mile radius of my house have them.
I called the body shop yesterday to inquire about the pan work - they are a tad bit behind but said that the pan would be done by the 11th of August.  The timing is pretty good for that - given that my back is 'out' and the engine isn't back together yet.

Speaking of the engine - I got a call from the first engine builder to tell me that he's got all of the parts and will ship it out on Monday or Tuesday - meaning I'll possibly get it Friday or the following Monday.

All of the oil cooler parts, except the hoses, are on hand, and the oil filter mount is en route, although I am expecting to have to made modifications to get it to fit.  Once the engine is back together and fired up, the exhaust will have to get welded, then the header wrap installed, then (hopefully) get installed in the car...but that depends on which rear subframe direction I go...yes, I'm still on the fence about the IRS conversion.  There are a few interested parties with regard to the transmission and I think I'm silently holding out hope that one will come through.  I'd really like to get the IRS conversion done so I don't have to take the car apart for a while after it's back together.  The picture to the left is not mine - it's what I'm going to use to guide the end result of what I want in my IRS conversion.

The shop that's doing the pans can do the IRS conversion if I secure the parts and the jigs (which I've already done).  The parts might be available locally but I have to dig into that a bit more next week...otherwise, it'll all have to be brought in from far away.  I'm already putting out the feelers for that as well.  A lot of open-ended things still but it's moving forward in spite of my inability to stretch properly before doing any work.