Bolts got here from Inline Tube yesterday, a whole day early! So Pat and I had to make a 50 mile trip to Green Bay to replace her crack phone (extra smart, 5th time!) and she bought me a JBL remote speaker for the shop. It runs off the wifi in the house just like ALEXIS you see on TV. FANTASTIC. FM radio is practically non existant up here unless you wanna hear "half way there" over and over again. Cant stomach that glam crap even once a week. So we get home and charged the L.I. battery, paired the crack phones and wifi stuff AND watched several Utubes just to make sure we did it right and VOILA! It dont work. They may have 1 failure per 5,000,000 units and you know who's gonna get it; MOI! I still cant figure out how they get 8 great tomatoes in that little bitty can, but a chinaman in a quart sized tube?????? So now its another trip back to GB. They have incurred the wrath of Pat! Im gonna stand there and watch as she works her magic. They'll be begging her to take an upgraded model AND probably some in-store coupons from VERIZON. GO BABY!! ws
So after a lengthy office visit with a RHUEMETOLOGIST yesterday (Rusky gal 47!) its been determined that I have one of the blood factors that cause rhuemetoid arthritis. Oste-arthritis is bad enough. So to help determine root analysis, she prescribed prednisone. Just what I need ; someting thatll make IRRITABLE and HUNGRY. Its a double dose and only for a week. Took one this morning and felt like superfl- ah, Superman. Got home and filled the rearened with oil (way easier), and benched pressed the 300lb unit into position on rags to prevent scratching everything. Got the shocks mounted first then began the control arm bolting. I did find out that I am not 30 years old anymore! Six lousy hours later I called it quits; I was outa propane and outa STEAM LOL. Tons of swearing, blocking and floor jacking and the bastard is bolted in loose, but in. Yesterday we took a spin to Green Bay to the chinaman phone store (verizon) and replaced the google speaker thing that the first one failed on. Went bigger yet from 4 hours of battery to a ten jhour battery. Hey, tunes on demand were cool, but the 10 hour battery crapped out after 3 hours. Chinaman say you go long time for happy ending. Pat said she'd make a THIRD trip to replace this one (BEWARE THE WRATH OF PAT!!!!) if the battery doesnt charge up tonight. It was good for a while. Right now its a 2 star rating. ws
So the HOODO-RADIOO was on its dedicated charger all night and played yesterday all day from 2pm till closing, abouse 10:30 pm without dying. Figured out chinamans secret; when you play this thing, you ask for a specific tune by name and you get a facsimile. Then after that its generic "genre" elevator music "sorta". And thats not all! For a mere $10.00 you can subscribe to a GOOGLE "play list" program to play what wnd when you want it. Its probably chapter 47, paragraph 19 section D, sub paragraph 37 of the china communication conspiracy code. Pats got us on for a 30 day free trial (probably with an auto pay/renewal 1 year contract!). Kinda like not so SIRIUS radio but different. Hey, TV used to be free too! Need the smart phone and wifi biz that homey dont play. Ive got a flip phone, so the DJ-program director is Pat! Blew off working on the rear end yesterday. My pal from Manitowoc wanted to go explore a co-workers barn fire. So since the guy was selling all remnants at scrap value (only the barn was insured) I grabbed the generator, cords and electric chain and skil saws and went for a ride. The owner raised goats and Alpacas, and one had evidently kicked over a space heater in the side barn. Both places went up. The main barn being 150+ years old was built of pegged mortise and tenon constuction, then steel sided finally in about 1990. My pal collects Massey-Harris farm tractors and there was a 2000 "Harley Davidson" plus a BobCat skid steer unit all uninsured in the basement. All the livestock perished. The barn was built insto a hill side (normal around here) to get animals in at ground level for feeding and bailed hay by equipment inside, upstairs. This barn was probably 75' deep, 200' feet long, and 3 stories tall. What a mess! We left empty handed. It was a hot one fueled by diesel fuel, gas and propane. YIKES! Dont bitch when the premium comes in the mail!! ws
That farm tractor can probably be saved if it's owner wants to badly enough. About 20 years ago a friend (actually twin brothers) had a brand-new Case forklift fried when a part of their lumberyard burned. It looked a lot like the tractor in the picture above. The insurance company totaled it, and the yard owners were able to buy it back for peanuts. The guy who was my aircraft mechanic took it on, and in a few months of part-time work was able to get it up and running for a fraction of what it would have cost to replace it. It didn't look brand-new, but only because the lumberyard owners chose not to replace the decals and didn't want to repaint the forks. BTW: Barns used to house machinery are usually worth less then what they contain. Contents insurance is a must.
Contents insurance is a must. Absolutely! This was one hot a$$ fire. Check the carbonator... The heads on the sportster melted too... Really tho, no worse that a lot of Model T's Ive brought back to life! I guess it depends on two things; yer age and yer spirit of enthusiasm! ws
So all the rear control arms are pucker string tight, and loading the axles and backing plates has begun... The Olds Type "O" rear end is a reverse engineered POS. The drivers side axle went in with a tap on the hub with a plastic mallet. Then snugged up the backing plate which was removed loaded with brakes. Install was reversed. The passenger side is another story... As things would have it, the outer wheel bearing is about a .0005" (yes, thats a half) OS fit which requires the brake drum to be flipped over on the studs with nuts and used as a slide hammer. Had this side out for a rear seal 2 years ago and it came apart easy. Today I fought with that fugger for 4 hours and short of beating the crap out of it to get it back in, I am lost. It almost feels like the pinion splines arent lined up but the bearing is half way in and no way to tap it home. I even unloaded the backing plate for the fat fingers. I wished I were born a basketball star. Cant hold a B ball with one hand either. So the bearing is half way in and then the seal, which is squeezed by the four bolts and a plate from the hub side of the brake backing plate. If the bolts were a half inch longer I could pull it home. Is that the alternative? I might tap the 4 studs back out and do it with bolts. I got sooo frustrated that I came in before the 4lb hammer met the quarter panel. man I was burned up... see the goat above? Thats a mirror shot! ws
Just an FYI for anyone that may be reading this........ I stock all the Chassis Bolts needed to assemble a GM A-Body Frame & Suspension set up AND cheaper than my competitors including the outfit mentioned here! I don't intend to hijack this thread but if I can save you guys some money on Bolts, Fasteners, Screws etc..... please let me know! (Thanks) 1000's of Buick GS/GSX/Skylark Fasteners now available on my website. These are NEW fasteners, and Made in the USA.
No problem at all Todd... I wasnt thinking, just in too darn much of a hurry and ILT came to mind. I wouldve much rather dealt with a local vendor! It took 6 days from Detroilet to get here! Ive been wanting to try your stuff for some time now and will in the future. Best regards, Bill in Two rivers.
Soooooo, this morning with fresh mind and spirit, I enter Tut's Tomb for the first time in 4 millenia... Oops! Wrong story. Get out to the shop armed with some longer bolts to replace the backing plate bolts with and to guide the axle, well centered etc. into the fit on the housing. I shouldve been surprised when I found that I couldve spit on it it wouldve slid in! WHUMPP! Day it is! But it has to get better. Swapped out the longer bolts and replace the 1 inch long OEM stubs and began to snug it up. As soon as any tension was made, it got so damn tight that I could barely turn it. Being a peg leg the other side spun as free as could be, and spun the U joint yoke as well. Now I know the secret and had it in and out about 6 times cleaning it and inspecting each time to no avail. Three years ago, I had the seal replaced, and needless to say they installed the wrong one. No sweat, but a 25 ton pressed on bearing will only handle so much. Took it back up to Pi Napa Crappa for a new bearing and seal. The whole job with labor is gonna be about $65.00. Not a deal breaker as the parts were actually on the shelf at the store. If any exspurts here care, this type "O" Olds rear end is also known as a BUICK "TYPE B". Hows them apples? Only a two year run on this model. Without ever finding any I.D. stuff while it was out last week, I may just designate it a "TYPE B" for posterity. Another point to ponder, is that the bearing and seal was only on the shelf because its a current number for a 1978-2009 Jeep model rear end. Tuff Tah-Tah's eh? Damn Dodges LOL! Tomorrow is another day... ws
Lots of the Jeepie stuff transfers over to other brands, especially axles, as 90% of them are Dana 35s or 44s.....Steering shaft out of a Grand Cherokee about 1993-98 is a good upgrade for the Grand National guys, also.....
Another chapter for Mein Kampf part II... Picked up the axle this morning (plus a new can of GOJO, the new D&L blue label stuff sucks buttermilk!) and leisurely walked up behind the rear end and slid that puppy right in; half way again. It took several atempts without bashing on it, then I had an AH HA moment. I pulled it back out and MIC'd the bearing at 2.505". The housing MIC'd up at 2.505" as well. That means a pretty straight shot plus a bit of rubber skin on the oil seal. "With great scrutiny" I found what appeared to be a varnish like film on the bore, but free from nicks and burrs. I took some 220 sand paper ( I do a lot of woodwork!) and cleaned it up which helped substantialy. That still wasnt quite enough so I gave it the polish job with a small fine wheel cyclinder hone. BINGO! Washed it out and assembled for a perfect feel. Now the stripped down backing plate/brake reinstall gave me some grief. Came to find out that the PO had reversed 2 springs that pull the shoes closed. One was WAYYYY too tight and the other side was way loose. My shop is warm and well lit, but sitting on an ice cold concrete floor back in a dark corner wasnt my idea of a picnic. AMOS didnt appreciate it either. GADS! My kingdom for a 2 post lift. I have an 8 foot ceiling and would settle for four feet of lift, but not one of those scissor lift jobs; confidence is LOW on those! Working out back alone even with good jackstands is kinda scary. I always keep the crack phone handy! ws
Hey BRIZ... this is the dash in question; just so you dont hafta search back through a tone of drivvle! Thanks, ws
Got the back end just about buttoned up. Gotta bleed the brakes, install the wheels and get her on the ground. Still need to touch up the Cragars with the chrome pen. It dont sound like much, but when yer old, fat and handicapped AND laying on your back on a frozen concrete floor, anything extra is a miracle LOL... A good case for using never-seize! ws
Thanks Geoff... Hope yer staying toasty warm in FLA! Yeah... the judges here can be pretty critical LOL, but life is a learning process. Most of this stuff would be a cake walk with a rack to work under, but flat on yer back makes it tuff on us old guys. Continue on --- ws
So. Today I had Pat available to help me bleed the rear brakes. I couldnt believe it but after 2 hours of back and forth, I couldnt get a drop outa the bleeders with a rock hard pedal. Now, I get curious since 2 years ago I put in a new master cylinder and booster and thought all was well, even tho back then the pedal was still rock hard. That time I just bench bled the unit. So I am now looking at the proportioning valve (A real PITA to get at!) and the rusty as heck frame to differential hose. The hose was by far the easiest to get at and after a vigorous wire brushing, it revealed itself. The trusty old Snap On 6 point flare nut wrench came to the rescue. I really envisioned another PITA rounding off the steel fitting into the hose. That ol' wrench with 100lbs behind it finally cracked and the juices spewed forth. The pedal immediately went to the floor. A LOUSY FAILED 50 YEAR OLD 13" HOSE! Ordered one from crack auto and itll be here tomorrow, Sunday, at 1000hrs. A measely $15.00 part. Oh well. This is the first time Ive ever had a hose collapse inside itself. Now to get the clip off the frame! Its way up behind the gas tank in the nether regions. ws
