[njsteve]

It was the results of a failed expeditionary attempt at cleaning the basement several years ago. At least it got to within six feet of the stairs.

And I got all my old NOS 1st Gen Viper parts in one place now. (where the computer relics formerly were).

Anyone need some old 5" floppy drive IBMs?

[njsteve]

I rigged up a better method of soaking the driveshaft without damaging the original paint stripes in the center. These stripes are very fragile and definitely not an oil-based paint. I think they are latex based as they are very sensitive to water. I pulled the soaking driveshaft out of the plastic gutter-based soaking rig as soon as I saw that it was affecting the stripes. This is what I came up with: A 4" wide PVC pipe with one end capped off, tied to my garage banister. The driveshaft fits perfectly inside with 1/4" to spare. I filled it with evaporust a little at a time and would lower the driveshaft down into the tube to see where the water line was. I settled on 1" below the stripes and let it soak for several hours on one end. Every hour or so I'd pull it out and wipe the rust residue off the surface. Once I was happy with one end, I flipped ends, readjusted the liquid level and did it again. It took very little evaporust to do the process - less than one gallon, as the driveshaft takes up most of the space in the tube.

[njsteve]

Here's the result after I soaked it with Boeshield wax protectant to keep it from surface rusting: (Ignore the Jack Russell dog hair - that stuff gets everywhere!)

Before, when it was in the car. (I don't know what makes up the darker areas on either side of the stripes - but it is definitely some type of finish on there)



and freshly removed:






The solution did not affect the oil-based blue and yellow paint marks on the yoke and front u-joint:



You can even see the original welding seam where the rolled tubing was welded together. The black paint mark appears to be in line wth the two tack welded weights. Maybe it was a position marking for the balancing process?

[njsteve]

Here's the u-jount straps after wiping the grease off and a quick soak in the evaporust. (Yeah I mixed up the bolts, but got them corrected after the photo was taken). Not only are there two bolt styles but also two strap styles: notice how one strap is actually longer than the other, even though the mounting holes are in the same spots?

Before:




After: