[67drake]

On my Pontiac nothing, but it’s a means to an end…..
I rebuilt the engine on my ‘62 Mercury over the winter. I had about 75 miles on the break in and lost 2nd gear on the transmission. Well, that was 6 weeks ago. I finally got out in the shop and pulled the tail shaft to get the governor out. Cleaned it up and reinstalled the tail shaft, then dropped the pan , cleaned the brass screen/filter, then filled it up. I still had it up on jack stands and it shifted in 2nd gear. I’ll try to actually road test tomorrow.
OK, now I can swap spots in the garage and pull the engine out of the LeMans. Massive oil leaks, detonation , and who knows what I’ll find when I tear it down. Hoping for an overhaul and cam swap, but may rebuild depending on what I find.
I just wanted to get the Mercury running before I tore into my next project.

[carcrazy]

Cleaning out the garage so I can get to it!............

[67drake]

Had to go into,and past, Madison today for a celebration of life for my wife’s aunt who passed last year.
It was a sunny day with a cool north breeze. I checked the weather and it was 68 and barometer was at 30.3. Great day to take a Pontiac! We took the GTO and put 144 miles on it.
Now to get that Mercury out and the LeMans into the project garage stall.

[67drake]

Mercury shifted great. Drove it about 25 miles.
So swapped the cars around and put the LeMans on dollys and positioned it in the spot of no return. I doubt I’ll drive it again before I pull the engine, so it will probably be there till spring. Hopefully with a new cam and an engine that doesn’t pee fluids.

[cdrookie]

Washed the undercarriage to get the 2.5yrs of body shop dust off.

[jhein]

Went for a drive today. Beautiful day for it.

Ordered a pair of MT ET Street S/S tires for the rear. 255/60-15. BFGs are too slippery. I was considering the 275s but then I'd probably need a 8" wheel. I'll try these first. If it's not enough then I guess I can put the 255s on the front and get 275s for the rear.

[Radman]

Picked the car up from the glass shop. New windshield.

[carcrazy]

Polished the grills on my 67 GTO.

[RocktimusPryme]

Took the 67 to play a round of golf. Had a panic attack when it wouldn't start when I tried to leave. Could hear the solenoid clicking, but no spin. Finally after about 15 tries it spun over and started. Maybe time for a new mini starter. Its been in there for like 7 years, so I cant be overly mad if it is going out.

Started just fine when I got home.

[4dblnkldude]

I vacuumed out the 81 and put new floor mats in. I had them embroidered from Ames.

[BILL BOWMAN1]

Catalina :
New Addco sway bar installed on front.
New rear sway bar arrived, install soon
GTO : 2 friends from work helping install rear bumper later today.

[jhein]

Yesterday I made a new set of plug wires. I made the set that was on there over 2 years ago when I still had the RAIII. After going through the motor swap, they got pulled off and on countless times. When I did my compression test a couple weeks ago, two of the terminals pulled off the wires when I pulled them off the plugs. So I suspected the others may not be far behind. When I made that set I think I crimped too close to the end of the insulation which made them more prone to coming off.

Anyway, recent driving was just feeling a little off, like maybe a little rougher than normal. So when I pulled the wires to replace them, the #5 boot/wire came off the plug and left the terminal on the plug. Before I pulled it off I could see that it didn't look right. I'm using 180* boots and that boot wasn't quite straight and I could wiggle it so I knew something was wrong.

Driving this morning with the new wires it felt very different. Much smoother and better power.

So I think that the #5 wire was just barely making contact with the terminal, maybe even intermittent contact giving me a miss. Anyway, noticeable difference after the change, much better.

[BILL BOWMAN1]

Now the fun starts, twisting, turning, shimming this and that to get gaps even.

[67drake]

Nothing. I left them at home and went to the town cruise in in my Mercury. Gotta get miles on this thing and get that break in oil out.
Town of 537 people,and we had a little over 100 cars here.

[67drake]

Try again!

[Steve Shively]

Getting the Firebird back together between moving from old garage to new one.

[RAIIIJudge]

what did I do ? what haven't I done probably better. got a long "to do" list here ...

riv-nutted one sway bar bracket-threads other day .. quite a difference when going down the road now.

best I can tell car's alternator's never been apart and bearings were loud. ordered some bearings then figured I might as well rebuild it while I was in there so I ordered a kit w/ improved stator (this is a 37 amp alt) .. while waiting nearly a month for shipping I read fine print that in order to get full effect of new stator you should replace rotor ... ok so I call to order a new rotor to be informed I have to order online "we dont take orders over the phone" ... hm ok but can rotor please be shipped along with kit and bearings? honestly sounding surprised at the Q "oh no we cant do that .. its no biggie just pull alternator out and replace rotor when new one arrives". I passed on new rotor.

stuff arrives and I open alternator which was just filthy inside w/ front bearing completely trashed. I'd never rebuilt one before but it wasn't difficult: after cleaning had to press diodes and bearings out and install new plus other stuff. when I had it back on car I quickly grazed positive terminal to battery and sure enough something arced inside case. got it apart and found that a diode lead was lying against housing. once I addressed that and got back on car I was all set.
its nice hearing only the motor and not bad bearings.

[jamesq]

I took my 63 Safari out for about a 20 mile drive early this 4th of July morning.

That's about all I can do, it's brutally hot right now!

James Q

[BILL BOWMAN1]

NOTHING. Already 88* and 73% humidity. Inside stuff only today. I’m going to enjoy a rare day off.

[67drake]

What’s the saying about a long journey starting with the first step, or something.
Pulled the hood off of the ‘63 tonight. I’m going to start pulling the engine as I have time. Everyone is gone this weekend except for me, so figured I might have time in the garage. I wanted to get the hood pulled while my 12 year old is still home, so he could help. He’s literally about 1/3 of the size of my 16 year old, who is gone working in a repair shop for the summer. He’s the one usually helping me. I told my 12 year old I don’t want a busted windshield, and he handled it fine.