Time to dig in...softie conversion

[speedo]

Button it up.

And on to the left side. The rubber holders for the rear reflectors are also old and stiff. I replaced the rusted studs and have new reflectors


I was worried that trying to force the new lenses into the old holders would do one of two things...1) crack the 42 year old rubber holder, or 2) break the new lens.
Solution...I got up early and put some water on to boil... added the rubber holders

and right before the wife came downstairs and had the chance to ask "what the hell was I cooking on the stove for breakfast"...I rescued the pliable rubber holders and easily installed the lenses...whew

Assembled...

And installed

Both sides now

So I need to work on this guy now

[speedo]

That don't require beading. I needed to clean up my rear bumperettes/overiders.
I picked my best chrome pair and then my best set of rubber bumpers and introduced them to each other

The beading was a pain, but it is correct...and as I am always correct
I added it where needed

Together now So I am a bit frustrated at how much shop debris is evident on the car. And I want to wash it off rather than wipe it off. However (yeah you are going to like this...or I am going to get flamed) the boat trailer is out in front of the garage. I cannot roll the car outside to wash it off with the boat trailer there. We are going to have high winds over the next several days...so for you helpful souls that have suggested the "match" approach to the wood boat...that ain't gonna work. I have potential winter storage for the boat with a guy that runs a cigarette race boat (in Colorado ? Yeah I know...but he is sponsored by all four of the armed forces and has a big shop (story for another day) and is willing to store my wooden boat for a few months...yahoo!

Wait, it is starting to look like a car!

You know what this means...fuchs time

[speedo]

I had to treat myself...the shop cookies had to go....

These are my Al Reed 15x7s with 205 55 15s

Dirty car slide (yes I mean't to say slide) shot

Funny...with all the dirt on the car, it doesn't look like a resto, looks more like a "barn find". Great, I should start a new thread on how to stage your "Barn find"

Oh no I just found something that I missed....where does it go?

Not sure whether to recarpet this piece or just re-install as "color". I do have a question as it relates to how this piece is installed. I get it with the notches facing to the rear, but with the angle up or down. Yeah I know this is simple stuff...but I have forgotten more than I have learned...


I have what seems like a longer checklist...the closer I get to being complete.
I am more motivated now that I have reached this point. The car is filthy...I still need to rebuild the axles and adjust the E brake....aw hell I still have a ton of stuff to do, but I am closer...if I do a little everyday.

[megerian]

I am sure others are more accurate than me, but isnt the missing piece the cover for the shifter linkage, which is in the center, just ahead of the rear seats, under the carpeting?

[4495]

[QUOTE=speedo;7785099]. I do have a question as it relates to how this piece is installed. I get it with the notches facing to the rear, but with the angle up or down.

I replaced mine (engine bay rubber thingy) the same way that I found the original. I'm pretty sure that the metal strip in the car only accepts that thing one way. And I believe that that would be the opposite of the way you have it laying in the picture.

[mikeferg75]

Looking good Lars!

[speedo]

I was just kidding guys...that is the cover that gives access to the shift coupler through the tunnel on the floor between the rear seats. It is trapezoidal in shape and can only be installed one way. On some early cars it was black, although I have seen cars that had it upholstered/carpeted. It was never to my knowledge painted body color...but I could be wrong. I think under normal circumstances the cover was either black or a complement to the interior carpet/upholstery color. Mine will be painted again...black and get installed once I am confident that my shift linkage-shifter is adjusted correctly.

[Kidasters]

No - please don't paint it black. I like the body colored accents.

[merbesfield]

Originally Posted by speedo

I was just kidding guys...that is the cover that gives access to the shift coupler through the tunnel on the floor between the rear seats. It is trapezoidal in shape and can only be installed one way. On some early cars it was black, although I have seen cars that had it upholstered/carpeted. It was never to my knowledge painted body color...but I could be wrong. I think under normal circumstances the cover was either black or a complement to the interior carpet/upholstery color. Mine will be painted again...black and get installed once I am confident that my shift linkage-shifter is adjusted correctly.

I caught the joke. In 1973, maybe 72, they were actually wrinkle finished to match the seat brackets.

[gsmith660]

Looks nice you are a true craftsman!

[speedo]

...what is the nastiest (not the hardest or most difficult) chore on an early 911? Well way up towards the top of the chart on my list...would be rebuilding CV joints/axles.
If I was doing this in the middle of summer...the bearing grease inside the joint would be loose and oozy. Given that it is 0 degrees here, dropping to minus double digits at night...even bearing grease turns to frozen sludge. An old school buddy (who used to work at a dealership) showed up last night and asked me why the hell I was completely dis-assembling the axles and CVs.



He told me that when clients came to the dealership with a disintegrated boot, they would basically replace the boot and reinstall the axle...and call it good for a replaced axle. I am not going to go down the path of busting the dealers for "motor meistering" the axles...but "while I am in there"...they should be done right.
It is an easy , but messy rebuild. The CVs come apart.

Unfortunately, the rubber boots ordered, were not the boots that arrived. So I am cleaned up and ready to reinstall...waiting for the parts

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by speedo

...what is the nastiest (not the hardest or most difficult) chore on an early 911? Well way up towards the top of the chart on my list...would be rebuilding CV joints/axles....{snip}

+100 to that! Close to it would be changing the starter on a daily driver. yuk! Brings a whole new meaning to hugging a filthy tranny.

[speedo]

Up on "the hill" you usually knock 5-6 degrees off that. Bottom line...tough to get super motivated to go out and work with metal tools. I have a torpedo heater which I treated myself to for a half hour to take the temp in the shop from below freezing to slightly above.
So I sourced the correct boots locally yesterday, as well as the steel clutch cable trunion which replaces the cheap plastic oem guy. I was also missing the little rubber bellows that protects the end of the clutch cable where it meets the pivot fork from the trannie. Assembly time. It is easy to get "backwards" when putting the CV back together. It will go back together the wrong way...and be really stiff. Rather non-constant-velocity...ask me how I know. I have never seen an assembly diagram for this, cause I guess most people just chuck the used axle in the trash and order a new one. There was very little wear on the hardware once they were disassembled and thoroughly degreased...so they will work another 40 years. I have only cleaned three of the CVs, as I use the assembled fourth one (cleaned up sort of) as a guide for reassembly of the other three. Once they are done, I'll clean the fourth and do it last.


I'm sure there are lots of ways to do it, but assemble the center of the CV inside the cage, and install two bearings (side by side) at a time. Then with a hand under the bottom of the CV to keep the bearings from dropping out, I shift the cage, and install two more, and then two more. No bearing grease at this point yet.

With all the bearings installed correctly, it should look like this... but in reality they could be assembled incorrectly and look pretty close to this. The joint just won't be a joint.

Remember to install the boots and the clamps first...kind of obvious as they will not be easy to install later

A completed end with the big circlip installed...still no grease

Goes quickly after the first one

I will pack the CV with grease on the boot side and secure the boot with the new clamps, and wait to pack the out side of the cv till I am ready to install the axle so I don't get grease everywhere. Although with the outside temps as what they are, the grease is more like the consistency of ice cream. Maybe the axle install will happen tomorrow. Pretty much a full roll of paper towels to deal with all the old grease...hey strike it off the list!

[Duckworth]

Most of us tend to learn more when the ugly / yuck elements are not glossed over...and given their full meaning and reverberation. Otherwise, it tends to resemble a Chilton's manual with all left to your imagination. Fwiw...

There was a book 'Adrift' some years back, of a guy who needed to perform all manner of handskills, to save himself at sea. Since it's survival based, it's not everyone's cup 'o tea. But for inspiration it's a dynamo, for hands-on types.

Not a love story...though.

[speedo]

But my mom did and I think she put a good word in for me....mom?
I forced myself out to the shop to get something done. I had a few choices...
Adjust the ride height on the passenger side rear wheel (mandatory), install the foglight covers (optional), connect the clutch cable to trannie (mandatory), install wiper arms (optional), measure for battery and install...pretty much mandatory.
I picked the one I most didn't want to do. Torsion bar adjustment. As I had replaced the non-adjustable spring plates for adjustable spring-plates, my first line of defense was to get the car up in the air and adjust the spring plates to the full deflection that would raise the rear of the car. Loosened and adjusted the plate, secured everything back up, bolted the wheel back on the hub, lowered the car...and voila. Crap, still too low. Ok, time to index the torsion bars. I like doing this...really
Maybe I should just crush my non-essential digit on my left hand in a vice.
So everything gets loosened back up, and I get to pry the TB back out of the tube. Good news is that it comes out (relatively) easily as it was only recently installed
I scribed a mark on the longitudinal for the original spring plate "angle of dangle", and I scribed a new line for the adjusted spring plate at "full adjustment". So my new "angle of dangle" is going to be below both of those. I played with the inner and outer splines to reach a decent compromise and bolted everything back up with a "leap of faith". Yank the jack stands and evaluate...

Given that I originally moved the adjustment to full tilt ride height...and the car was still too low, before I indexed the TBs I neutralized the adjustment. Here I am after the indexing...with now the option to raise the ride height another half to three quarters inch. I like the current height personally...but I tend to err on the lower side

I decided that a small achievement was in order. Too early for beer...and it is Sunday so I decided to install the foglight block-offs. Earlier in the thread I made the ill-advised attempt to permanently weld the openings shut. Bad idea. Bad idea for several reasons... but just a bad idea. So I am a rehab'ed fog light guy...who still wants to get rid of the fog lights. The before....

The during

And the after...big improvement. I'm sorry, but bad stuff happens 6 inches above the road at speed and I am just not a fan of repairing these fog light lenses. I would rather install the above bumper fog/driving lights (although I am not a huge fan of those also)...anyways...done

My clutch cable turns out to be incorrect...new on gets picked up tomorrow.
Wiper arms and new blades are done.
Cold slows the motivation...but I have insulated Carharts.
I am warming (not due to the current temps) to the car.
My engine "fire-up" buddy is willing to schedule something soon...Chris are you out there....?

[speedo]

Got the CV right boots, and clamps. Need to pack the CVs with grease , slip the boot up over the flange on the CV and tighten the clamp. Sounds easy, right? Anything that "sounds" easy usually comes back to bite me. There is a reason people just throw axles away. It is the bearing grease. I'm not sure what it is actually made of...but it reminds me of the first diaper I changed after my children were born. Remember, it is called macadam. Sticks to anything. Then it sticks to anything you try to use to wipe it off....push repeat. The first attempt to get the lip of the boot (slimy thing) up over the lip of the flange took me a good hour. I perfected a technique using ...nope, not going to tell you. Selling the trade secret.
Second one took 5 minutes...third and fourth took a minute each.


Anyway, crappy job that is done. I even used the correct clamps...I'm proud of myself for not taking the easy pipe clamp route

Let's get these puppies installed.

I need twice as many of the bolts as I can find. I guess I forgot that both ends of the axles get grease too. So much for my temporary nirvana. Don't forget these...really.

Here...have a taste before I install. Rasberry flavored...grease

And done


Now when I put the car in gear in the shop to prevent it from rolling backwards...it won't roll backwards...don't ask

[speedo]

These are a simple install...confidence builder. No issues once they get cleaned up, greased and ...

Installed. Oh yeah, these are the wedge bolts for the front struts. Bad to forget to install these.

The fuel bar in the engine compartment is next. Go ahead and flame me for two lame projects back to back. Hey, I need confidence builders after the axles. I bought a bunch of the #12 clamps (not enough) and the carbs need to get the attention first


The factory fuel bar

I want to make it a bit more symmetrical. I want this

To look more like this

And we do

Installed minus the missing clamps I specifically told myself to buy

Looks a lot better

So yeah I cheated an scratched two little items off the list. The list is long and I am doing the best I can given that it is cold outside and inside the shop. But hey...the most important day of the year was yesterday! Winter solstice! The days are getting longer by 3 whole minutes a day! Whoohoo! I noticed the difference today already. Daylight savings here in the states is (a topic for a completely different thread) a colossal waste of anything. What a hugely dumb idea...just say'in.
Happy holidays to everyone out there. Cheers!

Speedo

[merbesfield]

Originally Posted by speedo

Got the CV right boots, and clamps. Need to pack the CVs with grease , slip the boot up over the flange on the CV and tighten the clamp. Sounds easy, right? Anything that "sounds" easy usually comes back to bite me. There is a reason people just throw axles away. It is the bearing grease. I'm not sure what it is actually made of...but it reminds me of the first diaper I changed after my children were born. Remember, it is called macadam. Sticks to anything. Then it sticks to anything you try to use to wipe it off....push repeat. The first attempt to get the lip of the boot (slimy thing) up over the lip of the flange took me a good hour. I perfected a technique using ...nope, not going to tell you. Selling the trade secret.
Second one took 5 minutes...third and fourth took a minute each.


Anyway, crappy job that is done. I even used the correct clamps...I'm proud of myself for not taking the easy pipe clamp route

Let's get these puppies installed.

I need twice as many of the bolts as I can find. I guess I forgot that both ends of the axles get grease too. So much for my temporary nirvana. Don't forget these...really.

Here...have a taste before I install. Rasberry flavored...grease

And done


Now when I put the car in gear in the shop to prevent it from rolling backwards...it won't roll backwards...don't ask

Please you must confess to those of us untrained CV maestro what to-be's" .What's your supper secret in how it get the CV joints back together. Sounds like chasing greased pigs in pig pin.

[merbesfield]

Looks a lot better


Lars, I see your weber air filters look like K&N's. Do you replace yours or clean them periodically by washing them off? If wash, what do you wash with and then treat them with, thanks, Mark

[speedo]

Mark,
I follow the directions with the "rejuve" K and N spray kit. As I remember I do a light pressure spray inside and out, then spray the magic oil back onto the filters.
The CV boot explanation I am a bit reluctant to divulge...seems like it out to require some suffering, a rite of passage. I definitely suffered, covered many tools including myself with grease...and swore several times while wondering how come after all this time I never bought "the tool". There is one, isn't there?
Anyway, slide the boot on the axle till the small end "seats". Spoon in the grease trying hard not to get it everywhere...or just give up because it will ultimately get everywhere regardless. Wipe it on your Carharts, all over your gloves etc...just get it over with. The key to get this started is use your two hands (left and right) to get the back half of the boot over the back half of the flange, and your third (center) hand to pull the front half of the boot over the front half of the flange...without letting the greasy back half slip off. If you lost your third hand somewhere, here is the alternative...the boot and where it starts. Grease is already applied to the inside of the CV. Be nice about the artwork

Grab two long narrow screwdrivers...Phillips or flat head. Irrigate the area under the small end of the boot with WD-40. One at a time, carefully work the screw drivers into the small end of the boot, towards the CV joint. Be carefull here. These are new boots. Don't get aggressive and poke the screwdriver through the new rubber boot, or worse yet as you are likely pulling towards yourself...don't poke yourself in the abdomen. I think the Japanese call this seppuku. The screwdrivers will be crossed do to the geometry of everything going on.

Work the screwdrivers towards the joint and slowly put the tips up onto the flange on the CV. Just rest the end of each on the ridge. If they extend too far over the lip, the rubber boot can catch and tear.

Now with your greasy-slimy hands holding both sides of the boot (with the back edge already over the back of the flange), work the top of the boot up towards you. It will "ride" up the shafts of the screwdrivers and over the top of the flange

As soon as the boot arrives up over the flange, be careful that the ends of the screwdrivers have not moved much as they will destroy the lip of the boot. With one hand, circle the circumference of the CV flange holding the seated boot, and with the other hand, carefully remove the screwdrivers by pulling them out backwards through the small end of the boot. Clean the seated edge of the boot with thinner to cut the grease ...in fact clean the whole CV at this point, and secure the clamp.
It is that easy...1 and 2 were a bear, but 3 and 4 were cake. Clean yourself up and have a beer.

Speedo