A Bit of a Drop

I put new tires on last night and re-adjusted the suspension a bit. The original tires were a freebie set from my good friend Ricky (who corrected all my body work mistakes and sprayed the car). I knew that I would completely waste them as I tried to dial in the suspension settings. Also, as the springs settled, things changed. I'm working with 4.5 degrees caster and about 1/8" toe-in.  The old front tires were 225/50/16. The new ones are 205/40/16. I'm running about 25psi and will adjust from there.

Now, on to the comparison pic:

Interior Ideas....

There may be some changes coming for the interior. I'm sourcing another bench seat to modify. The current set-up is a modified bench/bucket from the back of a Fox body Mustang. It isn't holding up too well. It's getting a bit uncomfortable in the posterior.

A co-worker happens to have a bench out of a blazer. I plan on cutting the frame and foam down, or making my own foam. If possible, the rear trunk area will be modified for access from behind the seats.

Not Much Going On.... Yet

I haven't had much to report. My wife and I have been a little too pre-occupied (HAPPILY SO) with the arrival of our first child in October.

To be honest, I'm just having too much fun with my future little gearhead (or whatever he may be into) to even think about turning a wrench.

Plans for the tail end of this winter include an interior re-vamp, and perhaps a new transmission or a rebuild of the current one. It seems my TH350 is refusing to stop leaking from wherever it is leaking from. We shall see. As far as the interior, I'm planning a new, more secure, and with a slightly larger entry size for the rear storage. I want to be able to fit a small bag, some chairs, and perhaps a small soft sided cooler back there for some longer trips to shows. There is also a chance I may add a roll bar. That one is still up in the air.

Other than that, I can't wait for spring and some much needed "throttle therapy."

Just a Quick Pic

A matter of time...

Well, it was only a matter of time before I damaged something. After pulling the entire engine and trans to replace the front pump seal on my TH350, I was putting the carb back on when the threads stripped out on the intake manifold. DOH! So, the next day at work, I picked up a HeliCoill brand thread repair kit.

The kit consists of a tap, the insert, and the tool to install the insert.

Step one is to use the correct size drill (not included) to prepare the hole. Be careful here. You need to make sure the drill goes in completely straight. Also, be sure to cover any place that the metal shavings could get into. I used the handyman's favorite tool, duct tape, to cover the opening in the intake manifold.

Step two is to tap the hole with the provided tap. Be sure to go slow. I used a tap handle (also, not included) with the tap.

Next, use the install tool and thread the insert onto it. You can only thread it on one way as the bottom has a tang on it. More on that later...

 After using a blow gun to clear out the chips from the hole, thread the insert into the hole. It should be slightly lower than the top of the hole to ensure your new carb stud will thread properly. After the insert is at the proper depth, use a small punch to brake the tang off of the insert.

 The aforementioned tang..

This time around, I sprung for some ARP studs.
















All done!

Been enjoying the ride!

Haven't been posting much, because I've been too busy having fun with the bucket!

YAY!

Drove it to work today! What a great day for a drive! I still have to work on the alignment a bit. It darts a little bit over really rough pavement, and tends to follow the crown in the road a bit. But, we'll get it done.

If the weather cooperates, the car will be at it's first show this weekend at Summit Racing Equipment for the annual Super Summit.

Can't wait!