Since I'm still without manuals or parts for my '78 Midget I have been
just doing basic maintenance type things, plus minor body work.
I took the front rubber bumper off to get at some dings under it, and
I think that there is a slim chance that it will be returned. This thing
weighs 50lbs! It seems that the nose of the Midget is a good inch
higher without it. The car looks worse without it though, now I can see
all the dings, dents and rust.
Also while I was at the front of the car I noticed some poor welding
on the A-arm, by the fulcrum pin. It seems that the tube where the
fulcrum pin mounts into had broken loose and cracked the a-arm. Now it
seems to me to be easier (and safer) to just replace the a-arm, but some
one decided other wise. The a-arm has recracked at the same point, and
the fulcrum pin assembly is very close to coming totally undone. The guy
I bought this project from was driving this car, and I'm sure he's the
one that did the bodged repair too. There was a a-arm in the trunk, I
guess he knew that he would need it.
It seems that some people will go far out of their way to do something
wrong. This car was dangerous to drive, yet the previous owner mentioned
nothing about it. The a-arm is cracked in the front and on the top, the
fulcrum pin tube has totally broken out of the top on one side!
Now I primarily bought this car because it has a really good body, so
I didn't (and kinda still don't) care about the mechanicals, but this
a-arm is just absurd.
I would be curious as to any of your horror stories......
So, what's the worst repair/restoration/bodge you've ever seen?
I'll tell you my worst, and no, it's not the a-arm above. About two years
ago I bought an unfinished street rod project, a '52 Dodge truck. The
guy had used a '70 Dodge Dart as a donor car, and used the slant six
engine and trans for the truck. BUT, he also used the Darts brake lines
too! I could tell that they had all been rebent to fit, and to make
matters worse, since the rear axle lines were too long, he just wound
the brake line a few times around the rear shock absorbers. The crowning
achievement to this guys idiot mechanics, was that THERE WAS NO REAR
FLEXIBLE RUBBER BRAKE LINE!! That right, the metal line had to flex with
the rear axles suspension movement. This guy was trying to start his
own lawn service, and was pulling a trailer full of lawn mowers and tools
behind this truck. Frightening isn't it?
-Aron Travis-
"always in a automotive frenzy"
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