->Then I fixed an uneven idle on the Blazer, washed the 16v TR7, had
->a Sam Smiths (leftover from the NESOL meeting - thanks!) and rewarded
->myself with a drive in the 16v TR7. What a weekend. The TR7 coupe's
->got a For Sale sign on it now, at the end of the driveway.
->
->And what did *you* do this weekend? :-) Happy (British) Motoring!
->
Well, I took off work last Friday about 3:00 to spend the rest of what
was a nice sunny day putting 'Lizbeth back together. I figured I had all the
piecesI needed to finish her up with the exception of the parts due in Sat
morning from TRF. We were waiting for a new throwout sleeve and fork pins
before putting the transmission back in.
The basic plan was put the new OD on the trans friday, put the bumpers
back on, put the rest of the trim and lights back on, renew all the rubber
gaskets around the trunk/engine compartment and straighten out any new
Lucas demons introduced by the body shop. Then Saturday I could put the clutch
in, put the trans/OD assy back in, cover it back up, put the interior back
together with the new carpet, and finish up the trunk with the new trim kit
and carpet in time to go racing on Sunday.
Anyone ever say anything to you about well laid plans? How about
words of wisdom considering Woodruf keys? There's this oil pump that makes
overdrive's work you see....
As I was putting $500.00 worth of brand new OD onto my greasy old
tranny, I was trying to get the eccentric on the mainshaft to line up with the
sleeve in the OD. (For the non-od guru, there's an eccentric that drives a
pump in the OD that makes all the magic happen. The usuall mode of failure is
when the pump fails due to excessive wear.) Anyway, I noticed that the eccentric
wasn't turning when I was turning the mainshaft. HmmmmLet's take a closer look
at this...Yup, there's supposed to be a key in here somewhere. I guess that's
what this little sliver left in the key slot used to be. I bet that's why none
of the OD's I've tried in here work. Down to the store to spend $0.18 on a new
woodruf key. AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!! Two years of frustration and head banging
trying to figure out how these critters work for eighteen cents of sheared
metal.....But luckily TRF will take the new OD back.
This little discovery required I go out immediatly for beer and darts.
Was awakened by Fed-Ex @ 9:30 on a hungover Saturday morning. Better
than an alarm clock - car parts at the front door. Better hope my manager
never figures out this is a good way to get me working early in the morning.
Spent the remainder of the day finishing off the car. Trans was back in
by 2:30, only 1/2 hour behind schedule. BTW, you can replace the fork pins
without pulling the fork out of the trans. It's not easy but with a grinder
and an air hammer, you can work wonders. Time for the test drive. Am I going
to have to yank the OD again and put the new one in? Have I solved the
transmission oil leak? Will the reverse lamp wires ever come off of the
driveshaft where they wrapped themselves so quaintly? Off we go!!!!
Down the road, around the corner to the straight road close by.
1st gear and I'm a little nervous, 2nd gear apprehension sets in, 3rd
comes up fast. Flick the OD lever and it falls to the floor of the car. OOoops
that was the turn signal lever that got broke by the body shop. Next one back.
The revs drop by about 1K!!! It WORKS!!!!!!! but what's all this oil all over
me and my glasses? Whups, forgot to really tighten down the solenoid. Back to
the house for a wash and quick lunch.
Spend the next 12 hours getting the interior back together. Doing It
Right. New seals around the trans cover, new carpet, stereo wires under the
carpet, realign the dash, put the new interior door panels on, remount the
seat rails and seats. Put the luggage rack back on, fit the trim kit to the
trunk, new medallions to the wheels, new TR-6 flags to the rear quarterpanels.
put the license plate back on. Oops, forgot the top. rummage for bolts the
body shop lost. It's 2 am, all the reasonable folk are in
their beds, but my car is done!!! Time to wake up the neighborhood and go for a
full chat ride up to the 24hour burger place.
Get up @7:00 the next morning to go racing. Toss all the stuff in the
car, top down and head for St. Paul, 80 miles to the west. No danger of falling
asleep on this drive!! Between the brisk wind and the adrenalin rush I make it
in near record time. But there's noone there. Wrong parking lot. Where is
N. Hennepin Co. Junior College anyway? Noone seems to know. Hunt for a couple
of hours, give up and drive home to Eau Claire. Tragic loss that, being forced
to put in almost 250 miles in the roadster on a sunny Sunday. When do I leave
again?
But now for the killer bit. Now that 'Lizbeth is done (except for
2 hoses and door lock gaskets) what do I do? Well, there's this TR-3
restoration project someone in the cities is abandoning for a few hundred
dollars and I've always wanted a smallmouth TR-3...Maybe I can find space in
my heart and wallet to adopt another child...
More later,
bob
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