Just got in from my drive back to Long Island (That's pronounced "Lon
Guyland", Larry) from Kevin's house after a VERY successful weekend OSHIT
session. The car is back in it's garage, the trailer is back in Kyle's
driveway, and I'm back at the apartment tired and dirty, but very happy.
I want to thank everybody who showed up and pitched in. I think at one time we
actually had 12 or 13 guys there on Saturday.
The good news is that IT
LIVES! The Spridget starts, runs, shifts, and stops (and even stays cool
during the process). I drove it a few times on shake-down cruises around
Tuscarora and Tamaqua, so did Kevin and Larry. The not so great news is
that completely unrelated to any of the many projects completed on it, I now
have a brand new issue to eventually deal with. There's a pretty serious
sounding knock in first gear and reverse. All is fine in second, third, and
fourth, so doctor Kevin and Doctor Larry prescribed taking it home and driving
the crap out of it till either it breaks or I can swap out the tranny some
time this coming fall. Decidedly (and hopefully) AFTER a full season of
driving this summer.
Among the things accomplished Saturday and Sunday
are... New clutch line bent up and installed, Slave cylinder bled, carb
damping oil changed for proper weight, carbs mounted, carbs adjusted, linkages
linked, coil mounted, fan box and heater core and fan mounted, battery charged
(and jumped by Larry's Mini) and mounted, headlights fixed, horn button
connections cleaned, new water temp / oil pressure guage mounted - including
of course the long springy thing that leads to the temp sensor, electric fan
and affiliated temp sensor connected, alternator fan trimmed (was clipping the
mounting bracket and making pretty sparks, but an awful racket), rear axle
tightened to eliminate torque steer, parking brake adjusted, various bits of
under-dash wiring sorted and made to work without letting any of the smoke
out, etc, etc, etc.
All in all, an amazing list of things done in a single
weekend. The result is that I can now hop in, turn the key, and (while
ignoring that hammering sound while in first) drive away with a huge goofy
grin on my face.
As always, HUGE thanks go to Kevin and Kathy for their
hospitality. And once again, a big "Thanks" to all the friends new and old who
showed up to pitch in and get me back on the road.
This is the greatest
group of folks I've ever had the good fortune to hang out with.
David
Booker
Old English white '71 Midget: Discovered in a neglected state by Biff,
brought back to life by Frank & friends in '08, then again via OSHIT in '12!
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