Well folks, I finally got the white money pit back on the road. I pulled
the transmission in late April for two reasons: 1) I bought an overhaul kit
for the overdrive so I thought I would install it and 2) it wasn't shifting
right so I thought I should sort that out since I was planning driving it
to Foat Wurth for the VTR meet. So I figured I would pull the trans
rebuild it and reinstall it in, oh, a couple weekends.
The O/D overhaul went well and and had it done the same day I pulled the
transmission. The shifting problem, on the other hand, turned out to be
the result of the used mainshaft I used when I converted the transmission
to O/D was damaged. I knew it at the time but in 1989 these shafts were
not available (or at least I was too cheap to buck up) so I used it anyway.
The problem was that the splines for the 1-2 synchro hub were buggered up
on one end. The result was the the thrust washer broke and chewed up the
synchro hub ans the 2nd gear bush. Oh well. So I odered up new parts
including a new mainshaft from Rimmer Bro's. In about a week I received a
package which was two padded envelopes taped end to end. But this package
had a hole in it but no mainshaft! Apparently the wankers in the shipping
department could not conceive that a 5 lb steel rod might poke a hole in a
padded envelope when manhandeled by the part time employees of that company
currently on strike.
I called Rimmer's and explained what happened but the common language lead
to a misunderstanding which persisted for 5 weeks. They kept checking with
UPS who kept saying that the package was delivered. Once I figured out
that there was a misunderstanding I sent in fax form and E-Mail a letter
explaining in excruciating detail (much like this posting) what happened.
Now that they knew the real story, Rimmer Bro's sent another shaft straight
away but it was too late because by now it was early June and I was in
Santa Clara for three weeks for training.
Sincw I missed the target (VTR in Ft. Worth) and since then I have been
traveling a bunch it has taken until now to get the car back on the road.
Well, this is enough of this harang.
Dave (Florida this week, Louisiana next week, Carolina's the week after)
Massey, St. Louis MO
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