Faulkner was out of the garage for the first time in three years today! Under his own power, brakes working fine, transmission shifting fine...
Yeah, I'm going to let the body shop sort out the hood corners. You still have to wiggle the hood from side to side to get it up, and I don't want to bend the corners
But oh man, he STEERED... LIKE... A... YACHT!! I popped the hood when I got back in, and the pump reservoir was bone dry. It pumped all of the fluid into new empty hoses, and to replace whatever sprayed out when I turned the wheels while undercoating. I filled it back up, hopefully I'll have some power assist on Monday evening when the flatbed comes.
But I feel comfortable backing down the drive now, without taking out the hydrant across the street.
Dan; It is getting there !!!! It is nice to have them back to running. Motor sounds nice. You guy's get some snow? We got 13" last Saturday and A little ice and snow Thursday night. Mark
Here's a diagram from the Shop Manual, along with a photo of someone's undercarriage I saved along with my "To Do" list. See the difference?
When I bought the mufflers from Ed Eckerson, I asked him the question:
Dan wrote:Which end of the muffler is the engine side? The end with the center pipe, or the off center? And, is off center towards the center of the car, or the outside of the car?
Ed replied:
Ed wrote:The mufflers have the center outlet forward-- and the side opening to the outboard side for the rear.
The photo corroborates Ed's assessment, but the Shop Manual does not! Not only are the side openings forward, they are inboard, not outboard.
I had a convo with Ed this morning - this is what he said:
Ed Eckerson wrote:
I was correct--your exhaust job is correct.
I checked the 57/58 IPB--totally backwards too.
I am going to do some further checking but I do know that in later years--things were reversed (offset inlet and middle outlet).
ALSO--The FACTORY tail pipes were 1 3/4" for the 57-59 318s with duals... But all replacements were 2".
Figure that!!!!
It is therefore possible that original stuff was as the book shows, but later replacements were as we have them.
...
Here is an afterthought---I was able to get OEM tail pipe hangars for the 59 when I restored her.
I can honestly say there is NO WAY they would work if the tail pipe came from the inboard side of the muffler.
Dick! "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man!" I'm just sayin'.
I backed Faulkner out of the garage and onto the street this afternoon - the first time he's been past the swinging gates I put up for the dog I never got. But I digress.
Steering was a bear! I said:
Dan wrote:I popped the hood when I got back in, and the pump reservoir was bone dry. It pumped all of the fluid into new empty hoses, and to replace whatever sprayed out when I turned the wheels while undercoating. I filled it back up, hopefully I'll have some power assist on Monday evening when the flatbed comes.
D'Oh! What about the reservoir itself?!? So yes, I'm down some serious quantity of fluid - when I checked it on the street, bone dry again, and no leaks. I guess it's going to take a few iterations of steering to get the reservoir where it needs to be. But even at the shop, it was still manual steering. Maybe I've introduced a steering problem - I dunno.
that sign on the hood reads "LIFT BACK CORNERS UP BY WIGGLING FROM HERE – *DO*NOT* JUST LIFT THE HOOD. AFTER CORNERS UP, THEN LIFT FROM FRONT"battening down the hatchesFaulkner arrives at the shop
(*sigh*)... Here's a pic that Chris Neapolitan just sent me from the Simeone Museum, when he worked there and Matthew and I visited with his friend Stefan a few years ago. Faulkner in his glory days. It will get better, right?
I swear, sometimes I'm my own worst enemy. John asked me tonight if I had put standard power steering fluid in the reservoir, which I had. He said he thought it should be ATF - I checked the shop manual, and sure enough, it is - Type "A", the modern equivalent is Dexron II or III from what I've read:
John's going to drain it and put new fluid in. Ka-ching Ka-ching! Oh well, this is my Christmas gift to myself (wait: That's the Suburban ), so let the chips fall where they may.
John's shop is jammed with people out for the holiday, but I said no worries, as long as it's inside overnight. They are still trying to sort out what to do with the exhaust.
On my way to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's, I stopped by Drexel Hill Automotive to check on Faulkner, and confirm that he was indeed in the garage. I took this shot through the garage door window. He looks so lonely in there!
Happy Thanksgiving Dan. Faulkner does look lonley but soon enough will be getting plenty of tender living care. How have I never noticed that when the car was painted red they didn't remove the sport deck, guessing that since it's been covered in that spot is whole life the original paint might still look pretty good, albeit only in that one circle. Can't wait to see it dressed fully in that beautifull color combo!
Happy thanksgiving (belated). My o my, been out of your sight ten minutes amd you go checking him out to see if he is misbehaving. Just so you know, most paint shops charge double for watching and triple if you ask questions. Besides, if you know everything it will drive you crazy far into the future. Then again he may get attracted to a chevy while there.
Dick
There's a little Toonerville Trolley at the foot of my street - I love it! It brings me home from work each day, but I stayed on to go to Drexel Automotive, a few stops down the line, where Faulkner is. The excuse for my visit, was that I forgot to supply the oil pan washer I bought for the oil change. And there was Faulkner, parked outside, rained on and looking lonesome...
They explained Thanksgiving Holiday, down a man, and receptionist sick so we park a mechanic at the front desk, yada yada. It's clear, I just need to keep my distance and let them get to it when they get to it. In the meantime... Cue Little Anthony and the Imperials:
I took a call from Drexel Automotive yesterday, they had some questions about the exhaust pieces. The two lead pipes from Waldron don't fit, but I threw in a single lead pipe I had gotten from Ed Eckerson. They said they can work with that, and wondered if I had the other side (which I didn't) - so they'll make up an aluminized steel lead. Ka-ching Ka-ching! At least, now Faulkner is getting some attention.
), so let the chips fall where they may.
