| 23JAN2004 | For $6.99 (plus tax), I bought a
one-man brake bleeder from Advance Auto Parts. I removed all four
wheels and bled all four calipers. This has fixed the braking
problem. Once the brakes were on-line, I pushed the car outside,
closed the garage door, and fired her up. Amazingly, there was
absolutely no smoke this time. She performed well on the drive
down to the courthouse to get the new tags (O PSTNS) and back to the
garage. A couple notes: The busings in the rear all look good. I think a brake job is in order, but other than that, I think I'll leave the rear end alone for now. Also, the alignment is WAY off, naturally, but once everything is aligned, make sure that the slight floating feeling is out of the system. |
| 24JAN2004 | Went for another drive.
Gave it a little more juice this time, to see how she responded.
Nearly lost it in a moderately sharp right-hand turn at aroud 45-60 mph
-- Way too much oversteer. I'm not sure if that's just how the car
handles, if the alignment is off, or if something else is wrong.
I also noticed that the tires are leaning in towards each other, so the
angle might need some adjustment. There is also a slight bit of
tire squealing from the right side in a right-hand turn. Could
just be low. |
| 25JAN2004 | Scoped out a few vendors at the
Calvacade of Customs. I might give Cincy Powder Coating a call... |
| 26JAN2004 | Pulled the rear wheels and put
the car on stands in the back. On closer inspection, the sway bar end link bushings are toast. The upper and lower control arm bushings aren't that great. The sway bar bushings are okay, but not perfect. The Watts link is okay, but could use some work. I'm starting to think that it just might be worth the time and effort to replace all the bushings in the back. I also pulled the left rear caliper. The only way I could find to get the e-brake cable released was to remove the bolt holding the bracket to the caliper. That gave enough play in the cable so that I could remove it from the caliper. I can't get the rotor off -- the screws holding it on are pretty well rusted on. I'll try some penetrating oil and a larger screwdriver. |
| 27JAN2004 | Pulled the right caliper and
sway bar end link/end link bracket. Started to loosen the sway
bar frame bushing braket, but it is extremely corroded. |
| 28JAN2004 | A trip to Harbor Freight yeilded some new
wrenches and sockets. With a 21mm, I was able to remove the lower
control arm on the right side and the upper control arm (right
side). Best to remove them in that order, probably want to
replace them in reverse. The bushings are pretty cracked and
dry-rotted. It would be best to replace these. |
| 29JAN2004 | Did nothing. |
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