Sooo, the steering column is back in there. What a difference !!!

With the Borgeson steering box conversion, the U-joint (replacing the rag joint), new bearings, and the spreader bar... it almost feels and steers like a modern car.

I MUCH prefer the feel of the U-joint to the rag joint and certainly don't feel any excessive vibration transmitted to the steering wheel. From vague and squidgy, it went to a much more precise feel. I absolutely recommend it.

A couple of things need addressing... the steering wheel is off center by 11 degrees to the left. I was expecting this. A new U-joint will be a crap shoot. I may pop by an alignment shop to see is they can offset this. Else, I feel I won't be in the mood to pull the column again and move it over by 1 tooth (7.5 degrees) until this winter. Another issue is the key buzzer. It went from not working to stuck on. Again - something I will address in the winter. The horn works. But if you tighten the telescoping lock ring too much, the horn blasts.






I installed a spreader bar and think that it deserves special mention. I do believe that for the cost, it is definitely an excellent upgrade. It was silly easy to install to boot. When you first drive it, that car feels like the front end is propped up a bit. I measured. It is not. What you are experiencing is a stiffer chassis. I haven't had the opportunity to push the car a bit, but at first experience, it is very pleasant and contributes to an overall more solid driving experience

Hazard lights work once more too !

Finally, the ratchetting tilt feature is awesome. More solid than I could have ever expected. Again, all this contributes to a pleasant driving experience as your primary interface with the car is the steering wheel. Instructions to all people I let drive: DO NOT yank on steering wheel to "egress".

 

Enjoying the car still. The fresh steering is really awesome.

Tracking down some noises - turns out the upper control arms needed greasing. And the vent behind the rear window is rattling. I’ll have to figure out how to secure that. It feels like it needs a new bushing. Hmmmm.

Something else that has been bothering me is the lack of tank filler neck seal. I just hate staring down at my tank when filling.


Flap removed. Easy enough.





I was expecting this to be a major pain. It turned out to be super easy to get the spring in there.




Here it goes.




A flap for extra protection.




Let’s enjoy a drive.




90 F

 

I guess I had better blast and paint that cap - it’s an eye sore now.

 

Call me Dorian. Some hours ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me in my humble abode, I thought I would set out to my garage…

Job was easier than I thought but not without Some challenges adding a few hours.







I just need to figure out how to get shoulder belt guide on there with removing seat cover….

 

Well shheeeiiit.


Just when you think you don’t have to worry about something it bites you on the butt. This looks very close to catastrophic failure.

 

Well that settles it.


Time to get to work. Fortunately I had this all off a couple of years ago. It should come off fairly easily.



Some WD40 JIC



Wow. That came off much easier than the last time.



Let’s not mix these up.



Silver lining? Nice and clean in there.



Out it comes.



Clean.



Clean. Not an actual ridge.



Bearing still looks good. But I’m not reusing it.



Clean


My guess - I didn’t fully seat the races.

 

I recently replaced my rear wheel bearings, and my guess there are a lot of people in this case.
Does the bearing become more settled with some use and allow more tolerance?
If it wasn't the bearings not knocked all the way in, it makes me wonder (if you're a cheap like me) if you could replace the little washer within the bearing with a thinner one and have it still work another 50k miles.
You know the washer if you've done this job before. Most kits come with 10 of them of differing thicknesses to set the tolerance just right.
Obviously this isn't really good practice once you put in all the work to get it apart, but just wondering as an experiment.

by the way, you make this job seem so easy! ha

 

 

Well, I am feeling at least a little bit better. I bought a dial gauge off Amazon (metric is all they had here) and got as results around .43 mm which is about 0.017. As I understand that’s reasonably good.

 

A detail that makes a difference.

 

This seatbelt upgrade is something I’ve considered doing with my 73 and getting rid of the separate lap and shoulder harnesses.
How is it working for you and how did you set it up?

 

(Mostly) easier than I was expecting. Not sure why i was intimidated and put off doing this for so long. I used the stock anchor points. Be careful, the nuts retaining the seat belts on the drive shaft tunnel side have cotter pins that are easy to miss. Ask me how I know Other than that behind the seat you need to make sure to go through the glass and steel plate. Also avoid fuel line on passenger side.

 

I only drove it once without seat shoulder guide for the seatbelt. It made me feel much more secure and better located in the car. The car is on jack stands now as I rebuild the trailing arm. But I did (statically) test out the belt shoulder guide and that really makes a great difference in terms of comfort, aesthetics and easy of use. The belt won’t slip off your shoulder and remains easy to grasp. I left in the seatbelt switch for giggles. I might connect that to a buzzer one day for fun.

I also tested the restraining, braking gently and yanking on the belt - it works fine.

IIRC, the belt come from a 90s firebird. I’ll eventually paint the plastic housing bright blue.

 

Well, the parts are in.




I also dropped the rim off at a place that I understand can correct the wobble on the rim.


I know, it’s not all that clear - but more visible in person.

The plan is to rebuild on Friday. In the meantime, as the new bearings are here, I can check the previous set up’s clearance and the Timken part numbers are the same.

 

I was unaware that Oreo cookies were used in the rebuilding of the axles.
You learn something new every day.

 

Very necessary. As are Karmeliet beers.

So this is interesting. I’ll start out with the conclusion. I completed the rebuild and installed the trailing arm. The wheel was also straightened and now runs true. I took it out for a test drive up to 90 MPH and the ride was noticeably smoother. I mean more testing is necessary but for the first time ever, this car felt like, dare I say… approaching smooth as glass ? Hmmm. I don’t know if that rim damaged the spindle nut… but it was definitely the source of significant vibration.

Oddly, the brief grinding/groaning sound that comes and goes at 55-60 is still there. So it was not related to the bearing. Where it comes from ? Not clue ! TBD. I am beginning to think it’s not a bearing or dive train. I’ll check clearance of exhaust pipes. Maybe rubbing against body.

The bearing clearance was down to 0.004 on the setup tool. That is as close as I could get it with the hardware I had. With trailing arm finished, it crept up to 0.006. No clue why.



Admit it, you want a set like this and you would never use it either.



This fella was in the shop. A 1977 ? Leaking front calipers.



Wish I had this tool last time - packs grease in a jiff.



0.006



Buddy came by for a bit of help on his 1970



Hmm



That looks like a leftover baby-blower pulley. Why is it still there ?



Greetz

 

The electrical issue came up again. It seem that at high speeds the hazard lights start coming on without flashing.

Weird !!!!

 

55-60 vibration?
Check the balance on all tires and make sure one isn’t out of round!

 

It’s not a vibration. At 55-60 I get this hollow grinding sound. It seems to be coming from the rear. Initially I thought it was a bearing. But it was intermittent and only at 55-60. Now I’m thinking it’s a rubbing rattling of some kind.

 

During acceleration, steady cruising, or during de-acceleration?
Or is it one of those random, when ever it feels like it sounds?