Little Progress...But Big Plans!

With various sporting events and Mother's Day this weekend, there wasn't much progress. I also had some routine maintenance to do around the house (toilet repair, fence repair, bicycle maintenance, etc.). So, while the weekend wasn't wasted, it wasn't totally devoted to the car, either...far from it.

I did take advantage of a Harbor Freight coupon and got their bearing puller kit. With the 25% coupon and the "normal" sale price of $44.99, I got it for $33.74, which wasn't too bad, I thought. I bought it mainly to remove the inner bearings from the vertical links of the '64's suspension as they just wouldn't come off (unlike Dot's) without the correct tools.

Speaks for itself.

The setup for the bearing pull.

**DISCLAIMER**

I noticed damage to the bottom of the wheel bearings when I pulled them off. I did, before I purchased the bearing puller, pry and pull on the bearings quite aggressively trying to get them off which may have caused damage. However, the bearing puller, because of the hub seal, did not fit that great and it may have caused damage to the bearing when I was pulling it. So, as always, buyer beware!

You can see the gearbox main shaft and countershaft cluster in the pic above. That main shaft bearing at the lower left, along with the input shaft bearing, were removed with the bearing puller as well. There were enough extensions in the kit (the above picture only show one of the three that I used) to make it work.
I used a spark plug socket, because it was wide enough to match the inner bearing collar, along with a 6" ratchet extension, to knock out the bearing from the gearbox rear extension, approaching it from the gearbox end. All of that, along with the speedometer gear, all came off (I did this at the last minute tonight and did not take any pictures) tonight.
I intend to use the same kit, but in the reverse order, to put everything back on. As I do not have a shop press, this is my only option right now...wish me luck!

The rear extension...all nice and clean and with new rubber mounts!

So, with the exception of the upper part of the gearbox (the shifter forks and such), she is now truly apart. I just dropped a large order to SpitBits to get the rest of the stuff that I should have ordered in the first place to rebuild the gearbox fully along with some other stuff. My order included:

• Various thrust washers (front, rear, 3rd gear, etc)
• All three synchro rings (this was ~$80)
• Extra circlips
• Main and Input shaft bearings (~$78, I went for the OEM ones vice the cheap(er) ones)
• Rear main shaft bearing (~$30)
• Release bearing (~$70...this hurt and hopefully it was worth it, but the old one doesn't feel "right").

Like I said, there were other things I ordered (new cooling hoses, hose clips, clutch alignment tool) but gearbox parts were the lion's share.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to finish the gearbox up and try and get her on the road. I emailed the CT DMV yesterday to make sure of the process (I don't think it will be too bad) since she's never been registered in this state. I also need to contact my insurance company to figure out how much that will cost (minimal, I expect, since I won't be getting comprehensive). 

Based on the appreciated input from my favorite forum, I will fix what is obviously needed (headlights, dashboard, electrical, seats (should have never pulled that old foam out...that's going to be a $500 restoration as the boys will kill me if they cannot ride in it with me). I also need to figure out why the batter isn't charging.

My not necessarily planned-for fix is the outriggers. Both of mine are pretty well gone. Turns out these tend to be "structural" and, while I have two good replacements for each side, this is not easily done with the tub on the frame. So, I intend to patch what I have and spent about $14 in new steel today to do just that. I'm sure I've mentioned that I do not know how to weld, so that will enter in there at some point, of course.

There you go. For not a whole lot actually done this weekend, this is a rather lengthy post. My goals are as follows:

• Clean up (a.k.a., de-grease as much of the front of the car as I can using my pressure washer),
• Finish gearbox rebuild and install,
• Finish interior (dash back in and electrical all restored),
• Install new water pump housing and route new cooling lines, including heater,
• Finish rest of items to get her "legal", and 
• Drive her for whatever is left of the season.

And, that's it! No sweat, right? I'm sure it will all go exactly as planned with no hiccups (said no LBSC owner, ever!)