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We had a potluck at work last night. I made Manicotti, and had a few compliments. I do agree though, sometimes some of the food just doesn't taste right. But it was all good last night. Went to the dermatologist this a.m. for my annual cancer screening, all good 'cept for a couple of small spots on top of my head that were pre-cancerous. He froze them. Good for another year. I'll be headed north to my sisters place tomorrow, about 75 miles from here, but not a bad drive. I'll be taking a chocolate pecan pie along. By the way Norm, the picture of "Princess" has left me visually scarred.
My favorite time of the year - great food! Manicotti - yum, yum Dan. I'm on a six month rotation w/ my dermatologist. Next appointment Dec. 17th. Princess was in retaliation for me not being on the receiving end of the delightful spam e-mails everyone else was so lucky to have received - except me. I can only imagine what the people on the sending end of spam must look like.
Installing the new steering column lock cylinder was nothing short of atrocious. This is because I am a complete dolt. I spent 45 minutes - perhaps closer to one hour, maybe more - I don't know, I was so annoyed it wasn't turning to the OFF position to lock into place. I inserted & removed it at least 30-40 times - I couldn't figure it out. I'd done it at least 10-15 times previously. There's literally nothing changing this lock cylinder. Now I'm stuffed up under the steering column w/ a shop light turning the lock to figure out why it's not locking into place when I hear it clicking a little further downstream in the column and thought - say what? WTF! Yeah, well it turns out, when I last was working on the truck 3-4 days ago, I was shifting the gears to ensure the column shift had clearance when I installed the new pigtail harness connector for the multi-function light switch on the steering column. Well, guess what - I left the transmission in DRIVE when I finished. I've had both batteries disconnected for some time while I was working on performing the R&R of the multi-function light switch and just left it in DRIVE.
Well, let me tell you something. You cannot get the new lock cylinder to lock into place when the transmission is in DRIVE. Doh! Dolt! Thankfully I wondered why is there a clicking downstream in the steering column when I turn this lock?
You know, I sometimes wonder what qualifies me to even work on a motor vehicle when I have these moments. I'm pathetic.
Thankfully I had a nice round of golf & the weather was outstanding - near 70*F and it's the end of November.
I'm going to head back out into the man-cave, get a little more organizing done & prepare the West side of the garage to put the Cutlass up on jacks for the winter for the suspension rebuild. The torture never stops...the torture never stops.
Now that I;ve learnt about Scans, I'm gonna go get a free one today
I'm also gonna save 100% on Black Friday by not going shopping
Norm, Until your hand feel like ya stuck them in a hornets nest when ya hit the ball, It's not winter golf. BTW I buy hand warmers by the gross at Casa Depot much cheaper than the pro shop
Question For you foreigners [that can spell Zamboni w/o looking it up] Do y'all like Durkee's on your Turkey sandwich?
Mustard Mayonnaise - that sounds delicious. Crud, I just finished shopping at Harris Teeter where it says they sell Durkee's. I'll have to try it. Today is homemade shredded corn beef, sauerkraut, thousand island & Swiss on pumpernickel & rye - Reuben's baby.
Had a great time in Daytona. Huge show, tons of cars and a huge swap meet, nice weather, most important seeing my friends I don't get to see but a couple times a year. Really had a nice time. No trouble with the flights but it took me 2 hours to get a parking spot in the employee lot on Wednesday.
The show didn't seem to have quite as many cars as before, but there were plenty of Oldsmobiles. . There was a 66 88 with a Duromax in it. Lots of Cutlasses that were 442 wannabe's. Lots of Corvairs. Even saw an Amphi club member there with his car for sale. He should have had it over by Lake Lloyd demonstrating it.
Great dinner. Saw the Gas Light parade last night in Ormond Beach. Tons of fun. And, I got home in time to get Tiger out of jail two days early. I'll pick him up a little later.
Sounds like everything went good around here. There's guys at work supplementing the wheel situation, I could have stopped in for a couple hours of OT. They're probably done by now.
Okay gonna get a few things done then go get Tiger. Hope everyone has a great day.
I removed both coil springs, UCA’s & LCA’s from the rear of the ‘71 CS. I have a pickle fork to pop the ball joints and stuff from the front end stuff, but I think I’m going buy one of those poppers & use it instead. I’ve never owned one they look like they work great.
The passenger side UCA bushings are literally OUT of their retaining sleeves. Hehehe. So both sides front UCA’s & LCA’s are coming out. I’m going to remove the front coil springs carefully w/ just a floor jack. New coil springs are going in all around - normal ride height.
Coffee tastes good this morning.
Roger - Looks pretty when it’s a nice snowfall like that.
Norm, Please don't ax me how I know this but BE SURE to seat the springs properly. Ya don't wanta be riding down the road and hear a mysterious "pop" every now and then
It rained a little over night but it's a pretty morning, and not all that cold. No idea what's in store weatherwise for the week.
Awful house was a bit bizarre this morning. My server sort of reminded me of Mr. Belvedere. The place wasn't nearly as busy as it usually is. Some of the people the servers had to drag out of them what they wanted. We didn't stay too long.
Norm the springs can still get away from you with the floor jack. The back ones are easy. Disconnect the shocks and let the diff down. I'd love to see a spring fly away(not yours), from a distance. Bet it makes a cool noise.
Greg I'm twitching just looking at the picture. Good day to stay in. Or work in the newly heated shop.
Oh Jamesbo saw several Buick Deuce and a Quarters in Daytona. They were all convertibles. Saw several 69 Olds but none were Trophy Blue. No Vistas. There was a beautiful slate blue 68 convertible that looked perfect in every way, until the hood was raised and there sat a Chevy.
Okay time for Walmart then work on the painting project. I should finish up today then get into the wood work. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Have a good day everyone.
James - I replaced front coil springs on my ‘72 442 many moons ago (1977) w/ a coil compressor. And, yeah I know about the positioning of the springs but it’s always good to remind anyone, indeed.
Mike - As I said (above), the rear coil springs are already removed as are both rear UCA’s & LCA’s. My biggest challenge in the rear is determining how best to remove the bushings on top of the differential (the lower bushings of the rear UCA’s). Just a tad too close to the gas tank for me to be messing with a drill or burning them out. I’m not sure I can bang them out with a BFH. I don’t own a bushing, seal, bearing extractor so I’m thinking that’s on my shopping list. It’s the front coil springs I intend to remove via lowering of the LCA’s after removing the appropriate hardware.
Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked? You ever hang 'round the gymnasium? You like moves 'bout gladiators? Ever been in a Turkish prison?
Airplane and National Lampoon's Chevy Chase series are my all time favorites. That scene dragging the dog behind the car....I'm in stitches!
I removed the front sway bar this morning & currently working on removal of the front shocks. The weather isn't too nippy here, it's a little chilly, but I have this sickness (addiction) and a constant craving.
Around here they play golf on frozen lakes. No Kidding! It usually will be a benefit or something like that. I went to one a few years ago. They will go out on a frozen lake and clear off the "greens" etc and make the holes with a can. They use orange ***** to contrast with the snow. It seems to work Ok, but if the ball goes out in the "rough" at a angle it can burrow into the snow and you have lost your ball. Well to each their own...
--Got about 6" of the wet-white stuff yesterday. Went out to clear driveway with snowblower and it broke after about 3 feet. A spring broke. So shoveled out enough to use the quad with a plow. Didn't work very good. Snow was very heavy,but got house drive cleared then went to barn and cleared over there. Then came back and cleared deck. I learned lessons last year about letting the snow stay- it froze into a huge ice clump so when it would melt some the water couldn't go off the deck but stayed next to the house which can cause water damage. And it froze in a big pile in front of the entry door over at barn and thawed some and the water went into the cement floor of the shop which was so cold that it refroze behind the door and I couldn't get into barn for a week or so! So I wont let the snow accumulate in those areas this year!
--The spring for snowblower is available thru sears parts and is easy to change, but I think I'll just go to the local Hdwe store and get one.
--Have a good one all!
Greg - I did some crazy things raised outside Chicago area & in Wisconsin but frozen lake golf was not one of them. Reading your accounts of the snowblower, the snow/water/ice makes me grimace & shiver. I am so thankful I haven’t contended w/ the yearly ‘slush’ in many years.
Well then, I think I’m going to pass on golf - miserable 20mph wind @ 47*F - no thanks.
Instead I’ll remove the brake calipers, tie-rods & shocks & get things ready to remove the UCA’s & LCA’s. It looks like I’ll probably have to remove the bloody AC compressor to negotiate removal of the passenger side UCA - argh! I’m not sure I can get in there w/o removing it. Removing that compressor is such the PITA.
Morning from AZ guys!
Gotta say out of all the forums i go on You guys are the best .
Most helpful with knowledge parts etc.. and im always welcomed on here.
Hope you guys had a great Holiday!
Theres a guy in Town with a 68 Cutlasa convert over here $8500 red needs paint , and i think interior work, rebuilt engine he had it for $6500 so i inquired then it went up to $8500 the next day.
i never got a response. been looking for somthing to play with.
Last edited by JOHNNYOLDS442; December 2nd, 2019 at 06:24 AM.
Norm, If you're having problems getting control arm off because of the bolts, check out this thread https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ration-140413/
Welcome Johnny, you are right- some of the greatest people on this site!
Greg - I saw that thread last week - that's not going to be my issue. In fact, I am aware of how to remove the UCA center link shaft. The question/issue is determining if I have enough room on the passenger side to work on the UCA center link shaft (nuts & bolts) w/o having to remove the bloody AC. The bloke in that thread must not have read the CSM on removal because it's very clear how to perform that maneuver - additionally, you can take a very long drift, or screwdriver to smack those bolts. Again, the question/issue is whether I can achieve this maneuver w/o removing the AC compressor. If you don't have AC - it's a breeze. With AC the compressor is directly in the way (including the AC hoses). I "might" be able to get away with it through the inner fender well cut-out skirt. It's going to depend on how rusted those bolts are in the UPC center link shaft. Thanks for offering up that link though, Greg.
James - You have a sickness. Possibly a scientergic renoberation (sic Home Simpson). I just did not feel like battering the 20mph wind @ 47*F today - that's just not enjoyable. You did the Michelin man proud.
Finally, to follow-up a little on the suspension (front & rear) rebuild. Everything is off the front and loosened up front (e.g. spindle assembly nuts loosened, sway bar removed, idler arm [I'm going to replace] removed, etc., etc.). I was going to remove the coil springs in the manner in which the moderator (other) Eric does by simply lowering the LCA down to the floor w/ the car jacked far into the air. Well, I have my car jacked far in the air. I replaced coil springs on my '72 4-4-2 many years ago (1977/78) and I used a coil compressor at that time. So, I elected to purchase a coil compressor just to be more on the safe (than sorry) side. I'm not keen on an early death or a good old coil spring face plant impression. I just hope the one I ordered on-line will fit into the bottom hole which accommodates the shock - it probably will. When I have more than a couple minutes, I'll post a picture of the type I purchased - which will be here Wednesday.
I have a meeting @ 4:00pm so, gotta run for now. Later 'tators.
Last edited by Vintage Chief; December 2nd, 2019 at 12:25 PM.
Slack *** Monday today. We finished up right at the end, no thanks to the people that sat more than they worked. We have a few wheels piled up so it's 4am tomorrow.
Jamesbo did an overwing slide happen to fall in your front yard today? One of our 767s lost one presumably on landing, and it fell to your fair town. Can't wait to hear more. Those slides are a stupid and troublesome design that have been causing problems to maintenance since day 1.
Norm if you don't have enough room to torch those bushings out, take out the gas tank. Problem solved. And now you'll have the opportunity to do some work on the tank.
Greg do the cans get drilled into the ice so they're flush or just sit on top? Do they use naked lady tee's to go with the orange *****? Caddyshack. That's the worst looking hat I ever saw.
Okay going back to the dr for more blood work. They said the first round came back "abnormal." I hope that means they screwed something up and they aren't confirming a problem. I guess we'll see.
Windy and cold and overcast. Not much fun. See ya's.
Oh yeah, I got my call regarding my scan. 1] I don't have lung cancer, 2] I have a little plaque in my arteries [probably fro 70 years of eating biscuits made with lard] 3] I have a cyst in my left kidney[ I have no idear if that's something to worry about]
Wow Jamesbo that's good. The doc told me today I'm just above the limit for diabetes. I don't need medicine, just need to lose some weight. Big surprise. At least I don't have anything despicable. By the way, when you go to collect that slide, it inflates into a raft that holds about 50 people. Could be fun.
Edit: No it doesn't, that's the one in the ceiling. But hey it will still float.
Last edited by slantflat; December 2nd, 2019 at 03:25 PM.
November 27th, 2019, 10:09 AM
I can only imagine what the people on the sending end of spam must look like.
