Home made olympics

I managed to get the car out as I say, but I had to get it back into the garage to get the last brake set done and the drive shaft. I managed to push the car back into the garage, from a gravel driveway that sounds easier said than done. I managed to get her on the axle stands and get the wheel off. There was no drum. I knew that as I have already treated it, I’m not sure why he put the wheel back on without the drum but there you go, nothing surprises me about this blokes mechanics skills. I use that term “mechanic skills” in a very tongue in cheek way, more like he should be working on a Little Tikes car to get the basics maybe? Anyway the four retaining nuts were sprayed with Plus Gas and left for a while and I went back to it after a while a tried to get the nuts off. The long-handled Snap On ratchet made light work of it with a satisfying crack of the rust. The process is exactly the same this side and was in an identical state as the other side. Click here for a link to the Drive Shaft Removal & Fitting, or click here for the Rear Brake Drum Rebuild. The oil seal was removed with a lot less hassle this time as I had an internal three-legged three-inch bearing puller to help out. I pushed the bearing puller inside the oil seal and used a mini crow bar to hold it firm. A few light taps with the hammer moved it out little by little. I managed to get the new seal in the axle without any problems and that part of the job is done.

Will, you can now have your large socket back. Cheers mate.

The rest of today was waiting for the rear brake drum repair to dry, again the shoes had put some little groves into the plate. While that was drying I started another little project. My Front Valance Work, I have put some photos up here of the work so far. Part 1 will be the rub down and preparation, Part 2 will be the filling and primer, pretty much like the front Bumper Stone Guard work, click here for that link. Sitting in the sun sanding down on the grass was heaven today. I will rebuild the rear brakes next weekend and put them back on with the drive shaft. If all goes well, may put some silicone brake fluid in to see if I have brakes or not. Time will tell.

OK, so I mentioned the Olympics in the heading, I must admit I don’t watch them apart from the big events, 100m finals, 4 x 100, shooting, boxing, martial arts etc. I’m not into sports unless it has wheels on it with an engine in majority of cases. But the reason I mention them is because the work I done this weekend prompted it, I used my Dewalt Orbital sander on the valance to get the chipped and damaged paint of the valance. I am going to post this work or mini project as a set of photos again in two parts, the first for the strip down and the second for the rebuild.

Click here for the link to the Front Valance Work (part 1), or go to the menu, Photos, body work section for the manual look up.

As I was using the discs and they got torn on wore out I through them on the grass. They made a pattern a little like the Olympic Rings, not intentional of course but it made me smile. So I rearranged them and took a photo of them. Perhaps there is a market for the sand disc art? Perhaps not then.

On a more serious note, I am sad and yet pleased all in the same breath. I am deeply saddened by what happened in Boston, my thoughts and prayers are especially with the families and you all on the other side of “the pond”. I am happy as one of the bombers is dead, and the other is captured. I don’t do politics and religion as a rule but this does deserve a mention. These terrorists who are intent on injuring and murdering innocent lives need to have a lesson taught to them. Their human rights ended when an unprovoked attack killed somebody else. I hope he rots in a cell for a very long time.