At 12:08 AM 7/21/98 EDT, you wrote:
> After reading about and visualizing all the trials and triumphs..er..uh..
>Victories! ;-) with your (Phillip Hubbard's) Midget.. I wanna ride! :-) :-)
> Good work and good writing, Phillip. Keep it up!
> Ed in NC
Well Ed, you are in luck. The saga continues. :) Tonight I learned
something very valuable - the rear half-elliptical springs on a Midget are
not the same length from center bushing to front bracket as they are from
center bushing to rear shackle. Yep - I put the passenger's side in
backwards. :) Found out when I tried to align the center bushings. Well,
I didn't have the heart to undo it tonight and install the bushings the
right way so I decided to tackle the driver's side.
Got this side installed correctly. :) I have the front and rear attached
firmly. I have the center bushings and plates in place, but damned if I
can get it to line up correctly. I'm jacking up the spring to align and
tighten the center. I almost had it, but then noticed that the u-bolts
were going up with the spring so the threads were no where low enough to go
through the holes in the plates. I assume there is no real trick to this,
but that you just have to be patient. Hence, I quit for the night. :)
I'm not sure what to try to keep the pesky u-bolts in place while I jack up
the spring. Bend them in to hug the axle more before jacking up the
spring? Should I undo the check strap first? I am going to change both
check straps for new, but thought I'd keep them on while installing the
springs for a little extra measure of safety.
Anwyay, I'll tackle it again tomorrow. It's got to line up sometime with
enough finagling.
BTW, anyone who wants a ride when this is done is welcome to it. Hell,
most people here on the list can take it for a test drive if they want.
Sort of a reward for wading through all my ups and downs and for all the
great advice. :)
Cheers,
Philip
Burgundy 1974 Midget
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