"Underneath", installment #2
The big accomplishment for the weekend, Tiger-wise, is that the
rear suspension is off the car; the front shortly to follow. Fellow
lister Larry Paulick was on hand yesterday to help; in addition, he hung
around to join in with a bunch of neighbors to move our new hot-tub onto
our porch. That sounds like non-Tiger content, but beleive me, after a
few hours under the car I could use a good soak (Larry, my ankle is much
better this AM, the soft mud saved me when the pallet and tub rolled
over it).
Most folks, I'd imagine, would only intend to pull both
suspensions out at the _beginning_ of a restoration, and when dealing
only when a bare shell. Not me; the Garage Queen is/was a fully running
car, with the engine, interior, etc all still in, and with the weight
that implies. The car now sits on 4 jackstands on the "frame" of the
car. Two are on the rails behind the front crossmember, two more on the
back half of the "X" rails, forward of the rear springs. This puts the
weight of the car on a rather small footprint, and far forward; indeed,
the rear jackstands aren't that far back from the midpoint of the car.
I'm thinking about borrowing another set of stands to put at the rear of
the car near where the spring shackles are; I want some some support
before I go crawling around under there (Duh! Just occurred to me to
pull the battery!).
I now see a few places where a bit of welding is needed, so the
car, once assembled will be making a trip to the welder's (wherever the
heck that might be). In addition to one of the exhaust pass-throughs,
the rear arms of the "X", forward and in from the spring mounts, need
help; the spring mounts themselves look OK. Plus, I see what might be a
crack on the rail right where the Panhard rod bracket bolts on; I recall
this being a "normal problem" on Tigers. The rest of the car looks truly
solid.
Within 48 hours I expect to have the rear up to the local
mechanic who will pull the hubs with the correct tool, then I can clean
it up and start disassembly. This week is for ordering most of the bits
I don't already have coming. Then, this coming weekend, out comes the
front crossmember, there's no way I'll try it without a second person
there. At one point yesterday, the car started to "veer" while lowering
it onto the jackstands; with Larry there, we got it back under control
but it will take a few doses of laxitive before my normal bodily
functions resume. :^0
Lawrence R. Wright
Purchasing Analyst
Andrews Office Products Div. of USOP
lrw@aop.com
Ph. 301.386.7923 Fx. 301.386.5333
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