Bob:
> Does anyone know of a way to fix the threaded area of the wishbone
> on a '63 Sprite where the fulcrum pin screws into it? Moss and VB
> both offer the threaded fulcrum pins for sale, but I can see that on
> mine, it's the threads in the wishbone that are worn out rather than
> the fulcrum pin itself.
I just went through a similar situation on my '79 Midget. Your
assessment is the norm; the reason the threads go bad is a lack of
greasing, particularly on the one side which lacks the zerk. A
recommended improvement is to place zerks on both sides of the fulcrum
pin.
If you search the list archives at ListQuest.com (I think that's the
address), you'll find a number of messages on the topic. One of the
listers, Ulix G., offered some good input, as well as others who were
going through it at the same time I was. I think, but am not sure, that
Ulix had some info on his website at:
http://students.washington.edu/ulix/SpriteSusp.html
I would suggest looking at the site if only for the suspension
information; that's some fine work there.
In essence, you can replace the threaded bushings by desoldering the old
set, and (silver ?) soldering in a new set. One school of thought holds
that it is best to have a company such as Apple Hydraulics do it for you,
another says that you can do it yourself if you use a known good fulcrum
pin to align them with (dispose of the pin when done as the heat will
destroy the temper). I don't remember the costs of the refurbished sets
v. only the bushings, but believe it is covered in the messages.
> A new wishbone is about $130 from Moss and VB and I'd prefer not to buy
a
> whole wishbone if there's a way to fix just the threaded part of it.
In the interest of time and economy, I bought new (not refurbished)
wishbones from Peter C. at World Wide. Great service (as always), and
fairly reasonable at approximately $100 each. I chose this route because
I am not particularly good with a torch, and was not real comfortable
with working on an important suspension piece without an alignment jig.
Your mileage may vary.
Have you disassembled the wishbone from the swivel yet?
Luck,
Rich -- Council Bluffs, Iowa
'74.5 RB MGB "Miss Maggie"
'78 Chevy Half-Ton "Waltzin' Matilda" (LBC Support Vehicle)
'79 Midget "Miss Molly"
richard.arnold@juno.com or rdarnold@neonramp.com
|