I've been off since the 13th of December. I had great hopes of getting the flathead well on its way, but no.
The regional flathead guru had planned to come by and help me pick out the best parts from my collection of 8BA engines so I could get the block work going.
But he has been busy with the holidays, I guess.
Anyway, not to let that keep me from getting out in the shop...
I moved the 55 to the carport at the house, put the cover on it and pulled in the 77 Celica.
(I didn't know, but Celica is some sort of dragon in Japanese.
I don't know if the word means dragon or if it's a certain dragon.)
It is in pretty good shape and seemed to be a likely candidate to get done while I'm off.
First was a good vacuuming of the interior and trunk. Some rust in the spare tire well needed some Ospho, as well as a few other spots. Then, I pulled the console out and refurbished the shifter boot(s). The underlying rubber boot was rotted as badly as the leather upper boot.
Finding these kind of parts for these old cars is not impossible, but much harder. New parts are as expensive as new trifive parts!
So, with a little searching I found a rubber boot that would work for 10 bucks instead of the 35 or more for a repro'd original.
Some rubber cement to weld the new piece to the trimmed up old piece resulted in a good fit.
As for the leather boot, those can be had for as little as 25 bucks, but Dixie had found some suede material and stitched up one for just a few bucks.
The brakes were scary, so I checked the fluid level and found the rear reservoir nearly empty.
I put the car up on stands and pulled the wheels. No obvious leaks.
So, I filled the master cylinder and bled them out. Brakes sorted.
I'll still have to keep an eye on them to see if the fluid holds.
Could be a faulty master cylinder. Time will tell.
The steering was next. A quick check revealed every joint, ilder, pitman, tierod ends were shot. Probably original to the nearly 200K mile car.
Mechanical and suspension related parts are still available from a number of places. Rock Auto for one, and Amazon (believe it or not). Local AP stores have them listed but not always in stock in their local stores.
So, new pieces were ordered and installed.
I have lower control arms with ball joints and bushings on order to complete the front suspension.
Along with a set of struts and rear shocks coming.
I think this will be a neat little car to drive back and forth to work.
![Image]()
Besides working on the Celica, I painted one of our storage buildings, searched for and picked up a springy "Wonder Horse" for my grand nephew and still had time to play on the many forums I belong to now.
Two trifive types, Studebaker, Ford Barn, Classic Celica and a myriad of groups on Facebook.
And still 3 days left!
Ugh! Going back to work will be hard. Nothing like having to go to "work" to keep us away from the fun stuff.
But hey, I gotta pay the bills! :tu
The regional flathead guru had planned to come by and help me pick out the best parts from my collection of 8BA engines so I could get the block work going.
But he has been busy with the holidays, I guess.
Anyway, not to let that keep me from getting out in the shop...
I moved the 55 to the carport at the house, put the cover on it and pulled in the 77 Celica.
(I didn't know, but Celica is some sort of dragon in Japanese.
I don't know if the word means dragon or if it's a certain dragon.)
It is in pretty good shape and seemed to be a likely candidate to get done while I'm off.
First was a good vacuuming of the interior and trunk. Some rust in the spare tire well needed some Ospho, as well as a few other spots. Then, I pulled the console out and refurbished the shifter boot(s). The underlying rubber boot was rotted as badly as the leather upper boot.
Finding these kind of parts for these old cars is not impossible, but much harder. New parts are as expensive as new trifive parts!
So, with a little searching I found a rubber boot that would work for 10 bucks instead of the 35 or more for a repro'd original.
Some rubber cement to weld the new piece to the trimmed up old piece resulted in a good fit.
As for the leather boot, those can be had for as little as 25 bucks, but Dixie had found some suede material and stitched up one for just a few bucks.
The brakes were scary, so I checked the fluid level and found the rear reservoir nearly empty.
I put the car up on stands and pulled the wheels. No obvious leaks.
So, I filled the master cylinder and bled them out. Brakes sorted.
I'll still have to keep an eye on them to see if the fluid holds.
Could be a faulty master cylinder. Time will tell.
The steering was next. A quick check revealed every joint, ilder, pitman, tierod ends were shot. Probably original to the nearly 200K mile car.
Mechanical and suspension related parts are still available from a number of places. Rock Auto for one, and Amazon (believe it or not). Local AP stores have them listed but not always in stock in their local stores.
So, new pieces were ordered and installed.
I have lower control arms with ball joints and bushings on order to complete the front suspension.
Along with a set of struts and rear shocks coming.
I think this will be a neat little car to drive back and forth to work.
Besides working on the Celica, I painted one of our storage buildings, searched for and picked up a springy "Wonder Horse" for my grand nephew and still had time to play on the many forums I belong to now.
Two trifive types, Studebaker, Ford Barn, Classic Celica and a myriad of groups on Facebook.
And still 3 days left!
Ugh! Going back to work will be hard. Nothing like having to go to "work" to keep us away from the fun stuff.
But hey, I gotta pay the bills! :tu
