Off The Stands

With morning temps in the thirties, it’s a chilly ride without a heater so part of last night was spent making sure Glinda’s occupants won’t go numb. First, I installed the new heater hoses, and then, with great optimism, I bolted on the bottom shrouds. I’m being optimistic that we’ve gotten all, or at least most, of the oil leaks because if oil drips on the inside of those shrouds, the hot air will carry the wonderful fragrance inside the car and into clothes and carpet. The daugthers love to complain, "We always smell like old car.”

With the heater components on, I proceeded to install the exhaust system. My tranny jack supported the muffler while I attached the “logs” to the heads. The muffler hanger went on and that task was checked off. The rest of the engine components went on in the following order: fan with pulley wheel, top cover, oil cooler cover, alternator, vacuum balance tube, distributor cap and wires, fuel pump with supply lines, PCV hoses, choke rods, carburetors, throttle linkage, fanbelt, and air cleaner. The rear wheels went on and the car was lowered off the jackstands. Finally, the negative battery cable was connected to the battery. I decided to remove the fanbelt guards since they just make it more difficult to replace the belt and I really haven’t had a problem with belts coming off.

I didn’t have any motor oil to top off with, so startup will have to wait until this evening.

I went to Napa on my lunch hour to get the recommended strip caulk to re-seal Glinda’s fresh air doors. Sadly, they had none in stock, but will get my order in by closing time, so there will be a slight detour on my evening commute. While out and about at lunch I bought some Rotella 30 weight oil for the fleet. I really should’ve bought more than a gallon, but hey, I’m an optimist.