Hosed

I'd noticed some time ago that the power steering pressure hose was leaking a bit. I'd ordered a replacement from Rock and figured I'd better git it put in today. The new hose works OK but it is a very different shape from the original. I had to chisel the old tubing at the fitting to get the fittings off, they were on so tight. I am quite sure that was the original hose from the factory. Topped off with fresh fluid and all is well. No leaks so far.

Carburetor and Fan Clutch

[78200] I changed out both the carb and the fan clutch today. I had ordered the carb from a place called ReCarbCo on the Web. The OEM number of the original carb was 17056240. The replacement was a different number but was a perfect fit. Best of all, she fired right up and runs nice. No test drive yet. I'll do that tomorrow. [Test drove just beautifully!]

Radiator

New radiator arrived tonight and Installed it along with a new lower hose. I have not completely buttoned things up and I need to buy coolant to fill the system tomorrow. But hte major replacement is done.

Coolant Overflow Tank

Helen's original tank, which was molded into the fan shroud, was leaking and was also in the way of things. My solution was to replace it with an aftermarket job, but I didn't want a cheesey plastic add-on type, so I got a cheesey tuner add-on type instead. At least it's metal and will hold up pretty well. Disadvantage, it's kinda small for this big ol' engine. We'll see how well it works. I think I have another leak somewhere else as well.

Alternator

Alternator seems to have gone out on Friday. Alt light coming on then going off irregularly, putting a load on like pressing a window switch would extinguish it. Regulator? Anyway, put in an Autolite rebuilt unit from Kragen/Parts America today and now she's good.

Installed the new Hella E code high beam headlights too. A pair of adapter harnesses a few inches long made the electrical connection. Now I just need instrument panel lights!

Radiator and Brakes

Started to do the brakes and found that the drums would not come off unless I backed off the shoes. Figured that was a bad sign... So I went to adjust the shoes and found that the backing plate still had the knockout plug in place... so these brakes have *never* been touched since the car left the factory. Another bad sign? Yep. The left drum has two very deep gouges from the riveted brake shoes. Too deep to salvage, I think. I didn't even bother to pull the right drum to inspect. I just put it back together for now. Nice that the Raybestos brake hardware kit I bought includes the rubber plugs one needs after removing the factory knockouts! New drums are now on order. I have already seen the front rotors when I did the quickie brake pad change, and they looked OK, but I decided to order new rotors now, while I was getting drums. Drilled and slotted, no less.

Next I went to work on changing the radiator out. The new 4-row radiator is a good bit thicker than the original 3 row, so I had to cut a wedge out of the two top and two bottom rubber isolators that secure the radiator in place. The upper and lower hoses still looked and felt pretty solid but new ones went in, including the "bypass" hose from the intake to the water pump and the two heater hoses. I used some new wormgear clamps I found that have a wingnut to let you tighten them down without a tool. These worked OK but I can't say I'd want to buy them again. The wingnut part is a lovely bright yellow though. ;-) I'd noticed some intermittent leaks from the cooling system over the past couple of weeks and I'm happy to say the old radiator had various places where tell-tale signs of leakage were convicting it of being the guilty party. They were easy to spot once the core was out.

Started to put in the new Autosound stereo. Removing the "wood" trim panel was a snap and the radio is held in by a plastic plate that has four hex bolts. Removing the two shaft nuts and then those bolts leaves just a nut on the right side of the radio to get off from under the dash. Then the radio pulls out from the front. Very nice! The old radio showed some writing on the top that indicated it had been serviced for some complaint in the early history of the car. I didn't get a chance to really read it in the failing light last evening. I fitted the new radio to the plastic plate and will likely not try to attach any back support to the old radio's rear attaching point. The new unit is very light and there is no fitting on the right side, only the rear. I suppose I could make a bracket that wraps around from the back to the side attaching point, but it hardly seems worth it. I used wire taps to connect the new unit's wiring pigtail to the car's harness, leaving all the original connectors so that the car can be put back to original someday, if desired. The front speakers have plus and minus leads so I could "bench test" the new radio before installing it. It seems to work fine. I then used a hot glue gun to ensure the little chrome adapter plate and other trim bits wont shift about. I need to run two wires for the rear speakers as the originals are grounded to the chassis. BTW: the new unit seems to work OK with the original speakers, so if I don't get the speakers done this weekend, I won't be tuneless.