Looking Back At The Rabbit Hole

Hello Gray Ghost Fans!

Well, the title of this post says it all,  I'm finally out of the rabbit hole! That means that I finally wrapped up the cleaning of the engine bay and a complete refurbishment of the front suspension wear points!  But first, a reminder of where we started:

Passenger Side Frame Before Cleaning

Steering Box Bracket and Pitman Arm Before Cleaning

Passenger Side Front Shackle Before Cleaning and Replacement

So, lot's of crud and old, worn out shocks.  That much was obvious.  What I found out was that there was a hidden failure (cue the logistics support analysis of yesteryear,  I think that there is a code for hidden failures).  The hidden failure?  This guy:

Failed Cork Grease Seal

This failure, once discovered, led me into the rabbit hole.  Turns out, it lead me to find even more hidden failures.  These hidden failures:

Worn Front Shackle Pins

Worn Leaf Spring Rear Pin

Worn Leaf Spring Rear Pin and Bushing

In other words, all of the wear points were in fact worn and in need of replacement.  New Old Stock for the front shackles looked like this:

NOS Front Shackle Kit

No pics of the new leaf spring rear pins.  I got those from an online parts house.  Those came with minor issues with the threads.  A quick thread chasing and they were serviceable.  Once the front shackles were assembled with the new grease seals and serviced with the grease gun, it looked like this:

Passenger Side Front Shackle

Driver Side Front Shackle

The leaf spring pin looks like a bolt....  Here it is:

Driver Side Leaf Spring Pin

Old vs new shocks:

Old And New Shocks

Once everything was clean, painted and replaced, it all looked like this:

Engine Bay Ready For Business

 

That was the money shot!  Now, on to the elephant in the room...rot removal!  I've got the patch panels and all of the tools to get this job done.  But first, I am going to do some practicing on scrap metal.  I really want to get this done as a one and done project.  That means lots of thought, planning and practice before I start really cutting and welding on the Gray Ghost.

In the meantime, enjoy your summer!  This may take a while....  I'll make some interim posts to keep everyone up to date on my progress.  CYA!