Friday, September 24, 2010
Blog Change
This will be the last blog post as ShelbaToast '65. The car is done and has been on the road for a couple years now. Since I no longer have regular updates to post on here I'm 'closing out ShelbaToast'.
I've often found myself wanting to write a blog-post about something only to end up saying "nah it doesn't have to do with the car". I'll still blog about the car when things happen or I do mods, but it will be mixed in with other stuff. Games I'm playing, trips I'm taking, crazy stuff at work, etc.
I'm not sure yet if the URL will change, but keep an eye out!
I've often found myself wanting to write a blog-post about something only to end up saying "nah it doesn't have to do with the car". I'll still blog about the car when things happen or I do mods, but it will be mixed in with other stuff. Games I'm playing, trips I'm taking, crazy stuff at work, etc.
I'm not sure yet if the URL will change, but keep an eye out!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Door Inserts
I got some leather door inserts for my birthday - woo! They have pockets to store some 'stuff'. I have my little booklet that has my fuel economy and fluid quantities and stuff that I can keep handy in there. I definitely like them, a nice little mod to the finished product.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Mountain Biking
Today I took my first bike ride in about a year.
Today I took my first spill in about a year.
Overall the ride was very bland - paved roads, not a lot of turns, not a lot of hills. But there was a section of the 'trail' that was closed - they are building a highway over it. They had it blocked off really well, but unless they fence off the whole project, people are going to find a way across. I mean, they blocked the whole trail for like 8 months (projected). So naturally I joined the ranks of the awesome - who judging by the number of tread-marks are few and far between in the area - and went around.
Crossing the construction area was pretty tricky, first off we've had a lot of rain, so there was a lot of 'quicksand' and mud. Where it wasn't mud, the water drainage had caused deep ruts. I made it across pretty eventlessly, but had to go around a bit. On the way back I decided to go straight over the hardest part. I crested a hill and looked down and it seemed pretty easy except for a vertical drop off at the end. Decided it was too long of a fall to crawl it, and went down at an angle. But then the front wheels started to slide, the back wheel stuck in, and it was abandon ship. Ok, so the tires themselves didn't start to slide - I have 2.5" nobblies - they aren't sliding anywhere. But the dirt gave way and basically avalanched.
Anyhow, one duck and roll later and I got a few little abrasions and a little bit muddier. I made it across and there was another biker there asking me about how far the trail went. We chatted for awhile and then I scooted off back home to wash the bike and eventually myself.
So as I mentioned, it was a pretty boring ride except for the construction zone in the middle, but was totally worth it. It was nice to get muddy and slosh around again.
Today I took my first spill in about a year.
Overall the ride was very bland - paved roads, not a lot of turns, not a lot of hills. But there was a section of the 'trail' that was closed - they are building a highway over it. They had it blocked off really well, but unless they fence off the whole project, people are going to find a way across. I mean, they blocked the whole trail for like 8 months (projected). So naturally I joined the ranks of the awesome - who judging by the number of tread-marks are few and far between in the area - and went around.
Crossing the construction area was pretty tricky, first off we've had a lot of rain, so there was a lot of 'quicksand' and mud. Where it wasn't mud, the water drainage had caused deep ruts. I made it across pretty eventlessly, but had to go around a bit. On the way back I decided to go straight over the hardest part. I crested a hill and looked down and it seemed pretty easy except for a vertical drop off at the end. Decided it was too long of a fall to crawl it, and went down at an angle. But then the front wheels started to slide, the back wheel stuck in, and it was abandon ship. Ok, so the tires themselves didn't start to slide - I have 2.5" nobblies - they aren't sliding anywhere. But the dirt gave way and basically avalanched.
Anyhow, one duck and roll later and I got a few little abrasions and a little bit muddier. I made it across and there was another biker there asking me about how far the trail went. We chatted for awhile and then I scooted off back home to wash the bike and eventually myself.
So as I mentioned, it was a pretty boring ride except for the construction zone in the middle, but was totally worth it. It was nice to get muddy and slosh around again.
Monday, August 16, 2010
All we know
Some say it was born as the love-child of a Cheetah and a Kodiak bear, and that it often consumes small children for breakfast...
All we know, is it's called Shelbatoast.
All we know, is it's called Shelbatoast.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Fire 'stinguisher
I've been reading a lot of articles lately about cars burning to the ground. Mostly it seems to be exotic super-cars, Lamborghini, Ferrari and the like which run crazy high pressure fuel systems. But just the same it got me thinking, you know I did most of the wiring on this thing myself and you just never know what might happen. So instead of having to possibly suffer the humiliating fate of the car burning to the ground while I helplessly stand by and watch, I picked up a small vehicle fire extinguisher and mounted it under the dash.
While I was on the website ordering the fire extinguisher I also picked up a few other goodies - passenger mirror, another rear-view mirror, and 2 cobra posters. A nice addition to the garage :-D
Monday, July 19, 2010
Starting to think
With this wet summer I should have built something with AWD and rain tires! Just gotta look forward to the fall mountain trips. Also, I'm thinking more and more that a hard top is a good idea.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Hrrm...weather
So I finally finished these mods I've been waiting impatiently for and my god, look at the weather. Rain forecast for the next 10 days. Thumbs down for that!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Leno talks about the benefits of a manual transmission
Some people really don't like Leno, and I don't like him as a comedian talk show host, but I think he's great in his online series 'Jay Leno's Garage'. He really 'gets' cars and appreciates all the same things that most of us car guys do. Watch this episode of 'garage' and listen to how he talks about why he prefers manual transmissions to paddle shifters or automatic transmissions.
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/audi-r8-v8-vs-audi-r8-v10/1191694/
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/audi-r8-v8-vs-audi-r8-v10/1191694/
Tires Mounted
I got the tires mounted on the wheels today, but on the way home it started raining raining so I couldn't go for a drive after mounting the wheels. Here are a few pictures.
You can see the fake carbon fiber rock guard I have put on the fender wells.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Update: tires & gears
First up: congratulation to Brandon and Allison who got married this past weekend at Raffaldini. Quite nice =)
Update on the tires: I ordered the Nitto NT01s and they are due in Saturday.
Update on the gears: FastLane finally got them in off backorder and I'm scheduled to have them installed Tuesday. At the same time they will replace the bearings, rebuild the traction-loc and do all the other wearable maintenance back there.
Updates soon on the major performance boosts!
Oh yeah and I almost forgot, another cobra builder that I have been following for about 2 years now has 'finished' his car and graduated from ffcars.com. Congrats to Scotty!
Update on the tires: I ordered the Nitto NT01s and they are due in Saturday.
Update on the gears: FastLane finally got them in off backorder and I'm scheduled to have them installed Tuesday. At the same time they will replace the bearings, rebuild the traction-loc and do all the other wearable maintenance back there.
Updates soon on the major performance boosts!
Oh yeah and I almost forgot, another cobra builder that I have been following for about 2 years now has 'finished' his car and graduated from ffcars.com. Congrats to Scotty!
Monday, May 10, 2010
The next Gen
First off - I have turned off the comment moderation on the blog - I had to turn it on because I was getting some comment spam that was a major pain to sift through and delete. You'll still have to be moderated before your post will show up if the post is older than half a month.
2nd off - I let Brandon drive the cobra to Los Tres today for his birthday. It's really weird to ride in the passenger seat =) Thanks for not crashing it into anything B-zone! Actually, a good job adjusting to it, I know it's a bit odd to drive at first.
Lastly off - On the way home today I drove passed a young guy on a bike in my neighborhood, who turned around and followed me home to ask me some questions about the car. His name was Nathan and he seemed like a pretty cool kid. We chatted for probably an hour about cars in general. It was nice to get a fresh perspective from a younger generation of car enthusiasts. He seemed to appreciate all types of cars right off the bat which is really cool! It took me so long to have a broad appreciation of cars. I was always swayed by public opinion at the time - either 'muscle cars are stupid because they can't turn worth crap on a track' or 'ricer imports are stupid'. I feel like it took me a long time to gain that wide lens perspective on cars - from enjoying a powerful muscle car, to a sup'd up civic, to a perfectly balanced car like the WRX or RX-8. I took him for a quick spin around the block which he seemed to really enjoy.
I really enjoy Shelbatoast if for no other reason than the excellent conversations it gets me into. On the way home, a guy in a 'murdered out' Charger rolled down his window beside me just to hear the engine sing.
PS. I can't wait for the final gear and new tires =)
2nd off - I let Brandon drive the cobra to Los Tres today for his birthday. It's really weird to ride in the passenger seat =) Thanks for not crashing it into anything B-zone! Actually, a good job adjusting to it, I know it's a bit odd to drive at first.
Lastly off - On the way home today I drove passed a young guy on a bike in my neighborhood, who turned around and followed me home to ask me some questions about the car. His name was Nathan and he seemed like a pretty cool kid. We chatted for probably an hour about cars in general. It was nice to get a fresh perspective from a younger generation of car enthusiasts. He seemed to appreciate all types of cars right off the bat which is really cool! It took me so long to have a broad appreciation of cars. I was always swayed by public opinion at the time - either 'muscle cars are stupid because they can't turn worth crap on a track' or 'ricer imports are stupid'. I feel like it took me a long time to gain that wide lens perspective on cars - from enjoying a powerful muscle car, to a sup'd up civic, to a perfectly balanced car like the WRX or RX-8. I took him for a quick spin around the block which he seemed to really enjoy.
I really enjoy Shelbatoast if for no other reason than the excellent conversations it gets me into. On the way home, a guy in a 'murdered out' Charger rolled down his window beside me just to hear the engine sing.
PS. I can't wait for the final gear and new tires =)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Brakes, rotors and under-lining.
Well, I finally broke down and ordered some new brake stuff for the rear wheels. They've had the same old random pads and rotors on since it was a mustang so I figured it was time for some fresh kicks. I went pretty simple, standard rotors (w/ powdercoated hubs woot) and akebono street performance ceramic pads. I have these on the front and really like them. They make no noise, no dust, and have a decent stopping force. I really need better tires before I need to be concerned about better brakes. They seem pretty resistant to heat too, which makes sense being ceramic.
Brandon came over after work one day and we got to work on it. We popped the eBrake off the caliper for the first one. We did NOT make that mistake again. All the extra thickness of the pads and rotors made it almost impossible to compress the spring back in far enough. Worse than that though, was the surprise piston. On some models, the rear pistons can't be forced back in with a clamp - the method I am used to. But rather, they have to have a special tool to rotate the piston clockwise. Not having a special tool we made do with a blade changing tool for the grinder. It took several busted knuckled and manly grunts before we decided to internet it up and found the rotation requirement.
While we worked on the brakes on one side, I sprayed the rubber undercarriage stuff in the wheel wells. It looks a lot better than the bare aluminum panel and hopefully will be an added layer of protection.
Brandon came over after work one day and we got to work on it. We popped the eBrake off the caliper for the first one. We did NOT make that mistake again. All the extra thickness of the pads and rotors made it almost impossible to compress the spring back in far enough. Worse than that though, was the surprise piston. On some models, the rear pistons can't be forced back in with a clamp - the method I am used to. But rather, they have to have a special tool to rotate the piston clockwise. Not having a special tool we made do with a blade changing tool for the grinder. It took several busted knuckled and manly grunts before we decided to internet it up and found the rotation requirement. 
While we worked on the brakes on one side, I sprayed the rubber undercarriage stuff in the wheel wells. It looks a lot better than the bare aluminum panel and hopefully will be an added layer of protection.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
NEXT
The next Cobra upgrade will most likely be a final gear ratio change, but for now I'm looking into what tires to replace the current tires with when the time comes.
The tires are have are Kumho ecsta SPTs. They are 'ultra high summer performance' tires. They have excellent ratings as well. They come with a share of problems though. First off they have a treadwear of 320. This is pretty high for a performance tire, and in a car that weighs 2100 lbs they are just too hard. I've had them on for a few months now of pretty aggressive driving and I can still read the brand imprinted in the center tread. They handle well up to the limit, but as soon as they start sliding they lose all grip. Which means that it handles great until it doesn't and then you are screwed.
So looking at replacement rear tires. I will leave the ecstas on the front until I start to lose traction there - right now oversteer is by far my biggest problem. So I'm looking for something that has better adhesion while sliding. So far I've REALLY considered the following 2 tires: Nitto NT01 and Nitto NT05. The NT01 has a treadlife of 100 and is really a track tire. The NT05 is 200 and has lower dry handling.
What do you guys think?
One other thing. UTQG - this is a retarded rating for performance cars. The "Traction" rating only rates stopping distance on a wet track. Does not take into account dry braking, acceleration, handling or lateral grip. What good does that do for a summer tire?
The tires are have are Kumho ecsta SPTs. They are 'ultra high summer performance' tires. They have excellent ratings as well. They come with a share of problems though. First off they have a treadwear of 320. This is pretty high for a performance tire, and in a car that weighs 2100 lbs they are just too hard. I've had them on for a few months now of pretty aggressive driving and I can still read the brand imprinted in the center tread. They handle well up to the limit, but as soon as they start sliding they lose all grip. Which means that it handles great until it doesn't and then you are screwed.
So looking at replacement rear tires. I will leave the ecstas on the front until I start to lose traction there - right now oversteer is by far my biggest problem. So I'm looking for something that has better adhesion while sliding. So far I've REALLY considered the following 2 tires: Nitto NT01 and Nitto NT05. The NT01 has a treadlife of 100 and is really a track tire. The NT05 is 200 and has lower dry handling.
What do you guys think?
One other thing. UTQG - this is a retarded rating for performance cars. The "Traction" rating only rates stopping distance on a wet track. Does not take into account dry braking, acceleration, handling or lateral grip. What good does that do for a summer tire?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Transmission
The new transmission is in and done! I know I haven't updated in awhile so you might not even have been aware this was in the works. The short of the story is, I found a company - Smart Parts Auto - that sells rebuilt transmissions.
The price was good $745 plus shipping. Fastlane did a nice quick job on the install and were flexible with working with me using Smart Parts to ship directly to them. The install price was very fair, even though they broke my window post. I had to drive back with the windows off, but Tom came out and re-welded it shortly after.
With Tom's Imperial in working order, the truck is once again back in my possession. Just in time for the crappy rainy week.
The price was good $745 plus shipping. Fastlane did a nice quick job on the install and were flexible with working with me using Smart Parts to ship directly to them. The install price was very fair, even though they broke my window post. I had to drive back with the windows off, but Tom came out and re-welded it shortly after.
With Tom's Imperial in working order, the truck is once again back in my possession. Just in time for the crappy rainy week.
Monday, January 25, 2010
440 fired up
We got Tom's car running Friday night. Still needs a few little things - like brake bleeding.
Click here for video
Click here for video
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Car Party success
The car party was very successful. Although we did have a few relatively minor injuries - Carl's new skin removal technique, Tom's grinder to the fingernail, and my repeated head bashings into jack stands. Overall it was great. In the end the flow of beer prevailed over the flow of blood and we got a lot done. 
Here are the new bullitt wheels with the 281 caps and black lugs. Although my final ride height isn't set yet, the 275s on the rear seem to be a great fit. Much thanks to everyone who took the time to help me figure out the best tire width with the longer axle. Now that you can see through more wheel, I think I need to paint the rotors black where they are currently the lush rust color.Carl and I did the rear suspension change over. Koni coil overs and all FFR control arms. It's akin to wrestling with a dead elephant - it doesn't move, but it certainly doesn't cooperate. Using the jack in clever ways and just brute forcing it seems to be the best way to get things to 'line up'. Factory Five did forget to send me the hardware with my shocks so a quick stop to the hardware store to pick up some bolts and spacers was in order. I ended up ditching the quad shocks entirely, but if I think they are necessary I can space them out and still use them. I also had to move the axle straps. Once I got the shocks mounted I realized I drove the bolt in back to front so I couldn't bolt the axle straps on without removing the whole bolt and the shock would fall out. So instead of turning the bolt around, I just found another spot - from the spring perch bolt hole to an axle bracket. It gives the axle a little bit more motion without binding so overall an improvement.
Here is all the crap that I pulled out: upper arms, lower arms, springs, shocks, and spring perches. If anybody needs any of this stuff let me know!The side pipes were starting to get rusty and I has sprayed some polish on them from the rotary buffer last time I polished the car and it sort of cooked on. So Tom and Brandon pulled the pipes off and sanded them down. I don't think I prepped them good enough the first time I painted them, so hopefully this will last longer.
You might remember I had a problem with the fitment of the passenger window in my soft top. The easiest solution I think is to cut the 2 metal rods off that go into the door and reweld them a few millimeters forward. This would place the window back a bit. So I cut them off and handed it off to Tom to weld back on. It's a bit tricky because they have to be PERFECTLY angled so we actually place them in the door, position the window and do a few quick tack welds to hold them in place then pull the window out and do a complete weld. Everything was going great until we ran out of weld wire. We'll get that wrapped up today.
I also changed out the set screws in my steering column for much much shorter ones. Hopefully I can avoid pulling out any more wires! I also zip tied the wires up off the steering column which I should have done earlier anyway.
We lowered the car, played around with the ride height for awhile and replaced the belt. I think that's about it. I think very successful! Here is a before and after - sorry they are nowhere near the same angle.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Car party!
I'm doing all kinds of work to the Roadster on Saturday - feel free to come by and help, or just drop by to hang out!
* Replace all 4 control arms
* Replace mustang strut/spring with Koni coil-overs
* Install new wheels
* Adjust ride height/alignment
* Steering column work
* Sand and repaint the side-pipes
* Replace belt
Planning on dropping off the wheels and tires at Merchant Friday to have them mounted and balanced. I don't really want them actually HAVING the car.
* Replace all 4 control arms
* Replace mustang strut/spring with Koni coil-overs
* Install new wheels
* Adjust ride height/alignment
* Steering column work
* Sand and repaint the side-pipes
* Replace belt
Planning on dropping off the wheels and tires at Merchant Friday to have them mounted and balanced. I don't really want them actually HAVING the car.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
440 First fire attempt
Although we didn't have total success, we didn't have total failure either. You can hear it trying to fire, but we're thinking the timing isn't quite right - hence the backfire from the intake. But we have fuel and spark, and presumably air - so it's close.
First Try
First Try
Monday, January 18, 2010
Mega Delivery
I worked from home today so I could be here when the mega-delivery arrived. This includes the last piece of hardware for the rear suspension upgrade, all 4 new wheels, 2 new tires for the extra wide rear wheels, a set of black lugs, and '281' hubs.
The UPS driver was worried because I got 4 wheels and there were only 2 tires on the truck. But I assured her that's all I ordered and it was all good. These 275mm tires look incredibly huge and I can't wait to get them installed.
I went ahead and replaced the stock hubs with the '281's since they are so hard to do once the wheel is mounted. You have to access them from behind the wheel.
So the plan is to take the 4 wheels, 2 new rear tires, and 2 wheel/tires from the current car to Merchant and have them mount the tire on the wheel. Then I will mount them to the car here. Should be pretty good. Stay tuned for before/after pics.
The UPS driver was worried because I got 4 wheels and there were only 2 tires on the truck. But I assured her that's all I ordered and it was all good. These 275mm tires look incredibly huge and I can't wait to get them installed.
I went ahead and replaced the stock hubs with the '281's since they are so hard to do once the wheel is mounted. You have to access them from behind the wheel.
So the plan is to take the 4 wheels, 2 new rear tires, and 2 wheel/tires from the current car to Merchant and have them mount the tire on the wheel. Then I will mount them to the car here. Should be pretty good. Stay tuned for before/after pics.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Mysterious dash light outage - solved!
On the way home from work today I bought a new tap and handle. I had the steering column fixed in about 30 seconds. Wow, it's amazing how much better it feels now that the wheel is tightly connected to the rack.
On my way to work this morning, my dash lights went out. I figured I must have knocked some wires loose while I was working on the steering column. So after I fixed the steering column, I popped the dash bolts off and started looking for the wiring problem. Everything was looking fine, so I followed the power wire from the lights back to the fuse box and to the switch. No disconnections...
So I started thinking about the LEDs I'm using to light the dash. They are 12v LEDs and they are ON or OFF. Nothing in between. There is a chance that I'm not putting out quite 12v. Too bad my volt gauge is in the truck. hmmm back to the fuse box.
I guess there is a CHANCE that I blew a fuse rather than my wiring being weak and sucky. Haha, I should have more faith in myself. I blew a fuse - that probably is the result of me jostling around down there, but I threw a smaller fuse in real quick just to test and sure enough it works. A quick trip to the store to buy another supply of fuses and I'm good to go!
Also, I did a ton of wheel calculations and decided I need to go with 9" wheels in the back running 275mm tires. 10.5" wheels running 315s will not fit in the well. The 9" wheels only stick out .78 inches further than my current wheels. I need to order those soon. Since I don't have to wait for my suspension to be on to do 9" wheels I can get those ordered any time.
On my way to work this morning, my dash lights went out. I figured I must have knocked some wires loose while I was working on the steering column. So after I fixed the steering column, I popped the dash bolts off and started looking for the wiring problem. Everything was looking fine, so I followed the power wire from the lights back to the fuse box and to the switch. No disconnections...
So I started thinking about the LEDs I'm using to light the dash. They are 12v LEDs and they are ON or OFF. Nothing in between. There is a chance that I'm not putting out quite 12v. Too bad my volt gauge is in the truck. hmmm back to the fuse box.
I guess there is a CHANCE that I blew a fuse rather than my wiring being weak and sucky. Haha, I should have more faith in myself. I blew a fuse - that probably is the result of me jostling around down there, but I threw a smaller fuse in real quick just to test and sure enough it works. A quick trip to the store to buy another supply of fuses and I'm good to go!
Also, I did a ton of wheel calculations and decided I need to go with 9" wheels in the back running 275mm tires. 10.5" wheels running 315s will not fit in the well. The 9" wheels only stick out .78 inches further than my current wheels. I need to order those soon. Since I don't have to wait for my suspension to be on to do 9" wheels I can get those ordered any time.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wobbly steering and air tight cabin
So I have some good news and some bad news to report - don't worry nothing too bad. I'll start with the good news.
Since I've been without my truck for most of December, I have come to discover the need to windproof the cobra. I sprayed some great stuff expanding foam between the footbox and the body. This stops wind from coming in from under the hood. There is still wind coming from the cracks between the door and the body though. So I ordered some weatherstripping from a forum vendor. I gotta tell you, it's a world of difference. I actually had to cut the heat off today!
The next bit of good news is that I now have 2 of the 3 suspension components necessary to do my suspension upgrade. Also, I've started researching what size wheels will fit.
The 3rd piece of good news is that I found out why my steering wheel has the wobbly play in it before engaging the rack. There were 2 little cone washers that were supposed to go in between the upper rack and the lower rack. These press outward like springs and take up the slack.
Now for the bad news. I don't have those washers - I guess they got lost in all my backordered steering parts. So I decided to drill and tap the lower column so I could use a set screw. I went to the store and bought some set screws for my 1/4 20 tap. Then the trouble started.
* Drilling a hole in the lower steering column is tough because it's in the footbox and flops around when not connected to the upper column. Also, my headlamp died right in the middle of this operation. So after laying my lamp on the floor, I zip tied the steering column to a frame brace on the car to keep it from moving and lifting up as I drill. I Successfully drilled the hole in the steering column.
* My tap handle is being borrowed at the moment so I fumbled around with pliers and other stupid wrong pieces of hardware until I decided to put the tap in the drill chuck. Finally started making some progress when...SNAP. Yep I broke the tap off. Great, now I can't even put my steering wheel back in to go get another one. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even get the broken shard out.
* That is when I decided to use Carl's air hammer to try to break it out. After charging up the tank I took the air hammer to it and it was awesome. My new favorite tool! It was like BZZZT and that little chunk of metal went flying. So I can put the shafts back together now and drive tomorrow. I'll get a new tap and handle so I can finish the tap and tighten down the set screw.
Since I've been without my truck for most of December, I have come to discover the need to windproof the cobra. I sprayed some great stuff expanding foam between the footbox and the body. This stops wind from coming in from under the hood. There is still wind coming from the cracks between the door and the body though. So I ordered some weatherstripping from a forum vendor. I gotta tell you, it's a world of difference. I actually had to cut the heat off today!
The next bit of good news is that I now have 2 of the 3 suspension components necessary to do my suspension upgrade. Also, I've started researching what size wheels will fit.
The 3rd piece of good news is that I found out why my steering wheel has the wobbly play in it before engaging the rack. There were 2 little cone washers that were supposed to go in between the upper rack and the lower rack. These press outward like springs and take up the slack.
Now for the bad news. I don't have those washers - I guess they got lost in all my backordered steering parts. So I decided to drill and tap the lower column so I could use a set screw. I went to the store and bought some set screws for my 1/4 20 tap. Then the trouble started.
* Drilling a hole in the lower steering column is tough because it's in the footbox and flops around when not connected to the upper column. Also, my headlamp died right in the middle of this operation. So after laying my lamp on the floor, I zip tied the steering column to a frame brace on the car to keep it from moving and lifting up as I drill. I Successfully drilled the hole in the steering column.
* My tap handle is being borrowed at the moment so I fumbled around with pliers and other stupid wrong pieces of hardware until I decided to put the tap in the drill chuck. Finally started making some progress when...SNAP. Yep I broke the tap off. Great, now I can't even put my steering wheel back in to go get another one. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even get the broken shard out.
* That is when I decided to use Carl's air hammer to try to break it out. After charging up the tank I took the air hammer to it and it was awesome. My new favorite tool! It was like BZZZT and that little chunk of metal went flying. So I can put the shafts back together now and drive tomorrow. I'll get a new tap and handle so I can finish the tap and tighten down the set screw.
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