Minor front end work

[aeronca65t]

Some of you may recall that I own a car I call "The Red Rat".

You can read about it ~HERE~

The Rat is a car I built from free or cast-off parts......it was built basically for pocket change.

Anyway, the Rat runs fine and functions as a parts-chaser or a fun loan car to relatives. But for a while I've known that it needed a right, front shock

Today, I am in the middle of my latest yard project......spreading 10 cu. yards of mulch around our shrubs. Boring. And hot.
So I decided it would be more interesting to work on the Midget.

A lot of times people talk about "NOS" (new, old stock). I, on the other hand, have a lot of "UOS" (used, old stock)......really, a cr@p-load of UOS.
And in that pile of stuff, I found a decent right, front shock for the Midget. It pays to be a hoarder!

So off with the bad and in with the good. I drained the "new" shock first and put clean oil in it. And found some better upper bushings (more UOS) to tighten things up. While I was at it I greased all the points on that side too.

No more "bouncy-bounce"! Now, back to the mulch! :rolleye:

 

[drooartz]

UOS - I like that. Certainly sounds better than "pile o junk my kids will have to pay someone to haul away when I'm dead." :grin:

 

[SaxMan]

That's very cool to be able to build and entire car from cast-off and used parts. I've done that with a couple of bicycles. I'm starting on my spare parts pile, but I imagine it may be awhile before I have enough to make a car from it.

 

[Morris]

Nial... you are my soul mate.

 

[JPSmit]

Nial... you are my soul mate.

Hey, I thought I was, but nevermind that, how is the car? What interesting mods are you up to now?

 

[Morris]

J.P., you are my role model.

Projects:
1) Taking my wife to the Mayo Clinic.
2) Bathroom remodel.
3) Triangulated upper links made from UOS parts. They are done, just need to work up the courage and time to install them.
4) Peltier air conditioner. This one is still in the planning phase. We have had a pretty mild summer so far so my motivation for this one hasn't been as high as usual.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Take care of wife first. You've got priorities in order.

 

[aeronca65t]

Take care of wife first. You've got priorities in order.

Yes. +2

You're a Good Lad!

 

[David_Doan]

4) Peltier air conditioner. This one is still in the planning phase. We have had a pretty mild summer so far so my motivation for this one hasn't been as high as usual.

I used to use peltier elements to cool my computer's CPU in the late 90's early 2000's. I think it was 12v at 20-30 amps. How big of a peltier element do you need to cool your car.....

 

[healeydan12]

Seriously, How do tell if your shocks are bad? Do you do the old rebound test on each corner of your car like a tube (modern) shock? How much resistance should there be if you have a Spridget shock in your hands??

 

[aeronca65t]

I think your basic "bounce on the fender" test is OK. If it keeps bouncing more than once of twice, your shock is toast.

The old shock I removed has zero resistance. All the oil had leaked out of it. Even when removed, it was easy to move the lever by hand. I tried adding oil to it some time back and it had some resistance for a while. But the oil quickly leaked out.
I could feel resistance in the "new" shock before I even installed it. The car rides and handles much better now.

 

[Sarastro]

Similar experience with my TD shocks. No resistance at all, found them empty, but when I added fluid, they locked up. Shipped 'em off to Peter Caldwell, and now they're fine.

 

[jlaird]

Can not really move em by hand or very little. Oh enough to install a new one but.........