The Resurrection of Vixen Continues... And Crunch Time Begins

["Stragand, Dave" <dave.stragand@xxxx>]

Hi All,

Yes, yes, yes... going insane... quite so... There are now a little over 7 days to go before we leave for Memphis. That's at max 60 work-hours for meto finish the car.

Things are going fairly well, but not fantastically. The windshield is nowinstalled, the rear fascia is on, and overall the car looks complete on the outside, albeit it still needs rebrushed.

I had scheduled an appointment for an alignment yesterday morning, so rather hesitantly I drove the car down the extremely steep hill to the closest mechanic. There was a loud rhythmic clunking from the back that was new, but I couldn't identify it. Anyway, when the technician went to pull the carin onto the rack, it would not start. There was no fuel pressure. It turns out the culprit was the connector in the very front corner near the windshield wiper fluid resevoir. Cleaned that up, and it started just fine. Watching the technician drive away, I realized the clunking was coming from the wobbling rear wheel (forgot to tighten the lugs -- d'oh! -- too many long nights spent in the garage).

Okay... so the car is on the rack. The toe-out on the front was about 3" total. Hmmm... So as usual, doing it "by eye" didn't work very well. Good thing I scheduled an alignment, eh? The rear wasn't too bad, but the camber was way off. I have the adjustable lower control arms, so he was able todial that in nicely. Oh, by the way... The DMC was in the alignment system's computer -- it was a new model Hunter. It even had the correct specs (in inches not mm though) and showed that front caster/camber were not adjustable. Not too bad... somneone got it right for a change.

The idle is smoothing out quite a bit, but I've found the frequency valve has been cutting in and out steadily... about 3 seconds on, and 3 seconds off. Something in the lambda system methinks... but I'll work on that.

I purchased a rearview mirror with the compass and temperature in it and will wire that in tonight. I've been warned against gluing the DMC mirror tothe glass because of breakage. What about a GM-style mount though? Any fears there? Should I mount the GM button with the mounting pad Houston provided with my windshield? Any fears about cracking due to the increased weight? Someone has warned me that was a possibility.

Anyway, most of the carpet is now in, and the majority of the interior is installed. Still have to recover the headliner & install the new seat skins, which I'll work on while it rains here tonight. As soon as the weather dries up a bit, I have to hit the road as much as I can. I've now put 2.1 miles on the car, and want to put on about 500 more before we leave for Memphis... wish me luck!

"The engine rumbles smooth and deep, but I have promises to keep, and milesto go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."

-Dave Stragand
VIN #05927
http://www.ProjectVixen.com/ (just updated by the way through mid-May.)