The Resurrection of Vixen

Quote of the Week:
"I don't understand why you need a webcam so people can watch you work on a DeLorean" - Mom
"I'm going to work on the car naked, and charge people $10 an hour to watch." - Me
"Well at least you'll be making an extra couple of bucks." -Dad"

Okay, so I figured out the problem with the angle drive nut and my "spinning spindle". I tightened up the spindle nut to use for leverage, then worked the angle drive nut loose with a large (metric) adjustable-end wrench inserted into the shaft of a bumper jack for torque. Sounds strange, but they make excellent breaker bars. The reason the nut would not tighten was due to a bunch of gunk in the threads which the previous owner had not cleaned.

Now, every book on auto repair always says to clean the threads of every nut and bolt before reinstalling. Take that seriously! Not only will dirt affect your torque readings, but it may stop it from tightening sufficiently at all. This time, it actually jammed the nut into place before tightening it sufficiently.

After pulling the spindle, I cleaned the taper end, then scuffed up both the taper and the seat lightly with 150 grit sandpaper so there would be a bit more friction on the reinstall. I cleaned the threads carefully (I use a circular wire brush attached to a bench grinder -- $4 at Home Depot) and cleaned the nut threads with a toothbrush. I'd prefer to 'tap' the nut, but no one in Western Pennsylvania carries a 36mm coarse thread tap. I'd venture to guess this would be a hard thing to find anywhere. Then, just to make sure it would seat well, I used LockTite 242 (the blue stuff that smells like crazy glue) on the taper.

Then, I carefully threaded the angle drive cable through the spindle, and tightened the nut. Presto, it was tight against the steering knuckle with just finger torque. Cleaning the threads had done the trick. 140 ft-lbs of torque later, my front suspension is done.

I also had the fortune of picking up a parts engine this weekend in Allentown, PA. I went out and met Scott Tice, who took me out to the home of Gladys Muffley. Her husband Charles passed away recently, and she was looking to sell some of his spare parts.

The engine seems in fair shape... except that it had been in a fire. The top end was destroyed, but there was an extra fuel injection manifold for parts as well.

After that, we went to the DeLorean Midatlantic social in Philadelphia, then I drove home. It was a long day... 500 miles on the road...

Costs for Week 8:

Date	Purchase	Store	Price
11-Dec-99	Engine, Luggage rack, magazines, spare seals	Gladys Muffley	400.00
13-Dec-99	105260 bracket, used	Specialty Automotive	1.40
13-Dec-99	106697 stud, used	Specialty Automotive	3.50
13-Dec-99	106056 duct, used	Specialty Automotive	8.50
13-Dec-99	101460 duct, used	Specialty Automotive	2.00
13-Dec-99	100570 hinge, used	Specialty Automotive	7.00
13-Dec-99	100748 a/c hose, used	Specialty Automotive	85.00
13-Dec-99	(2) 108247 finishing strips, used	Specialty Automotive	44.00
13-Dec-99	100485 throttle cable, used	Specialty Automotive	40.00
13-Dec-99	108140 grommet, used	Specialty Automotive	0.85
13-Dec-99	(2) 108466 bracket, used	Specialty Automotive	15.00
15-Dec-99	5 Speed shift boot	eBay	35.00
		Week 8 Total	$642.25

		Running Total	$5819.16

Year One:
Week 1	Week 8	Week 15	Week 22	Week 29	Week 36	Week 43	Week 50
Week 2	Week 9	Week 16	Week 23	Week 30	Week 37	Week 44	Week 51
Week 3	Week 10	Week 17	Week 24	Week 31	Week 38	Week 45	Week 52
Week 4	Week 11	Week 18	Week 25	Week 32	Week 39	Week 46	-
Week 5	Week 12	Week 19	Week 26	Week 33	Week 40	Week 47	-
Week 6	Week 13	Week 20	Week 27	Week 34	Week 41	Week 48	-
Week 7	Week 14	Week 21	Week 28	Week 35	Week 42	Week 49	-
Year Two:
Week 53	Week 60	Week 67	Week 74	Week 81	Week 88	Week 95	Week 102
Week 54	Week 61	Week 68	Week 75	Week 82	Week 89	Week 96	Week 103
Week 55	Week 62	Week 69	Week 76	Week 83	Week 90	Week 97	Week 104
Week 56	Week 63	Week 70	Week 77	Week 84	Week 91	Week 98	-
Week 57	Week 64	Week 71	Week 78	Week 85	Week 92	Week 99	-
Week 58	Week 65	Week 72	Week 79	Week 86	Week 93	Week 100	-
Week 59	Week 66	Week 73	Week 80	Week 87	Week 94	Week 101	-
Year Three:
Week 105	Week 112	Week 119	Week 126	Week 133	Week 140	Week 147	Week 154
Week 106	Week 113	Week 120	Week 127	Week 134	Week 141	Week 148	Week 155
Week 107	Week 114	Week 121	Week 128	Week 135	Week 142	Week 149	Week 156
Week 108	Week 115	Week 122	Week 129	Week 136	Week 143	Week 150	-
Week 109	Week 116	Week 123	Week 130	Week 137	Week 144	Week 151	-
Week 110	Week 117	Week 124	Week 131	Week 138	Week 145	Week 152	-
Week 111	Week 118	Week 125	Week 132	Week 139	Week 146	Week 153	-
Year Four:
Week 157	Week 164	Week 171	Week 178	Week 185	Week 192	Week 199	Week 206
Week 158	Week 165	Week 172	Week 179	Week 186	Week 193	Week 200	Week 207
Week 159	Week 166	Week 173	Week 180	Week 187	Week 194	Week 201	Week 208
Week 160	Week 167	Week 174	Week 181	Week 188	Week 195	Week 202	-
Week 161	Week 168	Week 175	Week 182	Week 189	Week 196	Week 203	-
Week 162	Week 169	Week 176	Week 183	Week 190	Week 197	Week 204	-
Week 163	Week 170	Week 177	Week 184	Week 191	Week 198	Week 205	-
Year Five:
Week 209	Week 216	Week 223	Week 230	Week 237	Week 244
Week 210	Week 217	Week 224	Week 231	Week 238
Week 211	Week 218	Week 225	Week 232	Week 239
Week 212	Week 219	Week 226	Week 233	Week 240
Week 213	Week 220	Week 227	Week 234	Week 241
Week 214	Week 221	Week 228	Week 235	Week 242
Week 215	Week 222	Week 229	Week 236	Week 243

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