[DeTomaso] In Asa Jay's Garage today, ZF and e-brake work.

Tue Sep 2 11:29:56 EDT 2008

Msgt Laughton,

  Dawg proud of you. ;-]>
  See ya next month at Silver State!

  dawg

Asa Jay Laughton <asajay at asajay.com> wrote:
  I finished up safety wiring the ring gear in place last Saturday. I 
took the whole day off yesterday so Sam and I could play with Lego, and 
I mean... all day. So today was back to the garage.

I began soaking the cover gasket in water early, then went about 
preparing other stuff for work. I removed the clutch pivot shaft so I 
could inspect the bearings and clean and lube the shaft. Everything 
looked good, the bearings were a little dark but moved smoothly. I 
cleaned them up and then lubed with some Lubriplate, re-installed the 
shaft and now it moves really smooth. Glad I did that. I took a quick 
trip to my Dad's garage to change the throw out bearing. I picked one 
up from Napa for about $22 and just had to press it on. It was a breeze 
to press the old one off and the new one on. A little Lubriplate and it 
nows moves smoothly as well.

Back to the ZF Cover, I took some brake cleaner and cleaned both mating 
surfaces, then got the gasket. Once I mounted the cover it started 
setting up pretty quick. I had a hard time getting the side washers in 
place for the cross bolts. Seems to me they could have gone in without 
the shims but since I kept track of where everything came out of, back 
in they went. Eventually I got the whole cover on and torqued to about 
12 ft.lbs. For now, the ZF is done. At some point in the future I'll 
probably send it off to have it fully serviced.

Next I replaced the shifter shaft trunnion on the drivers side. With 
all the rear suspension out, it was a breeze. The old one did not 
appear to have been installed in-line with the shaft. This caused 
uneven wear and tore the rubber prematurely. I got the new one lubed 
and installed, and it all looks good now.

You can see photos of the new versus old clutch bearing, and the new 
versus old trunnion here:
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/v/asajay/pantera/zf/?g2_page=2

Now it was on to the e-brake cable. I had noted earlier how the plastic 
cover appeared to be cracked in a few areas. Well it was ugly. One 
nut, one cotter pin, one spring and it all came right out. Turns out 
the cables were cracked in more than on place, and oily greasy dirt and 
grime has been intruding. Photos at the bottom of this page:
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/v/asajay/pantera/brakes/rearbrakes/?g2_page=2
and on this page:
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/v/asajay/pantera/brakes/rearbrakes/?g2_page=3

I have a new cable coming in the next couple of days. I'll be glad to 
install that one.

While I was in the area, I cleaned a bunch of grimy areas by using my 
scraper. Turns out the original color of my car was white. Turns out 
that tar-like undercoat comes off really easy if it's soaked in oil of 
20 years. Generally I wanted to clean up the frame rails, get the dirt, 
grime, grease, rocks, sand, etc. off. It just happens that a lot of 
undercoat came with it. My plan now is to get some Engine Bright 
degreaser, or some Simple Green and wash it all down to clean it up and 
make it half-way pretty. Remember, I'm not in -restoration- mode yet, I 
just want to get it back together and keep enjoying the drive.

I don't think I'm gonna make the Silver State race though. 16 days and 
I'm still waiting for parts to arrive. If they manage to get here in 
time, I could take the entire weekend before the race and make like I 
was cramming for exams, but it's doubtful I'll make it. Yea, just 
another slacker excuse I know.

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired

& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA

1973 Pantera L 5533
[ASASCAT]

****************************** 
http://www.asajay.com
http://www.351c.info

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Team Pantera Racing 
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