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Sunday, January 1, 2017

ABBA, and a New Year Begins



Swedish enthusiasts do such a marvelous job of saving and restoring our Forward Look cars, that it seems appropriate to welcome the new year with one of my favorite singing groups of all time.

 Meanwhile, I’ve been working on locating the shifter. I wasn’t lucky enough for the shaft that links the shifter to the transmission to be the same length as the B-body it was removed from, or for the rubber floor seal to fit at the same angle. Once again I have to fabricate an adapter so I can attach the seal to the transmission hump. The shaft also needs to be longer, so I ordered a collar to add a 1-1/2” extension. Once I finish the adapter, that job goes on the back burner until the collar arrives.
At least I have dozens of small jobs to fill in the waiting time.  For the time being I’m installing the new cat whiskers on the various side glass trim pieces.
Also, there are a few things to be done before installing the dash and they will keep me busy for a day or two. Then when the dash is in, I can begin work on the steering column.  The cut point to splice the truck column to the ’56 box has to be determined and the parts taken to the machine shop for the shafts to be milled for the “Double-D” and splined splice collars. I hope the local shop can do the splining, but I might have to send the parts out for that operation. An option would be to have a double-d cut on both shafts and then remove the keying spline on the steering wheel and align the steering from that point.
Still thinking about a way to get the trim installed around the back glass without hiring a helper, and the deep-thinking stage is where I’ll leave it for the time being. I had hoped to get the trunk lid installed, but it’s so much easier to reach the rear glass when you can stand in the trunk, so that job also waits.

Disorganized for sure, but no shortage of things to do!

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