Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Mick's Thunderbird Garage

[xtremek]

By the way, it is Kirk, right? I have a new computer, and I can't find the cheat sheet I have that provided the first name of the various members. So I might have pulled the wrong name out of thin air. And in the case of Drives, that we call him Drives - member anonymity and all that.

Dang you're good. How do you guys find everyone's name? As an engineer, I try to use data and common sense to make decisions. To me, stretching and the inversion table make sense. After working on both for a while, add in core exercises. I had a bad back, herniated disc. Doc cut the bad corner off, then I started doing my abs, haven't had too many issues since, and if I do, a few weeks of stretching usually gets me back in shape.

 

[Toothaker]

I may have phrased that badly. That list I had was something I put together, and I didn't share it and I didn't get it from anyone else. It was just names that others had used, referring to themselves or others in the public forums. It's just a handy way of personalizing communication with others. But it was all public information.

 

[xtremek]

No, I knew what you meant. Bob Heine has a list, too. I guess I don't pay that close attention to the details what people write. I didn't think I ever typed my name, but several people on here know it (which is absolutely fine). Maybe I need to slow down when I read.

 

[jbmatth]

Good luck with both the back and the TBird, if one of the bearings is bad in the rear you probably need to replace all of them including the pinion bearing. One test you can do is to pull the driveshaft off the rear, try turning the pinion, and try turning the axle independently. The seized one won't turn at all, the others should give a little free play due to the backlash of the gears.

JB

 

[Toothaker]

Good luck with both the back and the TBird, if one of the bearings is bad in the rear you probably need to replace all of them including the pinion bearing. One test you can do is to pull the driveshaft off the rear, try turning the pinion, and try turning the axle independently. The seized one won't turn at all, the others should give a little free play due to the backlash of the gears.

JB

Thanks, JB!

I'm guessing that the pinion bearings are bad. I pulled the driveshaft a while back and I tried turning the pinion, and it was possible to turn with a short crowbar. And both wheels were very hard to turn with the driveshaft off. It's all coming apart and I'll get everything that is tight loosened and everything that's loose tightened back up. If it's just the pinion bearings that're bad I will replace them. But if there's tons of problems in the center section I will just replace the whole thing as a unit. Bud's Salvage in Aline, OK has five of the 9 3/8" Ford center sections.

 

[drivesitfar]

Mick: best of luck with your back and T bird and feel free to PM (conversation) me if you have questions about the inversion tables cause being big you don't want to and won't use a cheaply made one.

speaking of my DRIVES name I used to have a website named after me for years for business and I was on the road working so much during the late 80's and 90's that the cell phone companies lost money on me when they gave me the UNLIMITED phone minutes. I think my bills when they'd mail in paper were just short of being a book. SO after talking to forum owners and members before I joined here they always said to keep your name somewhat private (i've met 100's of GJ members in person though and didn't know one when I joined) hence the DRIVES. yep some guys need to grow up and grow a pair, quit blaming the world for their issues or just get some, but I don't write down names. I know I won't talk to a few rude members here any longer, but i still try to help anybody I can or maybe just throw out a few good words. I don't have time for people that could find $100 bill and not try to find the owner or complain that it was dirty as they were spending it "so to speak".

with back pain I know it can make your days hard so if you can't find a reasonable invertalign (like new used one) I know a new Teeter Up Lx9 will make you smile a lot more than one of your tools you could sell to buy it.

take care!!

 

[Toothaker]

Drives, I appreciate your desire for privacy. I use names for a reason: I'm terrible at remembering names. I have to work at it. After being introduced to somebody, I make a point of repeating back their name, 'Nice to meet you, Bob' or whatever their name actually is. Using the name so quickly after hearing it helps me to remember it. Here at my new job, I try to say "Good morning Sally" or whoever I'm greeting, instead of just 'good morning' - again reinforcing the name in my forgetful brain.

For the same reason I make the effort to use names online, but many people don't use their names online and that's fine with me.

I've had back pain off and on all my life. But this pain is on a whole 'nother level. And yes, you're right, I don't want a cheap inversion table. I don't want to break my neck just to save $100 on an inversion table. If I have questions I will PM you. Thanks for the offer.

 

[drivesitfar]

funny you say that cause I always liked to not only remember their names, but I always memorized their 7 digit phone # (my first cell phone was in 1986 when it was $1 a minute). before we went to adding area codes up here I could actually recall a phone # of a client I hadn't called for 5 or so years and my bride was always amazed cause at times around here (5 kids) I sometimes would forget our kid's names (hee hee).

if you buy a used invertalign just beware of the side supports cause they would bend easily if the owner would try to put the chair to the side without removing it from the stand (easy to replace with better steel I guess, but there are so many like new almost never used ones to buy). also on older versions foot holds were not double cups so not quite as good so make sure not to hang for more than 5 minutes at a time (once a day is good and don't go full hang right away and build up to it if you are not used to hangin upside down) good luck!!

 

[Toothaker]

I got back early from my travels to Missouri and Nebraska, and I got Friday afternoon off. So I thought I'd work on the Thunderbird a while. I got the other wheel and axle pulled, and I found a crunchy bearing. I did get the wheel bearings off both axle shafts. Then I got the center section pulled off the rear end. I was pleased to see there was actually gear oil in the rear end.



The '70 Thunderbird, and other large Fords of the era, has a 9 3/8" ring gear differential. It is based on the Ford 9" rear end, with many of the same dimensions and bolt patterns.

There's no drain plug, only a fill plug. So after almost 52 years, it was due for a fluid change.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Nice garage and cars and progress. New thread follower here. Seeing all these garage builds pop up makes me want a garage more and more lol. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a garage on my house even though it was in the original plans. Whenever I purchase my own house it’s definitely having a garage though. I’m working on restoring my 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle. I’ve also got 7 other cars besides that one 4 don’t run.

 

[Toothaker]

Thank you, Blake. If you look at the dates on my postings, you will see that there has been very slow progress. Real life has intruded more than once over the last couple of years. But for a variety of reasons, I am back at it, with specific goals in mind.

The Super Beetle is a fun car to drive, and there are plenty of good sources for parts. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It is very much appreciated.

 

[xtremek]

I had forgotten that the chunk comes out the front of the rear end on Fords. Cool that you found the issue without having to tear apart the center section.

 

[Toothaker]

Well, between work and other stuff going on, progress has been slow. But it's been steady, as I find time to do a little bit almost every day.


I got the axles cleaned up and got the old bearings off and new ones pressed on.


I took the pinion support off and knocked the loose rust off them. I needed to replace the pinion seal.

I used Eastman's Rust Converter, which is a primer that reacts to the iron oxide and forms a primer for paint over the rust. It goes on clear and turn black over the next few days as it reacts with the iron oxide.

The pinion gear is huge. Do you like my 40 year old gear oil? Maybe it's only 35 years old, but I know I've had it a while. I washed the bearings in place, and I'm using the gear oil to flush them out, getting the solvent out and any grit or contaminates out. I won't use it in the differential, except for what is lingering in the bearings.


Assembled with a new pinion seal, new crush washer and new nut.

 

[SRU1436]

Wow, 9 3/8 ring gear! That’s beefy, the gears look great. Good job on the work.

 

[Toothaker]

Thanks for following along, SRU1436.

There are Internet rumors that the 9 3/8 is a "weak" rear end. Not at all. They are all made from nodular iron, and there are lots of beefy aspects to it. Look closely at the second picture in post #289 and you will see the idler bearing for the pinion. It's a third bearing out on the end of the pinion shaft. There are significant downsides to the 9 3/8, though. Parts are hard to come by, and there are zero aftermarket ring and pinion gears (edit: I wrote "bearings" but meant gears. Replacement bearings are all available.) , so you are stuck with the factory ratios.

 

[Toothaker]

As I was assembling it, I made sure to line up the factory index marks. The pinion has a yellow mark on one tooth, and the ring has a "V" - marks on two adjacent teeth. This is important on ring and pinion sets that don't have teeth counts that are prime numbers. Gear sets that are 1 in 2.80 have 15 and 42 teeth. That means some teeth pairs mesh more frequently, and some don't meet up at all. Contrast that with the famously rugged 3.73 gear ratio, which have 11 and 41 teeth. Both are prime numbers, which means that all teeth mesh up with each other with equal frequency.



The above is also a close-up picture of the 3rd pinion bearing.

Then I checked the pattern and it was dead center on each tooth. Finally I wiped it down as best I could, then washed down the gears and bearings with gear oil and inverted it to drip. I made the fixture from scrap wood I had lying around, and it works in either orientation.



Thanks for following along!

 

[Toothaker]

My vegetable garden is doing well this year, which is nice after last year's garden failure. For some reason, the tomatoes in this area didn't do well last year. But this year looks good, perhaps even a bumper crop.



Here are the first pickings of the year. Yum!

 

[jbmatth]

I had never thought about gears as you described above, that is very interesting, I would have thought they would all mesh at some point but I see why some don't, I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.

JB

 

[hardtop5000]

That was a moment for me too. Thanks for the enlightenment, Mick.

 

[xtremek]

The garden does look really good.

 

[Toothaker]

I had never thought about gears as you described above, that is very interesting, I would have thought they would all mesh at some point but I see why some don't, I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.

JB

Thanks, JB. Somebody once told me "ratios that are odd numbers are stronger" and that sent me down a rabbit hole.

That was a moment for me too. Thanks for the enlightenment, Mick.

Thanks, Hardtop, for following along. Much appreciated.

The garden does look really good.

It does! 2019 was mediocre and 2020 was a bust, so I'm really looking forward to a good harvest.

 

[Toothaker]

The tomatoes are starting to come in. My wife will start preparing them, and we will can them tomorrow evening. The first batch will be stewed tomatoes.

 

[xtremek]

How many quarts do you think you'll get?

 

[Toothaker]

I'm guessing 13 pints, so 6 1/2 quarts. But that's a guess. We will find out tonight.

 

[Finallygotit]

That's a pretty nice crop of nice looking tomatoes.

 

[Toothaker]

That was a bigger batch that I thought it was.

We canned 20 pints. Plus we had another quart left over after filling the pressure cooker to the maximum number of pints (20), so 11 quarts total. My wife will make a big batch of goulash tomorrow from the leftovers that didn't fit.

 

[Toothaker]

That's a pretty nice crop of nice looking tomatoes.

Thanks, Dan. I appreciate you following along.

 

[Toothaker]

How many quarts do you think you'll get?

11 quarts from the first big picking from the garden. There are tons of green tomatoes and even blossoms, so there's more on the way.

My wife and I each have our own hobbies, but canning is something we share. It's not a chore, it's just a fun time together.

I appreciate the comments, Kirk, and you following along.

 

[lakelandcat]

Just ran up on ya Mick, I'm a Mike also. Ironically I'm a Shocker, I lived all over Wichita. Born in Wesley in 57, lived in Westlink, Maize, Clearwater, Haysville, North Wichita. Graduated from North East, went to North. I use to drag Douglas before it got bad. I went to WSU and worked at Pogos (don't know if its still there) in the early 80s, worked a Cessna in the fiberglass sanding room until I found out the only way to get out was to start coughing up blood. Went into the AF in 76 and came back to Wichita to go to school, moved on from there. Moved to Memphis in 96 to take care of grandparents and have been here ever since. Your garden looks good I'm just now starting to pick tomatoes and jalapenos. Hopefully my greenhouse will be ready next year. I'll follow if ya don't mind. Mike

 

[Toothaker]

Mike, thanks for the memories. You are two years older than me - I was born at the Osteopathic Hospital - the old one on east Douglas - in 1959. I graduated from Wichita High School North, and in earlier years attended school in Maize. I also worked at Cessna for a short time, working on the left wing of the 310/340 line as a metalworker. I still have a couple of scars on my hands from the razor sharp aluminum. Pogo's is long gone, and dragging Douglas had gone away, came back and now is gone again. I'm confident that our paths crossed often.

Thanks for the follow. I've not got much done in the garage lately. After starting a new job a few months ago I got COVID. Fortunately, in my case it was minor compared to others. But it did slow me down as my strength and endurance is not what I would like. I did have one lasting impact - I lost my sense of smell. Or more accurately, it is severely degraded. And I am having olfactory hallucinations. I smell burning wheat stubble. Again, I'm fortunate, as some smell far worse things. But the hallucinations are full blown - scratchy throat, watery eyes and acrid smell. I know, weird.

Maybe it's getting better. The last few nights I've smelled prairie fires, but so has my wife, because the Flint Hills are ablaze. Which is funny - I don't know if my sense of smell is getting better, or my hallucinations coincide with actual smoke.

I have been making slow progress on the garage and the Thunderbird, but not enough to write about.

We've had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. My wife and I have canned over 100 pints of tomatoes - both stewed tomatoes and salsa.

Thanks for following along.

 

[lakelandcat]

Mick if you ever went to Pogos in 81/82 I was a bouncer. I to came down with Covid, I tested + Dec 31. I lost my smell and taste and mine was the sever I still suffer. But I am getting my taste back. I use to cruise Douglas in a 67 Chevelle SS, busted the frame behind the A arms pulling the front wheels off the ground. Good times. Went to Maize in my Freshman year, Soph. I went to North, Jr. went to Clearwater and Senior NE. Played all the golf courses. Iv'e tried to discribe the wheat fields at harvest, thats one thing I miss. Wish you the best. Mike