4/15/08: The seam between the transmission body and the OD unit was the greatest source of fluid leakage

No gaskets available-here's a good use of silicone to seal the shift tower to the trans body

Good functional clutch, doesn't need replacement

Nice replacement rubber seal for the rear engine seal: it is a great improvement over the original felt seal.

4/17/08: Incorrect angle of clutch slave cylinder actuation rod-cylinder had to be shimmed away from the bell housing to get correct angle.

Transmission tear down-not for the faint of heart

The infamous Overdrive

Transmission in pieces to inspect and reseal-if no parts are left on the bench when you're done, you're 1) lucky 2)done

UCK! The surprises you get when you take apart a system to do preventative maintenance. Eventually, this badly corroded gooseneck (thermostat housing) would have lead to unexpected coolant leakage. We were fortunate to have been able to find a new replacement for this part. The coolant thermostat (in the background) is always replaced when the cooling system is serviced.

These original cooling hoses were close to failure by being plugged and over tightened.

This dry air conditioning idler pulley bearing would seen have caused a catastrophic failure of the pulley and broken the A/C belt-this cheap-o pressed pulley was replaced by a more reliable cast part.

Out with the old

The (unlikely) space where the new servo will fit

Reconditioned radiator

Original radiator

Finished product: the new (re-fabricated) brake servo bracket allows the new servo to be tucked between the A/C compressor and brake master cylinder

Fitting the rebuilt bracket and new adapter plate

This new brake booster installation is a very tight fit-more difficult with A/C. Not the choke cable assembly which is attached to the servo bracket and practically dictates its location-this is an added complicating factor to a difficult install

4/30/08: Fish wire-The horn ground wire was broken inside of the steering column, as is frequently the case with this system when is is stationary on one end and pivots inside the steering column as it rotates. A new wire must be "fished" up or down through the column and past the "rag joint" to get the horn working again.

Although it doesn't show well, the white wire behind the wire in the foreground with the ratty insulation is pinched in the A/C condenser bracket. This condition was a sound reason for the horn to not be working.

The high beam relay (silver box left of photo) was mounted such that one terminal was touching metal and likely would have shorted out-it was moved to eliminate this.

Lucas fuse box-a bad design-needs constant care and feeding to keep the lights working.

Old parts, some noteworthy-like the driveshaft center bearing support bushings: they are showing extreme wear. Same with the front and rear transmission seals

An idler pulley was bent and had a bad bearing

Tie rod ends, steering rods and brake caliper pistons-all original, all bad

5/12/08: First step in the restoration process: stripping the body of its trim