Ray said that putting on the new calipers and pads was easier than getting the old stuff off. Not shocking, as the old stuff had been on there nearly 38 years. While changing the spark plugs, Ray found that one of the old ones was fouled, which was most certainly contributing to Bette running a little rough. Dave got the seat pretty much repaired, and we are no longer sitting on blankets and towels behind the wheel. He's not 100% pleased with the fix, and a brand new seat or seat frame may just end up happening after all.
Bette's brand new battery spent a lot of time on the charger today. A couple of weeks ago, I had gone over to mom's to start the car and let her fun for a few minutes, per Ray's advice, and found the battery to be dead, dead, dead. Right now, we're not sure what's going on- is there something pulling a phantom charge or was the hood or a door left open on accident after the last work day? Fingers are crossed that it's not an electrical system malfunction.
As Dave and Ray were attaching the new tires to Bette, all I kept hearing in my head was Robert Duval's character from Days of Thunder: Tires is what wins the race, Cole.... All the lug nuts were tightened down and Bette was just about to roll out for her first test drive with new socks and shoes. Oh snap, the brake lines were still mushy. Some more brake work ensued until the brakes seemed nice and tight. Dave and I hopped in for the first drive. Slowly accelerating down the driveway, then STOP! Slowly accelerating, then STOP! Yes, indeed the brakes work.
We turned out of mom's driveway and heard this God-awful grind. Uhhh, what's that? Dave got out to take a look and it seems that the front tires are too big for the wheel wells. Back into the garage she went and a call to our man Pat at Tires Plus confirmed we needed to get smaller tires. Anyone have any idea how tires are named/sized? We first had size 225/70R15's for the front tires, but we actually needed 235/60R15's. HUH? I swear, I wanted to yell BINGO each time he said the size of the tires. Off Dave went to swap them out.
In the meantime, Ray pulled our battery out of his car (he had it charging for a couple of hours) and put it back in Bette. He closed up the car and realized that there was no arc coming out of the terminal, which wouldn't indicate a faulty wire or a phantom charge. Fingers crossed that we just had left a door or the hood cracked. For now, we'll leave the battery unhooked whenever we leave her to sit for a period of time, just to be on the safe side.
Dave got back with the tires, the boys hooked them up and off we went. Dave wanted to drive first, just in case there was a problem with the brakes. As we headed to the first stop sign, Dave depressed the brake pedal and boy did she pull to the left! But the ride around the neighborhood was smooth as butta' otherwise. Between the nice new tires and the spark plugs, she purred and glided right along.
Ray got in to take her for a spin, and *vroom vroom*, he and Dave went up the street. By the time they got back and it was *my* turn to drive, the brakes were doing a lot better, as the air was getting out and they weren't pulling quite as badly. Dave and I couldn't be sure, but the transmission might have slipped a couple of times? Bette is leaking some tranny fluid, but hopefully with some new hoses and a little tune up, that's the end of the transmission work for Bette (anyone else hearing those dollar sign noises ringing? Yikes!). She's running a little rich, so we'll have to lean her fuel mixture down.
Dave and 'The Doctor' after their joy ride
I pulled her into the garage and put her to bed- it was a very productive day. Bette looks all sassy in her new shoes! We may perhaps get her titled and tagged in my name on Monday (the *ultimate* in birthday gifts). Once that's done, Ray has given us strict instructions to drive her at least 30-40 miles a week. I feel kinda awkward driving her around w/o bumpers, but gotta follow doctor's orders, I guess.
Ahhh, I really should shower, since I can still smell the exhaust in my hair. But it's a good kind of 'stink' and it makes me happy to know that Bette is ever so much closer to her grand return to the open road.
Wee-wee-weeeeeeee!
No comments:
Post a Comment