Project: P.I.T.A.

Troy was stopping over this afternoon to help reinstall KITT's rear end. In preparation I started getting everything we would need ready. This included the Panhard/track bar brace that I had treated with Prep and Ready yesterday. I had let this soak all night and it had completely gelled this morning. Sara and I sprayed it out with water and it did remarkably well at removing the rusted corrosion inside. Unfortunately it still had a ways to go before it would accept the original 14mm bolt.

Troy called as I was pondering how to enlarge the metal sleeve in the brace. He wanted to let me know that he was running late due to a late appointment at the shop and he would be over as soon as he finished. I told him about the issue with the sleeve on the brace and he said to bring it down to the shop and he would use the die grinder on it.

Sara and I took it down to the shop and Troy was able to use the die grinder to restore the sleeve to its original size. He said that he would be finished here and stop over in about 45 minutes. That was at 1:30PM. Before I left I borrowed a 9/16 drill bit to enlarge the holes in the Panhard/track bar bracket. The original bolts were stepped down from 14mm to 12mm and as a result one hole was 14mm and the other side was 12mm. I could not find replacement bolts in this style so I went with 14mm bolts. I needed to enlarge the 12mm holes to 14mm. I figured I could work on this while I waited for Troy.

I was able to drill out the holes easily. Well, maybe not as easy as I would have liked because I ended up with this:

While I was drilling the bit seized and spun the drill, pinching my thumb against the frame of the car. Ouch.

The bracket is ready though and the bolt fits easily through both holes now.

I swept out the garage. I also got the fuel tank, tank straps, and the extra strips of fuel tank insulators cleaned up and ready to install.

I unboxed the the stainless steel fuel, brake, and power steering lines. I really wanted to get the large box out of the garage, so I set the lines in the engine bay for now. I tried to convince Sara to crawl inside the box so we could prove that she could fit in there for a trip to Abu Dhabi. She was not game.

I also located the rest of the hardware we would need for the fuel tank, sway bars, and miscellaneous brackets. I scrubbed them with a wire brush and have them soaking in WD-40 to clean them up. 

It was a little after 4:00PM when I decided to call Troy; I was tired of waiting. He said he was still at the shop and had a wrecker call to make and he would be over soon. Needless to say, I am frustrated. I really like Troy and he has been a tremendous help and source of information, but I really need to get this car back on its wheels and I need his help. It is hard to be dependent and have to wait on somebody else. It is 10:31PM as I write this and I have not heard a word from him. Do you think he is still on his way?