Re: The Mongrel Scouts

["David Willmon" <dwillmo@domain.elided>]

>In any case, IH was the company with the raw iron ore- and I think that
>contributed muchly to it's demise, in fact.

Yeah, I was just thinking about that the other day as I was cleaning up some
bolts on my 800.  The bolts had IH embossed on the heads. I was thinking,
gee, how could anybody make money by having their own bolts.  
And maybe one of you can explain why so many of the bolts used were fine
thread?  Is this a better grade of bolt?  Don't expect to find any scrouging
the wrecking yards.  None of the new vehicles use fine thread bolts.  They
have faired well, and after disassembling this thing down to the ground,
very few have stripped or twisted off. I figured most everything would, so
when I started out I used the cutting torch to cut off all the body mount
bolts (they did look pretty bad) and the spring mount bolts.  After that,
everything was pretty easy.  Certainly different from my past experience
with old Chevys.

Another note and maybe somebody can explain it.  When I mounted my front
springs, it was many weeks ago and not long before we had had a big
discussion on the list about the spring eyes, how one end was offset and the
other centered on the spring.  I examined mine very carefully thinking I
would have to account for the castor in the twisting of the front axle. 
Both eyes, front and back, were centered perfectly on the spring.  Now what
I did not do, and I guess I could go check in the morning, is examine the
rear springs to see if they were that way (maybe somebody had mixed taken
the springs off in a previously life and got the front on the back).  I just
know the front weren't that way.

So then, thinking that it wouldn't make any difference I reinstalled the
springs without paying any attention to which end went where.  This morning,
I noticed the spring on the passenger side was rubbing against the tie rod. 
On the other side, there was almost an inch clearance.  The tie rod on the
passenger side is thicker at that point, but still there should have been
some clearance.  I got to doing some measuring and the springs are not the
same front to back.  That is, the distance from the eye at one end to the
center bolt is a little further than from the eye back on the other end.  I
took the spring off, turned it around, now the clearance on both sides is
about the same. I don't understand that.

David Willmon
Voice 409/875-3140  Fax 409/8875-3100
dwillmo@domain.elided