Larry Jr. called. The transmission has been opened and inspected, he said that it was in excellent shape, however, he noticed the crack in the bellhousing. After discussion, we'll replace three synchros and flip two more. He also has a replacement bellhousing. I'll pick it up Thursday or Friday.
My back and knee hated the drop in barometric pressure this weekend, so I didn't get nearly as much done as anticipated. Bending over the engine bay was not going to happen. I did smear a bunch of hand cleaner (my favorite technique, it's a gel that doesn't tend to dry out and clings) all over the greasy parts and let time do it's work. I also did a test section in the engine bay inner fender wells, testing to see what would clean off the dinginess of the paint. I landed on Meg's Ultimate compound as something gentle enough not to scrub through the paint, but still with the capability to clean up the mess. The pro compound I have was a bit aggressive, consumer grade stuff certainly has it's place.
I spent several hours gently removing the significant marks left from the bump strips. I concentrated on the driver's side rear quarter, where the problem was really bad, and slowly wet sanded with 2500, then 5000 grit. It was all about getting rid of the marks without cutting through the thin original paint. I followed up with Meg's Ultimate compound on a DA polisher. Came out really, really nice. And I could do the work sitting down.
I also hung a retractable 20 amp electrical cord and continued to rearrange the garage to my satisfaction. I'm still not there, but happier each time I spend the time to tidy up.
Three weeks until we get the SPICA pump back.
