Dateline - May 30 - Bought new battery ($88) and found out that I will not be able to use standard batteries in this car because of the terminal position and the height of the battery area. Oh well! This car is 38 years old!
I decided to pull the steering column to see what was causing the dragging. This was a real chore since it required pulling the entire dash out! It was amazing just how much this car is like my old Spitfire. They even used the same blind bolts to hold the wooden dash!
After getting the column out, I took it to the bench and started taking it apart. As soon as I got it apart enough to loosen up the ends a bunch of little pin bearing fell out! I knew this wasn't good. The bottom end bearing was trashed! Were was I going to source one of these! I did some deep thinking, but had no idea were to get one of these. I went to the local parts store, even to a bike shop, but no go. I'm going to try a local bearing supplier that someone turned me onto, but until I get that, I greased the column really well and put it back in.
The good news is that I really know the inside of the dash now! And the steering is much smoother then it was before. I also took some time to straighten out the wiring under the dash, which was surprising pristine! I also cleaned up the Hazard flasher, which had corroded really bad, but now works like a charm.
