On to the next issue, adjusting the clutch. When I pulled it into the shop after getting it started, the clutch slipped BAD. I had put in a new clutch, pressure plate & throw out bearing when I set the engine, so I figured it just needed a little adjusting. Simple, right?
Um, no, not in the least. First of all, here is the clutch rod I'm dealing with.
When I crawl up under it & am messing with it, I then see the actual problem. I used the long throwout bearing for a 1964. Oooops! What I SHOULD have used was the short throwout bearing for the 87 engine. There was no adjustment available, the bearing was all the way back against the transmission, & still holding the fingers in on the pressure plate. One more thing. It was at this point that I didn't even touch it for several weeks, getting some things done on other projects.
When I finally came back to it, I had come up with a plan I was sure that would work. I would unbolt the hump, put a couple eye bolts in the top cover, & use the engine hoist to hold the transmission while I unbolted it & slid it back enough to swap the bearing. And once again, what sounded simple in my mind, turned out to not be so simple after all, but not for the reason I would have thought of.
The day before I pulled the hump, I sprayed all the bolts on top & underneath with PB Blaster. And about half the bolts came right on out. The other half, not so much. Someone had used star washers on the bolts at some point, & the washers were frozen to the hump & the bolts. I had to grind the heads off the bolts. But once I did, & got the hump removed, I was able to removed the rest of the bolt with a pair of pliers, they screwed right out.
Once the hump was out of the way, I moved the engine hoist in the passenger door, & the rest of the plan went off without a hitch.
I went ahead & threw new U joints into the driveshaft from the transmission to the transfer case while it was out. Adjusted the clutch, fired it up & drove it out of the shop, pulling exactly like it is supposed to.
That's when it occurred to me, I hadn't gotten to the brakes yet...