A good restoration laugh - A Short Story on Rex '48.So I set about to assemble the steering gear - All parts had been carefully stored back in April. I put the bottom seal in inserted the shaft with gear, making sure to rotate the gear 180 degrees so it would be on new teeth. All was set to attach the steering arm.....Urgent alert - where's the big brass thrust washer? Looked everywhere.....Now remember! - This part was taken apart and placed on my bench having not moved since April. I looked at it HUNDREDS of times. Look in the book at the diagram - turn the unit over - looked at my assembly. Here's where it get's good.
In April for safe keeping I had this BIG Brass washer that I didn't want to lose - Well it fit nicely on the top of steering gear, so I figured what a great place to store it - I'll never lose it there. So the steering gear is upside down on my workbench.....
Can't find the brass washer - Ordered another one - it comes in and at $35 - I gasped, saying oh well - I want this part together. Removing it from the package - I checked the parts diagram one last time, noting there should be only ONE BIG BRASS WASHER in the steering box. I turned the unit over to right-side up to find this
BIG BRASS washer staring at me from the top of the steering gear - Looked again at the parts diagram again....Then it was the big laugh and
. That washer had been there so long, it even had marks from the spline shaft - so I assumed that's where it went.
Well that $35 brass washer is going back to Randall Implements with a bit of a red face.....You can all have a good laugh about this when you read it and at Cecil's - I deserve it.
Ken