Project 17: fix the dead steering issue. When I purchased the car, I immediately understood why the PO sold it. It ran pretty horribly. This comment was an accumulation of observations about many subjective items: Sticky throttle linkage, lean surge, Idle too high (where it knocks your teeth out when you put it in gear (originally an automatic)), horrible seat belts, wind leaks, floppy center console, etc. The biggest issue was the steering. It was dead. After turning it would not return to center. You had to pull the wheel back to 12 o'clock. This really destroyed the nimble driving experience of the Coupe. I was cogitating on what was causing this? Initially confident that someone had over tightened the steering box adjustment. But earlier today I discovered the root cause:
The drag linkage arm on the passenger side (opposite the steering box) had been WAY overtightened. Like someone had used an pneumatic impact driver. I had to use a 24'' breaker bar to get the nut loose. I was stunned. After removing and cleaning the arm it was clear the PO had installed a new bushing. Reassembled now, with lots of grease and a very torquing of the nyloc nut with the two wrenches, its silky smooth. I can't wait to test drive the car again! Amazing that such a simple (novice) error could do so much drivability damage. Project 17 is by far, the most gratifying to date on this entire project.
