Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking...
while waiting for the parts to turn up to fix the ultrasonic bath so I can clean up the carb I thought I'd clean up and free up the linkages attached to the carb.
It took me over an hour to get the front control rod linkages off as the split pins had rusted into the holes and then been painted over, so out with the dremmel and the universal persuader they eventually succumbed with quite a bit of very foul language for which being a steel worker I am fluent.
However the worst of the language came when I tried to remove the ball joint at the carb end of the control rod, the rod was heavily pitted, bent in multiple planes and rusted, yep I snapped the rod right on the threads.
Its only a bit of bent 6mm rod so depending on the cost of a new one I'll make one in stainless steel to replace it.
I got the linkages on the bench and all were pretty bad with the hole for the return spring in the bracket almost pulled through and all the split pin holes needing to be drilled out, it was when I was welding up the hole I thought I would weld up the clevis pin that was also heavily worn and then grind it back round, as I was positioning the pin it sprung out of the jaws of the earth clamp which then snapped shut on the tip of my finger
I then proceeded to strip the short link rod which succumbed to my efforts although I don't know if the rod should be bent - I'll check before attempting to straighten it out, one of the bends is in the threaded portion of the rod so I don't think that is right.
Then I decided to unseize the carb pump rod, which then promptly snapped... FML..!
A rainy Sundays final tally:
Throttle control rod - bust
Carb pump adjuster - bust
8mm clivis pin - lost in the garage probably right next to a lost sock and the screwdriver I lost in the sand in Mauritania.
And a blood blister on the tip of my finger