The weather was a weird unseasonable 65˚ today so this afternoon, after we did family Christmas stuff, I wandered out into the garage to fart around in the balmy heat. Now that the fridge is gone there’s a big empty spot on the back wall so I moved some stuff around and aired up the tires on the engine cart. I’ve been thinking I need to get back out there and put more Marvel Mystery Oil down the spark plug holes, so I did that first and then jockeyed it around so I could reach the crank pulley. I put a socket on the end and tried moving it; it turned about an inch either way and then stopped. Obviously it needs some constant attention to get things moving, so I’ll continue going back out and adding oil to the cylinders until I can get it unbound. In the meantime I have to buy a proper engine stand and get it up off that silly cart.
Then I dug around for the spare windshield I squirreled away, figuring I could use that for practice in the spring when I take the old one out. I was surprised to realize I actually have two out there—one from one of the spare windshield frames and the other from I think the frame pictured at the bottom of this post. The older glass has some fogging along the bottom but no pitting, and the edges all cleaned up nice and smooth. The newer glass is clear but there’s a horizontal crack halfway down on one side about 3″ long. I figure I could use that one as the sacrifice to practice putting in, and if it lasts a year before it splits I’ll still be ahead of the game.