I came out of the weekend of work with a couple problems to solve.

I had to get a replacement for the castle nut which goes on the ball joint for the lower control arm on the front suspension. Factory Five sent me the wrong size. After a phone call to their tech support, and I now have a proper bolt on its way.

During the same call, I asked for some information about the remaining parts I'll need to complete the my pin drive IRS (independent rear suspension). Their best advice was to go to a junk yard and pick the parts off an old car—a 1990-97 Ford Thunderbird is a suitable donor.

However, I'm not going to do this. I have no confidence in my ability to evaluate the differential, mounting hardware, and fasteners hanging off the back of a twenty-year-old car. I need expert help.

I called Mike Forte. As many of you know, he has a lot of experience providing these parts to kit builders, and I asked him to put together a package with all the parts I'll need. He and his workers will do the sourcing and reconditioning of the old parts, and I'm sure they'll do a much better job of it than I would.

So, I'm somewhat back on track. I'll be held up on the front and rear suspension work for a couple of weeks while these parts make their way to me, but in the big picture, it won't make a difference. I'll certainly find other tasks to fill the time.