Offset distributor wrench

Today we went shopping for an offset distibutor wrench.
auto zone thought the should have one so we looked around for one for a while but then they said "try harbor freight" we went there and they didnt.
so we called oreilly and they did.  Thanks oreilly.
note to self:  just call sit in the car for a minute and call around a bit.  It will save time.

vista cruiser work - tune up and brake issues

Today, we decided to work on the classic vista cruiser we had in the driveway for the last two months.  It's a 1970 Olsmobile Vista Cruiser and before we bought it it had been sitting for 8 years before a craigslist person got a hold of it and flipped it to us.
We already got it to turn over a couple of weeks ago by replacing a kinked fuel supply hose, replacing the oil filter (pin hole) and charging the battery
Today we got it running well with a tuneup.

• Replaced spark plugs and wires - spark plugs were gapped at .30
• We greased the plug threads and heads to make them easy to come in and out.
• replaced the distributor rotor and cap.  
• I googled the firing order and found that all olds for more than 20 years had the same firing order And it is counter  clockwise. The firing order is 18436572 and it is also cast into the block (there was no need to Google it)
• We replaced the air filter
• we bought a could of cans of carb cleaner and sprayed the hell out of the carburetor, and got rid of alot of gunk.
• we purchased a fuel filter but did not get around to putting it in today.  
• my son turned the engine over until I could see a line groove in a main pulley and I put white out on it, I connected a timing gun upto sparkplug wire one and fired up the car while pointing the gun at the timing teeth. I twisted the dist cap until the line was even with the first tooth.  It seemed that it ran better when I the white line was farther from the first tooth but I figured we will see about it when we get it on the road. I tightened down the dist  (or did I. I better check...)
• the engines is running good

Next we have a problem with the brakes.  It is difficult to press the brakes and when we do the pedal stayed down and we have to pull it back up.  Which is equally difficult.

• So I research again,  learn about what the master cylinder and brake booster do.  And realize I need to remove then in order the diagnose more.  
• I remove the master cylinder and found the latest it correctly oozed brake fluid when the plunger was pushed, it was easy and it sprung back out after pushing.
• next I took off the brake booster.  The bolts were difficult to get to and needed alot of force to break free, then they spun rather easy.
• I remove this as well and then disconnected  the brake pedal from the brake booster and found....  that the brake pedal still would not move!!!
• Turns out that the brake pedal pivot was rusted.  I took an hour to get the correct combination of tools and wrenches into places I could not see but had to jamb my hands into to feel (11/16 socket on the back with a converter to allow it to be held by an open box wrench,  on the front side I used a deep socket 5/8 with 5" extender and rachet.  And broke the rusted bolt free.
• I was worried the with the really bad access that I would not be able to replace it with a new one, so once it broke free and the brake moved freely I retightened it to the point where it swung easy but would not jiggle side to side.
• I adjusted the brake lights sensor that I moved while fighting with the bolt, reconnected the pedal to the brake booster,  reconnected the brake booster, and master cylinder, filled the reservoir with dot3, bled the brakes, and was done fir the night. 

I went in showered, ate warm french dips and hit the sack.

Mower startup - replace the spindles on my lt1050 cub cadet mower deck

Today,
we got ready to mow the lawn,   almost an acre of uneven ground only to find that the while the engine started up,   as soon as we went to engage the 50" mowing deck,  the engine died.

The same thing happened last year and we had to take the deck off and clean out the grass and get the blades turning again (we also replaced the blades with a set from Lowes).  So this time we took the deck off and found a much worse situation,  we couldn't get the blades to spin at all.

So digging deeper we found the spindles were the problem.    The mower is an eight year old Cub Cadet LT1050 that we do a very bad job working on (it was a little low on oil this year so we added a little to make sure it doesn't just freeze up on us).

Any way,   I went to take the spindles off and broke,  1,  then 2 then 3 and 4 bolts off!   I even checked to make sure the threads were normal (righty tighty, lefty loosey) threads.

Anyway once I got the spindle off and went to purchase new ones,  I found that the spindles are all untapped,  to be used with 'self tapping' bolts.

So I cant use the bolts or spindles again,  I will just buy new.   Amazon was a good seaching place and helped me confirm that the range of prices and model numbers

Spindles model number 618-04126 - I had to be careful searching because this "other" model number kept coming up (618-04129) which might be more modern but uses a round blade hole instead of the star blade hole.

I ended up finding prices from 200$ + dollars for a rebuild kit with 3 spindles,  down to 28.00 for a single spindle from outdoor power (https://www.outdoorpowerdeals.com/).  I have never used them,  but figured I can wait for a week or so since this sunday is shot.

Also,  they had new self tapping screws for $3.00 for a set of 4,   WAY lower than amazon and amazon prime options.    so with a 5% off coupon I got for liking them on facebook.   I ended up spending less than 90.00.  and I should have everything I need to get going again.

Now to wait until I get the parts (I will probably call them in order to find out how soon I will reasonably receive them by saving an extra 12$ on shipping)