After getting out of the roadster and performing a quick check of my shorts, a few other drivers and myself gathered around the front of the truck and discovered that the jamb nuts on the drag link had loosened up and the drag link had rotated itself bit by bit until it separated from the ball joint at the Pitman arm. With their help I managed to get the drag link reconnected and the toe semi set using a prop rod of some sort that my pal Tom "Rich" Reid had as a measuring device. From there it was a rather anxious ride to Tony and Eric Kos' hot rod shop, Mild to Wild Classics, for what then had turned from a social call to a service call.
Once I rolled into Mild to Wild, Eric dropped everything to go through and re-tighten basically every nut, bolt, bracket, and clamp on the whole roadster (paying special attention to the steering and braking systems), more than likely saving my worthless life in the process. Above and beyond his preventive maintenance he also schooled me in the proper use of elbow grease, self-locking nuts, and some handy items, which he called lock-washers (I told him I thought all those split washers in my hardware collection were just defective flat washers).
While the Beater was up on the lift, Tony and Eric's pals, Ron Rescino and Jake from Albuquerque Driveshaft & Axle Exchange, wandered under and immediately noticed that the TH400 I'd used was a truck tranny, not an automobile tranny. Heck, I didn't even know there was a difference! They assured me there was and explained that a truck trans uses a fixed-yoke driveshaft rather than the slip-yoke-type used in automobile transmissions. They immediately ran back to their shop and whipped me up a new, and correct, driveshaft assembly. With all the kind attention I received at Mild to Wild, I was finally free to continue my journey fully versed in the proper way to finish up a hot rod project and fully aware of the importance of tight nuts. Thanks, guys. I appreciate your help more than you'll ever know! -RIZ