OK, Timken tells me the P/N's on my pinion bearings are all the same and they are all available. Nobody else says that, but hey, they make the things, I just need to find a local Timken dealer. Hopefully my local FLAPS can find them for me, I'm expecting a call this morning.
Got the spring back with new pins, bushings, & U-bolts yesterday (& they were kind enough to un-fubar the threads on my pinion). Went in and bolted it all in today. Had to move the axle back a good 2.5" to get it to line up, gonna be odd not havin to drive it sideways! I'll pull the other side later on, but not anytime soon, as it is this side cost me 380 bones I didn't have.
Rebuilt the shifter motor and housing. Got it all cleaned up and re-painted. Thinkin I can get the carrier housing and the pinion housing cleaned up and painted since I'm gonna have to wait on these bearings for a bit yet. Just one less thing I'll have to clean up later.
And now I'm off to the parts-wanted section to ask about those brackets that mount the center grill piece (with the number on it). I lucked into a complete piece on E-pay, but it's for a 500, not a 370. I think I can re-create the 370 logo, but I need at least one complete bracket.
I dig all cars, old and new, whether they were hammered out of American iron, German steel, or Japanese tin cans. Being unable to appreciate them all is missing out on a world of great things. But thats just MY opinion! :P