Rear suspension complete!

Final bushings for the rear suspension: upper and lower links, plus the panhard rod, are now installed. Was able to do them all myself except for one of the rod bushings, which I mangled to the point of uselessness and had to take to Scanwest for installation. Also nabbed a used power steering pump from them, as I'm afraid I ruined the existing one by running it dry during No Alibi.

The only tricky part on the rear bushings (apart from the stubborn rod) was getting to the upper link on the left side, where the fuel tank makes it impossible to get a standard wrench on the nut to loosen it. Had to drop the tank a couple of inches, but once that was done, it was simple. Fortunately the tank was close to empty, so didn't have to fuss with draining it. Just disconnect the pump and sending unit wires, unclamp the filler hoses, and then loosen the retaining strap on the right side, and voila, access is granted.

The stainless brake lines finally arrived. Appears that I caught Group9 just before they went out of business. I'm glad they eventually got here, and the rear lines have been installed. Just the fronts to do now, and I'll probably replace the pads all the way 'round before leaving for Alaska.

Got a status report from my friend Glenn on his project to put a Subaru powerplant into his VW Syncro van -- a much more daunting project than mine. Congratulations to him for getting it started, and luck on the next steps to get it mobile.