Aaaaand, we're back!

Crisis over!

Yesterday I decided there was no way I was going to drill the casting....I had to do it properly! So I took the front axle off and carried it (including the wheel drums, which I had hoped not to have to remove) back round to my workshop.

Then I tried to remove the hydraulics, so as to protect the piping, but one banjo wouldn't release, so I decided to remove the drums whole, which the manual says can be done. But I found that the studs started turning, so realised I was going to have to crack the brake drums, but then two studs fell into one drum....so thought, bugger, that'll make it impossible to use a puller.

That all left me very down last night when I called it a day. 

Feeling refreshed this morning, I used wood, hammer and care to split the drums and dismantle the wheels, then texted the good news to Martin who, suitably impressed, suggested coming to see the progress. 

He came and helped me use the press to push out the kingpins, which slid out beautifully, so that I could swap the stub ends over. I made a drift with a key to stop it slipping out of the king pin under pressure and Martin came up with a clever safety feature, making a sleeve which slipped over the end of the press end-effector and the drift - to stop the drift pinging sideways and putting a hole in my head.

Once we had re-assembled the stubs on the axle, we went back across to the garage to  put the axle back on,  re-assemble the brakes, etc and put the wheels on.

Now THAT is great progress, even if it does only put a set-back right. 

No time has been lost because we weren't planning to put the shocks on until Tuesday...and then once we have the clutch, which "B Series" Colin is sourcing for me, we are going to put the engine in!

set-back!

This is rather infuriating, but have just discovered, years after doing a lovely job on the kingpins, that  I put the stub end knuckles on the wrong ends of the front axle, presumably assuming that the axle was symmetrical, which on the surface it appears to be. Be warned, however. The holes which take the bottom lug of the shock absorbers have a rebate to accommodate a shoulder. The lug hole should be pointing forward.

Now, we did think of drilling a rebate into the casting from the other end (about 8mm deep, 13mm diameter). After all, the hole is well piloted. But it feels the wrong solution to me. Utterly frustrating though it is, I need to do this right and push the kingpins out and swap the knuckles over.

Going to dismantle the front today.

(Note to self...keep the king pins and bushes, top and bottom, with their stub ends; it is only the axle which is being swapped over)

Winning the numbers game

I have learned a valuable lesson in the restoration game. In searching for suitable shock absorbers for the 101 I have been searching for the original parts numbers, imagining that at very least the search would throw up an associated modern equivalent, when what I should have been doing was using the numbers Martin used. What he asked himself was, "What will these parts do? And what vehicle uses parts which have open and closed dimensions which are similar?"

Instead of looking for "Armstrong 62-0010, woodhead 03107, 03144, 03146, 08399 Girling 3991" I should have been looking for  15" open and 10" closed.

Martin worked out that kbo make a shock which fits a Beetle with those dimensions, though the number he found was for the front, which has different fixings, so the woman at GSF found some rear shocks for the same model Beetle (a 1970/80) on the shelves which, because the engine is rear mounted, should make these especially suitable for the front of the 101. And she offered me a price range. I settled on a mid range priced oil filled shock. They are GSF part # 513VG0010 and made by BOGE.

Total price for the pair, £47.52.

That brings me on to some other numbers. A classic car parts specialist told me he could solve this problem for over £100, which struck me as steep, so I asked who made the parts and he got cagey...saying the details would be on the invoice. I told him I'd rather buy from someone willing to be more open with the details. I am glad I did. It more than halved the price. 


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Brief Reflection

It does seem to me that the project really has got to the stage of being a Meccano set....and it is pretty much like this with most classics you buy and own; or at least it was with my Prefect and now with my Morris 1300. Just a matter of sourcing the odd bit once in a while to keep it running. Or perhaps even stripping a system down (the brakes or the engine) to do some major servicing.

But my J Type project has been much more than that because there is not one single bit which hasn't needed stripping, fabricating or replacing....sourcing (which takes the most time)....and along the way, the acquiring of skills...welding, sheet metal fabrication, etc. So it has been a long old haul.

But it really is now a Meccano set, very largely. And that means that progress is happening much more quickly, which is Soooo good for the soul! But even that would not have happened if Martin hadn't got excited reading this blog, and given me the kick needed to get under way. He is a clever bloke and it is fun sharing the project with him.

One good turn deserves another

Martin got so excited about me putting the wheels on today that he came round and helped me put the steering on, made possible by his mate having straightened the track rod out. I need track-rod clamps to secure the TREs and a few split pins to secure bolts, but apart from that the steering is now solid.

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Wheely Great Day

A Tyring but satisfying day.

(click first image for a scrolling slideshow)

 The delivery of the tyres, today, was a momentous occasion, and the people at X Spurt Tyres seemed to understand my excitement as they put them on my wheels. I gather they get a fair few classic car enthusiasts in, and apparently I am not the first to film it either (though sadly, the films didn't really work - low batteries, dammit). 

Mark reckoned he might remember taking the old tyres off the wheels years ago, but I said there was a fair chance he was still at school! But look at this - he might be right after all!

 At this point, Mark found that the set up on the machine (which had worked for the other four) was wrong for the last one. He compared the rim to the others with a caliper. This one is now my spare, only because its rim is more curled than the others. Nothing wrong with it. Can't remember what they said it is called.

 Then the wheels were balanced with strips of weight on the INSIDE of the wheel.

All but one done. All five now stand in Paul's garage waiting to be bolted on...once I manage to source a pair of front shock absorbers.