The two 5mm thick washers for the upper balljoint nuts finally arrived today so i tried to bolt the spindle on. The balljoint turns as the nut is tightened so i might have to wait until its back on its wheels and theres some weight on the front end.
I made myself a spanner to use on the eccentric adjuster on the upper balljoint. Bolted the spindles on. Still need to replace the old castlelated nut on the passenger side for a new nyloc. No idea how to torque them up to 51lbft as you can't get a torque wrench in. 19mm spanner and a length of tube and just give it some grunt? Fitted the track rods.
Replacement steering damper catches the top of the framehead. Looks like i bent the bracket when i dropped the beam. An old nut used as a spacer makes it clear. It could do with grinding a little but it might straighten up once its torqued down. Fits nicely. 90% built up. So i bolted a wheel on as i kept tripping over it.
Put the chassis back on its wheels so i could undo the old castellated nut on the balljoint and replace it with a new nyloc. Fitted the rear gear linkage coupling. Still needs some lockwire on the square headed bolt.
Test fitted my Kamei front spoiler. Bumper needs either replacing or painting as the chrome is pitted to hell.
Stuck some sound deadening pads to the floorpan. Really need to warm them up infront of a heater as they want to crack when rollered and its cold. Only done the drivers side at the moment as the passengers side pan is full of engine tinware.
Yep. I'll get there in the end. I'm only managing to get an hour or so in the garage every so often. A good couple of solid days would probably get it 90% complete. I've done everything myself so far though i'll need help fitting the windows. To do list looks like this: Pan seal Master cylinder and front flexys Sound deadening on passengers side pan and rear luggage floor Heater cables, clutch cable and accelerator cable Body shell on Brake fluid reservoir, windscreen vents and hoses Fuel tank Wiring loom Windows in Headliner in (once i've made it) Sunroof in Interior in Wheels and tyres Engine in Not a lot still to do in the grand scheme of things but need to do some welding to my bay and get it MOT's and ready to sell.
I'm trying to get atleast one thing done each day. Even if its just bolting a couple of things on. Fitted the new heater cables after having to look up which lever does what. Cut the sound deadening sheets to size for the passengers floorpan. The sheets need warming up infront of a heater to soften them a little otherwise they crck when rollered. Chassis is now sitting on all 4 wheels again for the first time in god knows how long. Check out the wing gap. All 10" of it. Shell is still 6" off the pan so it'll probably come down to about 2-3" once the shell is on.
Warmed up the sound deadening pads infront of a heater to soften them a little then rolled them to fit the contours of the pan. They stick a lot better once warmed up and slightly gooey but god help you if a bit flaps across your bare arm and sticks. I used some of the leftover bits on the rear luggage floor. Still a few wee bits leftover but not sure if its worth the hassle to fit them as they're only a couple of inches square. The orignal 48 year old rear arch mats got a scrub and cleaned up OK. They'll be hidden under the rear parcel shelf but at least i know they're reasonably clean. Boot floor mat was toast though so a chunk of carpet will be used instead.
Finally found the mounting screws for the number plate light housing so bolted it on along with the badge. Spent more time looking for parts than actually fitting them. Fitted a couple of speed nuts for the removable rear valance. Handbrake handle and heater levers fitted again after a 15 year absence. Found the mudflaps i bought at Tatton nearly 20 years ago. Battery clamp is just a little metal moth eaten. Repair or replace that is the question? Missing one of the D shaped fuel tank hold down washer thingies. I think it was chucked away when the front end was replaced (along with the jack and jack mounting brackets) by a certain vw 'specialist' in 1997 as the front clip was welded on so out of whack they could only fit 3 of the 4 fuel tank bolts.
New master cylinder arrived today. Said it didn't contain the two plastic connections from the reservoir but it does. Shame as i bought them separately.
Bolted the master cylinder in. Its just a bit tidier than the old one which looked like it's spent years at the bottom of the sea. Made a battery hold down clamp. to replace the remains of this old one. Took the pedals apart. Cleaned them up, regreased and reassembled with new circlips. They move a helluva lot smoother than they originally did.
Found the tank washer You still at the same address as you where last year when you organised Tatton?
