spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 17, 2010 19:22:04 GMT
Sheila's new engine is now in almost as many bits as it can go in. Some are already cleaned and checked (yes, I even washed, brushed and bagged up all the bolts according to where they came from!!!): While others are distinctly not! Note that the gearbox is also starting to come apart. Wibble. Meanwhile, my collection of "useful roadside spares" in the boot may be going a little OTT:
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 17, 2010 21:29:51 GMT
Meanwhile, my collection of "useful roadside spares" in the boot may be going a little OTT No it isn't Joe, not for a British classic it isn't!! ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 17, 2010 22:33:17 GMT
Good job it's not an Italian then ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 7, 2011 21:01:36 GMT
Thought it was time for a Sheila update just so she knows she hasn't been forgotten I had her up on the ramp a couple of months back and found nothing too scary except this: which rapidly turned into this: These: and this: Which is when I decided to take her off road for a while and do some of the stuff I'd been planning for ages rather than force her through a quick MOT. She's now back over the ramp ready to start work on those bits but, in the meantime, I finally got around to starting the rebuild of her spare gearbox. All the insides came out pretty easily, and all the important bits seem in pretty good order. There's a little chipping on the edge of the reverse idle gear but that's to be expected: I have new synchro, new needle bearings and new shims but hadn't ordered the rear mainshaft or input gear bearings. They're both serviceable but, if I'm going this far, may as well do it right so they'll be ordered this week now that I've been able to identify them by size (£13 the pair, delivered) rather than ordering them as "car" parts (about £12.50 EACH + postage!) Meanwhile, the diff has also been stripped out and everything there is fine except for a couple of very light "stains" (that you can see but can't feel) on the taper bearing races where they'd been sitting in one place for the past xx years. There's a slight risk they'll fail but one worth taking. Even the backlash was still right in the middle of the design range Once everything was out of the casing it was time for lots of paraffin and some paint. Not sure if this is a stock factory shade for them (all the ones I've seen are black) but I like it I'm thinking matching suspension arms (will be re-bushing them too) and purple engine block + driveshafts.......
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 7, 2011 21:47:11 GMT
Nice to see the old girl getting some attention Joe. Those sills look a bit nasty but I'm sure you soon have her whipped into submission. Otherwise I'll courier up the 'birch twig' you have reserved for Matilda last weekend!
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 7, 2011 23:01:11 GMT
Strangely, the sill isn't as bad as it looks, Pete. The inner stiffener is still sound and connected to the outer sill: So it's a case of cutting back and putting in a nice simple plate with a flange. Might even go for the invisible inset version for the hell of it - that way I can get away with spot-welding along the flange cos they won't know it's a patch
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 8, 2011 9:13:08 GMT
;D Yes, does look like a dog chew doesn't it John? Commonly known as a 'donut' (I'll even use the US spelling ) it's designed to take up backlash in propshafts and sometimes axles. They can sometimes be a right bar steward to fit - thankfully I've only had to do one once. They are usually supplied with a metal strap holding them into compression - remove that strap and it spreads then the bolt holes no longer line-up. Last time I saw one it was on a 1980's Ford Cortina but I'd be very surprised if the were still being used in new cars today.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 8, 2011 9:15:05 GMT
It's rotoflex coupling, John, otherwise known as a "donut". The idea behind them is that they allow the drive-shaft to flex, like a CV joint would, but in a more compact length (and more cheaply). They also cushion the drive so are easier on the drivetrain than a metal UJ. Also used on the Triumph GT6, one of the Lotus jobbied (Elan iirc???) and a couple of other makers used them (briefly) in the prop-shafts of conventional drive-trains.
They're not as nuts as they look, especially on a short drive-train, but the big trouble is that the originals were made by Metalastic using a good old fashioned rubber which included nasty chemicals that the new repro ones can't. So whereas the originals were usually good for 5 or 6 years, the new ones tend to last a couple of years at most before splitting like that one has.
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Aug 8, 2011 11:10:10 GMT
As Joe said a Rotoflex coupling. In the case of the 1300 they take the place of the driveshaft inner CV joint. They are supposed to give a smoother power delivery and are far cheaper than a standard CV joint. The lotus Elan used 2 on each drive shaft and had no CV joints at all. They where also used by a few rootes group cars such as the Imp. The biggest problem is they dont like oil so if you have an oil leak you are in trouble. Also the use of grease on the securing bolts are a bad idea as it rots the rubber.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 8, 2011 17:04:31 GMT
Back in a more monochrome world (after a little more red paint) she went flying today: so I could start cutting out the nasty stuff on that os sill. I'd hoped to be able to lift her on the jacking points so that the arms wouldn't get in my way but the os front wasn't too happy with that - it held ok but crushed a little before settling, so I decided that the sub-frame was probably a better (safer) plan. Does leave me a problem getting at some of the rot but I'll have to work round that somehow. As usual, the problems turned out to go a little further than hoped - including up part of the inside face: and the flange of the outer sill wasn't as good as I'd hoped either. But the strengthener is intact: and the rest of it doesn't look too bad - great access for looking inside with that bit cut out! Nothing there that can't be glued back together with a bit of sheet and some hammer work After a couple of months of "can't face more rust" after the Dafs it's nice to be getting back into the swing of it and I'm really starting to look forward to the old girl rolling again ;D
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Aug 8, 2011 21:18:10 GMT
Re the arm getting in the way. Put a lift height axle stand or a tall tool trolley if you dont have the former under the subframe. Lower the lift slightly and swing the offending arm out of the way. If you have to use a tool trolley you will have to do it sitting down but will still have much more access than with stands. Oh and that rot looks all too familier ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 12, 2011 17:35:38 GMT
Mmmmm, a thing of beauty.... New bearings on input shaft, main shaft, top gear needle rollers, new synchro, all shimmed to just below mid-tolerance, oil-filled and ready to fit Now I just have to worry about the big holes, the little holes, the suspension bushes, the paintwork and (maybe) the mains & big-ends while I'm swapping the box. Hopefully back on road as my Christmas prezzie to myself ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 13, 2011 18:54:37 GMT
Having no more fun (ie: mechanical) stuff to do on her until she's back on her wheels, I bit the bullet this afternoon and started to tackle that o/s sill. Didn't get as far as I hoped thanks to a mix of badly wound MIG wire that kept screwing with the wire feed (so much for Clarke stuff!!!) and the difficulty of bending a lower sill / flange section with just a vice and a few bits of angle iron to form it with. Still, the first section of new flange is tacked in place: And attached to the inner reinforcing web: And the damage in the inner upright face is repaired, cleaned up, and ready to become invisible once some paint goes on: I really don't enjoy this stuff as much as spanner bending but it's nice to feel there's some progress! Even with the grit in my hair, odd spatter burns and a mild case of arc eye ;D
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stefan
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Post by stefan on Aug 13, 2011 21:06:52 GMT
Coming along now mate wish my projects were, still go to much work on
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 13, 2011 23:02:31 GMT
Good progress Joe. Sorry to hear about the arc eye Joe; it is my pet workshop phobia and what has probably prevented me from learning the fine art of welding.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 22, 2011 19:00:19 GMT
Progress is frustratingly slow on this at the moment, with something else coming up every time I think I might spend some time on her. But did manage an hour or two earlier today and now have a completed sill section for my troubles: In the end I had to give up on my cheapo mig because of wire-feed issues and revert to the trusty old stick welder - who says they can't be used on cars? ;D Now I just have to work out how the hell I'm going to get that lift arm out of the way to tackle the front part without dropping a car o my head. I'm sure I saw an old acro lying around down there somewhere..........
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 23, 2011 0:00:20 GMT
errr - Screwfix? ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Aug 23, 2011 8:13:14 GMT
Probably, but it doesn't even admit to that on the casing
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 29, 2011 21:16:41 GMT
Long time no update on this, mainly because very little's been done for the past few weeks. So I started to put that right over the last couple of days and have now almost got all the new metal in place on the driver's sill. The underside got another large bit put in and welded, at least as far as the lift's arm would allow: And, of course, that required some more on the outer to join it to: That bit needs tidying but, again, the arm is in the way for now. In order to finish it all up I need to get the lift under the jacking point so that it's outside the sill line. So I had a dig to see how safe it looked: Not too bad at first glance, but (as usual) there was more metal needed than initial inspection suggested! On the inside: And the outside: And the front: I need to get the wheel off (and lower her a bit) to weld up the top edge of the front patch, and rebuild the missing nose of the sill, but once that's done I'm reasonably happy that she'll lift safely on that corner so I can get in and join the two sections up. Then it's just a small patch on the closing panel at the rear and I'll be onto the NS. Doesn't feel like quite such a lost cause anymore
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Sept 29, 2011 21:55:46 GMT
I had wondered what had happened to Shiela.
It's always a bummer when you find more grot than anticipated but that's good steady progress. Still, you wouldn't want the fun to stop too soon would you? ;D
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kenr
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Post by kenr on Oct 1, 2011 14:15:19 GMT
Keep going Joe, just imagine how well she will drive with the refurbed gearbox and the bits that you plan to do with the engine.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 8, 2011 16:43:44 GMT
I'm imagining, Ken - may be too old to enjoy it by the time I'm finished but imagination's good for most things you get too old for Anyway, I'm slowly getting there - tidied up the front of the sill and got the wing-base back in place today: Now, for the purists out there, yes this is effectively a patch-up and yes, new panels may well be the "proper" way to go. But if she had to wait for someone to invest those in her then she'd be waiting in a scrappy by now - pair of sills (inner + outer), sill strengtheners and new front wings would be lovely and all but someone with the cash to do that would be picking a much better example to start with. So she gets sheet metal, and lots of it, at a fraction of the cost cos my time is free to me As for strength - I'm not planning on crash testing her but I'll happily stand under my work to take pics and start the next bit. If you can't jack on a jacking point there's no point in having them
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 16, 2011 16:55:38 GMT
A bit more progress today - with Boris the Daf due next weekend I figured I should at least get Sheila back on her wheels so the lift is available for the new arrival: Obviously, in order to do that I had to finish off the underside stuff: But decided to leave the outer sills to do on the ground. That was mainly because of this: which has convinced me that I really need to put full length metal in on both sides. The lift arms will get in the way of that, and I'm not over-keen on the idea of chopping out a full-length slice while she's in the air anyway. There should be enough metal there to hold shape because the plan is basically a "full length patch", with the existing (sound) sill tops & bottoms remaining, but, just in case, I'd rather she was being supported where she's designed to be supported while it happens. So, the rest of the afternoon was spent making the "patches" - all 5'4" of them (x2): I'm not willing to guarantee that the curve is exactly factory spec but it matches the existing metal well enough: and you try curving a piece of metal that length accurately and without introducing a twist! ;D
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Oct 16, 2011 17:08:01 GMT
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