67 Mk1 GT6 restoration

[byakk0]

Por-15. Its a nice self-leveling anti-rust paint. Just brush on with a foam brush. You can thin it a little and spray it, but I don't have the equipment.

[byakk0]

Eesh. Much slower going at this stage of the rebuild than I was hoping for. I have my drivers side axle and a couple spares at a friend's shop so he can pull the hubs for me. Then I can get things back on track. I'm itching to get the chassis buttoned up and back to the tub. I plan on a rotisserie for the next stage of the game.

[junkuser]

Have you seen John Bonnett's rotisserie in the Specials section?
May be worth considering if you don't have one or access to one.

[byakk0]

yes, I am taking cues from his, as well as a few others. I have 2 engine stands to play with. Now I just need to source some metal--not a problem, just need to get out and get it.

however, one option I am considering is building the rotisserie to mount right onto the rolling chassis, so I can spin the body above the chassis, and store them in the same place without having to push one or the other outside for a month or two. But, the problem I see with this is 1)messing up my nice new chassis with crud and welding slag, and 2)it may get in the way of me moving around easily.

[junkuser]

Centre of gravity will be a problem if I am understanding you correctly.

[byakk0]

yes, my worry exactly...I think I saw something once of someone doing that exact thing, but it was more of a lift than a rotisserie. Eh...Just me wondering and thinking things through before I actually do anything.

[junkuser]

Maybe worth considering mounting the spindles on adjustable offsets H, so balance can be adjusted to rotate chassis only (for repair/painting) or body on chassis.
Would not be too difficult to make and would add to versatility and value if selling on.

Best of luck,
                   Mal

[Sheepy]

I repaired the mk2 spit of Dirk, body on chassis on my rotisserie, and my mk3 Iis on it now.
Yes its a little top heavy as you rotate it, but the way I built it, you use a long bar to turn it and it is no problem. It has a locking pin so you can lock it in various positions. Makes panel replacement so much easier.
See my thread mk2 restoration.

[byakk0]

That's another option too Shawn, but what I was meaning was to build the rotisserie on top of a rolling chassis. The tub rotates above the chassis.

This isn't exactly what I mean, but the photo angle makes it look like it; in a way--just ignore the that the tub is on the other side of that chassis and imagine it is above the chassis.


But, who knows...My brain is just working overtime. Probably more trouble than it is worth.

[byakk0]

Quoted from junkuser

Maybe worth considering mounting the spindles on adjustable offsets H, so balance can be adjusted to rotate chassis only (for repair/painting) or body on chassis.
Would not be too difficult to make and would add to versatility and value if selling on.

Best of luck,
                   Mal

that is probably the best Idea I have heard of to get it well centered. I had to think about it and read your post a few times to picture what you meant. Thanks! 😎

[Sheepy]

Ah ok I see now, you will have to make the legs wide so you can roll the chassis from under.
But it's a good idea.  

[junkuser]

I'm good at confusing people!  Everyone has to be good at something.

[byakk0]

Actually Shaun, I was meaning bolting the rotisserie directly to the chassis, so the chassis is the lower main support of the unit instead of 1 or 2 lengths of steels tubing....But I have considered building one so the rolling chassis can be stored underneath and rolled away from it when working. (idea can be seen on this page. Website won't allow a link to the picture. http://www.triumphexp.com/phorum/read.php?8,1212861,1213080#msg-1213080)

The other idea I have currently is simply using the rolling cart my tub is stored on now, and simply tilting the tub to either side. Stability would be an issue, so I would need to brace the side of the cart to my garage walls-it's narrow enough it would be easy to do. (if I had a large enough garage this wouldn't even be a question!)
It may limit my accessibility to the underside, however, so this idea too, may not make it past the 'giving it some thought' department.

My cart as it currently is:

[byakk0]

Been slow going on actual progress of late, primarily waiting on getting my bad hub removed from my good axle and removing a good hub from a bad axle. The good news is, I picked up my good axle last week from my friend who was able to get them separated and I got the parts cleaned up and ready to mate the other hub to the axle.
He has since gotten the good hub separated, and I need to collect the pieces from him so I get this project moving again.


This is the bent hub, finally removed.


you can see that the studs are smaller than the holes, if you look closely.


All the parts laid out in order for reference. Sorry bout the lighting, it was late and I didn't figure out my camera settings until the next shot.



I have since gotten these cleaned and painted. I'll post those pics later once I take them.

[byakk0]

Okay...update time 😀

All painted. At this point I was waiting to collect my other axles from my friend who could remove the hubs.


And the cleaned and painted replacement hub...


I am going to upgrade the studs on this as I did on the other side, but for now I need to leave the stock ones.

The story goes like this: You recall me mentioning the stud holes are too large on the hub I replaced. I had my other axle with me back when I was searching for replacement studs at local suppliers, and I purchased them for both sides, according to that hub. Well, it turns out my replacement hub has holes that are just slightly smaller than the studs I purchased. I guess the PO who mangled the holes on this side probably also enlarged the holes on the other side. So now I need to make a decision--drill the holes out on this hub larger to match the other side, or replace the other hub with an untouched hub. I'll probably end up replacing the other side. But, in the mean time these studs will work just fine for me and allow me to get on with the remainder of my rebuild. I can make this decision later.

So that brings me up to today. The trunnion bushing kit I bought has bushings that are too big of a diameter and I had to turn them down so they would fit.   To fix it I put it loosely on a properly sized bolt mounted in the drill, just to hold it. Then I ran my grinder back and forth on it to accomplish roughly the same thing as turning it down on a lathe, which I don't have. (no need to run the drill, the bushing spins as you hit it with the grinder.) Once I got the whole thing down to proper size I buffed it out with a wire wheel. Careful if you do this method, it does get hot and test fitting takes time as you need to wait for it to cool.


Success


Brake assembly comes next...And then fitting to the chassis...and then...

[toolmaker]

hi byako,
well done like the parrallel thinking lathe,one for the memory in the head.

[byakk0]

Worked out great!
Bit of a story at this point. I started working on this particular axle back at the beginning of May, just finished it up.

Once I had the hub off I thought I may as well remove the trunnion as I bought new bearings. I had read on another forum to remove the trunnion you simply slam the axle, trunnion side down, on a vertical 2x4.
Well, I merely managed to break a 2x4-that trunnion was stuck. Then I decided I may as well leave it alone, after all, the bearings were nice and smooth. So I resumed the rebuild. You'll notice in one of the photos I have the package of new retaining clips for the brake cylinder sitting next to the assembled unit. I dropped these and could not find them until after I reused the old ones. Figures!








When I put the drum back on I discovered I had a 1/8 gap between the drum and brake backing plate. Seems my slamming on the board moved my trunnion up the axle instead of down. Hmmm...
So, it was back to my friend with the press last night and I managed to get it properly positioned. I had to completely disassemble the brakes and removed the brake cylinder and adjuster. Guess I get to use the new clips after all!

I have it all back together hear, complete with vertical link.


And finally, I have the axle back on the chassis.




All of the suspension rebuild is now complete, and I can finally move on. I was hoping to get the new brake lines run tonight. Guess that will have to wait till next week. I think I will drop the engine on after that, if it will fit under the cart my tub is on.

[byakk0]

Here is a shot in the daylight of my chassis.


With the chassis mostly complete I can move on to other bits.
I installed the fuel line and new brake lines this week, along with the emergency brake.

old lines installed as references





I had trouble with the rear line splitter. One side would not come out even though it was completely loose. After some persuasion I managed to free it, only to discover the first couple of threads were bad. Thought I needed to order a new one, but discovered I had a spare. Problem solved! (not pictured. It's polished up nicely)
You'll notice the one front brake tube is not completely formed. It is too long, and I will have to wait to complete it when I get the caliper and hoses on. But I need new hoses and my calipers need rebuilt.


Today I cleaned up the emergency brake parts and got that all installed, complete with new clevis pins and cotter keys.
I could not find new square 1/4 28 nuts, so I made some by welding a nut to a washer and shaping it. The advantage here is that overall size was slightly larger, so the new ones won't spin in the bracket as easily as the original ones might.

I bolted them to a copper sheet before I welded them.


New cable and refurbished parts temporarily assembled for a photo-op. Don't worry, I got the spring bracket the correct direction when I installed it.


On the chassis

[rotoflex]

That's looking very good!

[byakk0]

Thanks.  If I can get my hands on a hoist I'll probably drop the engine on next To free up some space in my garage so i can build a rotisserie

[byakk0]

Well, I did it. I got the engine in place.

That's my boy steering as it is now too heavy to steer by turning the wheels.

Sometime in the past, before I owned the car, the mounting holes in the transmission tailpiece had broken off on both sides, thus preventing the use of the standard transmission mount.


Instead, someone fabricated a clamp-style mount. It is secured at the bottom to the transmission mounting plate via a rubber mount (not pictured, sorry)

However, as you can see the edges are very rough, as whoever created this simply cut the metal with a torch and did not bother to clean the edges up, nor did it get painted. I did both before installing it.

I added some rubber strips to the lower half of the mount.

I drove it for two years with this clamp, so I know it works without any issues.

I also added some grommets to either side of the smaller outriggers where the fuel and brake-lines pass through. I feel more at ease with the grommets protecting the lines from rubbing.

(If you look you can see the rubber mount under my transmission mount)


Funny story. I tore my car apart to rebuild it before I got married and had kids. When my boy was born, my family teased me he'd be driving it before me. He's 15 1/2 now and of driving age...However, he was just steering it, as I don't have it wired to run yet.

[rotoflex]

Quoted from byakk0

Instead, someone fabricated a clamp-style mount.

They've all become definite individuals over the years, haven't they?

[byakk0]

Quoted from rotoflex

They've all become definite individuals over the years, haven't they?

Yep. And since this won't be concourse, nearly no-one will notice.

Although, I've got another block, transmission, and a D type OD. Down the road I plan on rebuilding these and fitting them. After all, I have the O in my commission number. May as well make it OD sometime.

[byakk0]

Got the driveline and the swaybar mounted today. I wanted to start it too but ran into troubles. Before I dropped the engine on the chassis I had a control board set up with the voltage regulator , starter solenoid, ignition switch, and tachometer so I could run the engine off the car. Unfortunately I did not make a diagram of how I had it set up and when my son helped me take it off of the cart he disconnected a few wires. I need to research where they go now as the wiring was not coded like a wiring diagram and I can't find my notes. I didn't tag the individual wires either.
Needless to say, I didn't get it started today. I did discover, with the help of my son, that water pump was leaking badly, so I swapped the impeller with one of my good spares. At least I got that changed before it was critical.

Sorry,. no pics today.

[byakk0]

good news and bad...Ain't it always that way?

Rigged up my calipers to my master cylinders (yes plural) and popped the pistons out today. Unfortunately the handy little removal tool I made didn't work out after all. As you can see, the brake hose fits nicely into the master cylinder, perfect for bench testing calipers, as well as piston removal. Couldn't get the brake pedal to work with this setup though, as the board it is mounted on is too thick and changes the angle of the piston plunger. I had to use a wrench instead, and manually operate it.



As for using both master cylinders, you are wondering? Well, its going on 17 years since they had any fluid in them, but they still moved-barely. Took a few minutes for the piston to return to full out position. Thus, for one caliper I used the clutch master and the other I used the brake. Got the both freed up and operating nicely. But...more bad news. The brake master is leaking out the seals, so just one more thing to rebuild. Guess I will buy a set for both masters.

And, the other bad news. 3 of the 4 pistons are pitted. One only lightly, and perhaps I could get away with reusing it, but I better not. I'll pick up some new ones. I've got 2 other calipers, but have no idea on the state of those. Perhaps I will try popping the pistons and see what they look like. Not holding my breath though.

You can see just how bad the dust boots were. One was brittle and cracked, and the other nearly gone.






This is the removal tool I made for the pistons. The idea is to insert it into the piston cavity and grip the handles together tightly, then rotate the piston free. It didn't work. It was fun building it though. Cost nothing but about 20 minutes as I had the metal on hand. I modified it from custom pliers I made for fixing my washing machine.