irish44j
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Everything posted by irish44j
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CharlieB wrote: Were the old ones grade 8 ? I don't know I'm just asking. . I doubt it. From the markings they appear to be grade5 standard, though the heads have so much wear on them I can't say for sure.
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npanne wrote: Have you got part numbers for the bolts? At that price I can afford to get them shipped to the UK (unless anyone can recommend better?) Cheers Neil I looked back and my memory was apparently fuzzy with all the different hardware i've been ordering recently from McMaster for this and other projects. Here are the codes. I had to order the in packs of 10 and 25, respectively. 91286A302 Grade 8 Coated Alloy Steel Hex Head Cap Screw 7/16"-20 Thread, 2-1/2" Length, Packs of 10 $5.98 91286A257 Grade 8 Coated Alloy Steel Hex Head Cap Screw 3/8"-24 Thread, 2-1/2" Length, Packs of 25 $12.37 My only complaint is that the 3/8" bolts had the non-threaded section just a BIT too long, so I had to use a couple of hardened washers so that they wouldn't stop on the caliper thread before they were tight. Again, though, I will probably just take the die to them and add some thread.
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Richard_B wrote: You might have a clearance problem with the plate over the diff. Might I suggest you get a die and cut the threads a bit lower and the shorten the studs to suit. Looking good though! oh yeah, wow what about the screwdriver? yep, I had that in mind as well. But the tub isn't going on the frame for quite a while, so I'll worry about that when the time comes. :) Oh, the screwdriver.... ;D I dunno if I want to tell now. It seems to be a mystery and nobody will post in my thread if I tell the secret! (I was using it as a "chisel" for a different project, as I could not find a narrow chisel. Apparently screwdrivers don't like being hit with a 5lb. mini-sledge! But....Sears will replace it for free when I bring it in. CRAFTSMAN, baby!)
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timbancroft61 wrote:Re your front hubs: Do fit dust covers over the castellated bolt-it will involve changing the R clip to a split pin. Tim - the Rclip is just there temporarily until I get the right size split pins next time I go to the parts store. I have Nilos seals on the wheels, so dust covers aren't necessary (though I may fit them anyhow)
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Got a bit more done over the last few days: as suggested, ordered some grade-8 coated bolts to replace the old ones on the calipers. Gotta love McMaster....$8 for about 20 bolts :) installed the new brake rotors, as well as 7/16" wheel studs made by Steve Downing (if you want some, I can get you his contact #) to replace the tiny 3/8" stockers Got in new rear bushings (Metalastik) for the differential, so finally got around to putting it back on the frame - also with Polybush bushings on the front mounts. Also put on the 3/4" spring spacer and new Spitfire engine studs to replace the short diff studs. The only thing isthat the Spitfire studs are TOO long, so I'll have to use a couple washers at the top once the spring is installed A couple quick questions: 1. Now that the axles are assembled, can I take off the metal band on the new rotoflex donuts? Or should I leave them on until after I install the axles on the car? 2. Any tricks to installing the rear spring? I know about the "bar" method, but didn't know if there's anything easier since I have the body off the car. Any suggestions are welcome.
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^^ good point, I will look into it. It will be many, many months before this car sees the road, so I have time ;) as for today, managed to finish up the rebuild of one of the rear axles/hub assemblies. Disassembled everything, wire wheeled it all to bare metal, repainted, reinstalled bearings/packed, and installed a new rotoflex donut. Also installed new u-joints (the old ones were a MAJOR hassle to remove!) Yes...I did use the Quentin Hazel donut as they cost $75 compared to $200 (+ $$$ shipping) for the metalastiks from UK. Going to change to CV rear axles eventually, so these are just a stopgap anyhow. Also rebuilt the drum brake componets (and replaced some parts) and got most of the 3-4 layers of old paint off the drum casing, and will repaint soon. That's not rust in the groove, it's old yellow paint (ew...yellow drums)
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heraldcoupe wrote:Corn snake? Or something more worrying? just a 1-foot garden snake. probably looking for crickets to munch on!
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CharlieB wrote: I don't agree, these are about the most important bolts on the whole car! When you torque up a bolt it stretches & puts a preload on the joint, if these bolts are not done to the correct torque the force produced when you brake hard could overcome this preload & the caliper will flex. ps Are you re-using the old bolts? I would have thought they may be use once only jobbies but I may be wrong. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so flip about it. What I meant was that on an iron caliper, which is unlikely to deflect as much, a ballpark torque setting will do - especially in a case such as this where nobody seems to know what the correct torque is anyhow. I'm tightening in the neigborhood of 60-70lbs, which is my guesstimate of what they were when I took them off. Since none of us knows what the factory torque settings are, all we really can do is guess.. Not syaing to just wing it, of course. But a matter of 10lb/ft one way or the other is not going to have a significant effect on an iron caliper... Yes, re-using the old bolts. They were in excellent shape. They do not appear to be self-locking bolts. If the caliper leaks when tested, I'll replace them. I'm planning on going to a wilwood setup anyhow eventually. the GT6 calipers weigh a freakin' ton.
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as I was messing about with the rear of the car tonight, I had a visitor stop by about a foot from my face as I'm lying on the ground :)
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keep in mind that the torque really can't be as important as they make it out to be. There is no gasket in there, and the ONLY partthat matters is the little seal in the pass-through between caliper sides. As long as it's tight enough to seal that little rubber o-ring, that really should be "good enough."
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npanne wrote:Out of curiosity, what torque did you do the caliper bolts up to? I'm about to put mine back together - I've read 45-50ft/lbs for the outer bolts, and 70-80 ft/lbs for the inners - anyone have any conflicting info on these figures? Cheers Neil I haven't done final torques on anything yet. But those are the numbers I have seen at various places as well. I wonder if anyone has contacted anyplace the rebuilds the 16Ps, to see what numbers they use...
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also time to tackle the diff and axles. Opened up the diff and everything looks good, spins smoothly, etc. So I'm not going to rebuild it at this time..just flush the fluid and put some better stuff in. Also took most of the housing apart to clean and paint, put all new grade-8 hardware everywhere. Also put in some poly front bushings on the diff mount and press out the old rear bushings (major pain), only to find that my bushing kit didn't have those...so had to order them. doh! before: after. The different paint colors signify different types of paint that I used...black being high-heat and silver just to rustproof the flanges. The red....eh just because something in the back needs to be red, hah. Also finished up with the steering rack - new boots and rod ends, rebuilt inner tie rods, and rebuilt the lower steering column flex-joint with new grommets and hardware just an overview of the process
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Got a little bit done this week, now that some parts are in! rebuilt the calipers with new pistons, seals, etc. The old pistons were pretty much done, alot of scarring in the surfaces. Here installed on the car after rebuild and paint. Don't worry, that rotor is only being used for test-fit. I have new ones on the way! The entire suspension assemblies and brake lines (stainless) are now pretty much hooked up for a trial fit. Will torque everything down after I install some Nilos seals on the hub (on the way from a Lotus parts place)
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Andre, are you using the swaybar links from Wolfitt?
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^^ thanks Tim, great idea. Feel free to post any advice/hints or errors you see....I'm used to Jeeps and Japanese cars!
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tomorrow's first order of business before anything else is going to be to clean up and put tools away. Starting to have a hard time finding things and my workbench is a disaster area :-/
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today managed to finish the passenger front suspension (except the sway bar) and start putting together the driver's side. Also rebuilt and cleaned the steering rack, though the new boots haven't arrived yet, and went ahead and ran the main rear brake lines and fuel lines (re-used the stainless lines that I already had). This weekend hopefully will complete the front-end steering and suspension, and start rebuilding the front brake calipers. Then will start on the rear... front suspension coming together brake and fuel lines the old frame is starting to look more bare :)
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more or less finished the passenger front suspension/hub/spindle rebuild! Still have to do the brakes (rotors/calipers/lines) and sway bar. Here's the undone one of the "old" car: And the redone setup on the "new" car: Also pulled the steering rack off the "old" car to clean it up and check parts. Also there is a second old steering rack off my parts car, but it's pretty rusty...
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today's project....clean up some front right suspension parts, repaint, new poly bushings, and test-fit it all with the spax/uprated springs onto the new frame. Still need to do the spindle/hub/brakes and upper control arms. before: after:
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sbarc wrote:The metal suspension parts looks like they are painted or powder coated in silver. Are these coated or it this bare metal? Everything is looking very good....the trans looks excellent. nope, that's bare metal. I'm tempted to just use some coats of clearcoat on them rather than painting black, just because they look so nice! :) You can see the litte dots all over them (the tiny ones, not the metal pitting), which is the impact of the shot peening. Leaves little tiny dimples all over the metal, which strengthens it. Still need to make sure everything is good to go inside the trans. Did a quick inspect and everything looked to be in good shape, but I'll disassemble to make sure. Wanted to de-gunkify the exterior so it's not so damn messy to handle!
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cleaned up the tranny, but waiting for new gaskets for final reassembly also got some goods from the UK today (damn shipping is expensive!)
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Richard_B wrote:Did you know you can get Rotaflex wishbones and vertical links in aluminium? yep, I'm quite familiar with Canley....have some of their parts already. Reducing weight in the rear end isn't really a concern, though. It's the front that needs to lose weight. :) And on a set budget for this build, those components in aluminum rank very low on the list of things I need...
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sent a few old, rusty parts to get shot-peened. Not only do they look great, but shot-peening strengthens the fatigue point on metal parts. these were "test" parts, but I will be sending my uprights, axles, spindles, and a few other things to get done eventually: before: after:
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by the way, since this is a UK forum just want to clarify that I'm not actually Irish, but an American of Irish descent (cty Claire). Located in Burke, VA outside Washington DC. Irish44j is just my username on a bunch of forums :)
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^^ that is the truth! This evening I: - took frame measurements on the replacement frame to be sure everything was straight (it was) - painted the frame with POR-15 chassis coast black - cleaned up some fittings (tranny mount and others) - pulled the transmission - started with a wire brush cleaning the bellhousing tranny bellhousing, partially cleaned up 10 years of surface rust on the clutch/flywheel frame painted!