It’s Building Time!!

As soon as the paint was dry and the chassis back in the garage it was time to start the build up of the suspension and axles. I started off fitting the differential and rear leaf spring which mount solid to the chassis and I’m using the original bushes here, they are really good condition and are virtually as new. The spring as you may know from previous blog instalments has been fully re-tempered/hardened and I have fitted some heavy duty poly bushings and leaf buttons to help with any sagg, this will not really become apparent until the full weight of the car is sitting on the ground and with my fat bum also in it. 

Next I moved to the front suspension and fitted all the new poly bushes to the upper and lower arms, I opted for the “comfort” version poly bush as opposed to “solid/hard” I want to really clock up some miles in this machine when finished and I don’t want to feel every bump through my spine really, and the comfort bush is still considerably harder than the original rubber units…

 

I then moved onto the front hubs and stub axles. My original stubs were far from acceptable when stripped down and were unable to be reused so replacement units had to be purchased. I had been reading up on replacement units being a poor fit and poor tolerance against the original units, but I presumed that buying replacement parts from reputable suppliers (Rimmer Bros in this case) that these issues would not effect me….. I was wrong. 

I pressed the new bearing races into the hub and all was going well during a dry fit prior to any grease and the first problem surfaced when trying to fit the outer taper bearing. The outer face of the sub axle has not been machined to the same diameter as the original which stops the outer bearing sliding onto the axle as it is too big in diameter. The bearing is essential to fit correctly here as you control the tension on the bearing using the castle hub nut and split pin…. Too tight and your wear the bearing out quickly, too loose and you risk damaging the stub itself and bearing failure and hub damage. This has really pissed me off to be fair as these were not really cheap replacements from Rimmers and they shouldn’t really be allowed to sell something that is not fit for purpose, however I will have a conversation with them after the bank holiday and see what resolution they are going to offer.

It is definitely the stub at fault here as opposed to the wrong bearing, as the replacement bearing fits perfectly on my old knacked axel stub, so that has stopped me going much further with the front end. I continued to fit the upper wishbones and front coil spring and shock, however until a perfect fit can be achieved for the front hubs I can’t continue with anything like the front brake assembly…. Bugger. 

If I continue to get crap parts in regards to these stubs I’ll have to consider a machine shop to turn the outer diameter down slightly in order to get the bearing to fit. Once done correctly they “should” outlive the rest of the car to be fair, so I’m keen to get things like this correct from the start… I’m sure as hell not going to start making compromises with components like this. 

So moving to the back end then… should be fairly straightforward….. should. First off was to put the new universal joints in. This is a straightforward job with aid of the bench vice, I have done these before with the Cobra build but was considerably more challenging when having to knock them in with a socket and hammer. So it was enjoyable to simply press them in with the vice and set the circlips in. Then I fitted the lower rear trunion bush, these are made up of sleeved poly bush with dust ring and covers. They are a bloody tight fit in the hub vertical upright and a considerable amount of swearing took place before they were fully fitted, however once fitted together it was easy to then fit the half shaft to the diff and ready to fit the shock absorber. 

The slight challenge to the rear end is the amount of tension everything is under to get all these bits back together without any serious load (no body, engine or gearbox weight) but with some logical thinking and use of a trolly jack and farm jack I managed to get everything aligned and fixed ready to make a start on the rear adjustable radius arms. 

I still need to overhaul the rear brakes but I whacked on the old wheels to see what suspension travel I had when sat on the floor and to gauge some overall width etc… fairly pleased with how this is starting to come together and definitely another step forward has been made.

Next on the list is to start on some mechanical components and to get the front and rear brakes trial fitted. I still need to order all these bits but these “should” be fairly straightforward and enjoyable to fit without too much head scratching. 

I do have to figure out what is wrong with the steering arm on the front hubs still, as despite putting it back together as instructed through the Haynes manual and various online diagrams I’m getting a issue when the offset face will not align. 

I’m simply either missing a spacer washer or it could be the brake heat/dust shield, that is the issue. I can’t recall exactly when I stripped it all apart, but until I can get the stub axel sorted for the bearings to seat properly then I have some time to figure out what is wrong. 

So everything is starting to come together fairly well, classic case when building cars of two steps forward, one step back. I’m going to have to start saving for some knock on hubs wheels and tyres or start searching for some second hand units through forums and eBay. I also will need to fire up the mig again to fix the rear radius arm plates…. Joy!! More grinding and making dust everywhere!,