Finished up the rear subframe for the Moke today, I had a tough time getting one of the radius arm brackets to line up, but the 3lb BFH took care of the issue and it all fit up fine once I was done. I needed to finish this so I can get on with the Innocenti. Here are a couple of pics of what I was doing.....
Yup and I know if I get a classic the first place it will go “by truck” is MiniDave’s for a complete “dave all mechanical” restoration treatment.
Thanks guys...… Tonight it was the brake calipers turn.....I split them and there was still clear fluid in them BUT, the pistons were stuck tight. I was looking online for that special set of piston removal pliers when I had a brainstorm - my neighbor up the street is a plumber - so I called to see if he had an internal pipe tool big enough and he did. It only took a few min to get all 4 of them broke loose, then with air power they all eventually popped out. I was surprised to see they were all clean, no rust or pitting in them at all, but boy howdy were they stuck tight! So I'll get the caliper halves blasted and painted, then after they cure for a couple of days I'll reassemble them - I already have my tube of Dunlop red grease and I have new seal kits and those impossible to find intermediate seals that go between the caliper halves. In the past, when I couldn't get a piston out I've resorted to fitting a plug with a zerk fitting and using a grease gun to force them out -doesn't damage the piston but leaves a big mess to clean up! Glad I didn't have to go there with these.
I cleaned up and painted the calipers - a coat of etch primer and the stainless steel topcoat went on well and dried quickly, allowing me to install the new seals and put them together tonight, and add them to the pile of parts ready to go back on the car.
Some more cleanup work, the rear brake backing plates were well past it, so my partner sent some used ones up from his shop, I cleaned them all up, gave them a good coat of etch primer, then brushed on a coat of black Rustoleum. I think they turned out well......
I also built up some air cleaners…..the ones that were on the car were filthy, but I could not find replacements the same size, so we cooked up a good work around. I bought some inexpensive foam filters from Victoria British, my partner Dan found some K&N style filters online that fit a VW, and they fit the VB cans perfectly, Once I modified the stub stack slightly, it all bolted together and worked perfectly. Result! as Edd and Ant would say!
I finished all the Moke suspension and brakes - front and rear - and the owner came and got them, freeing up a lot of room in my shop. Next up I tackled the carbs off the Inno...I was amazed how badly they were stuck together and gooed up from the old gasoline! I had to use a hammer and drift to get the main jet out of its holder. once apart I took it all over to a friend's and used his fine glass bead blaster to clean everything up and brought it all back to the shop for reassembly. I had a complete rebuild kit on hand so I had all the gaskets, new main jets and needles I needed. Took a while to figure out how all the linkage bits went back together but it's done now. Next project - either tear the motor down or swap the steering rack - haven't decided which way to jump just yet,....but I may do the steering rack first so I can stick the front subframe back in place while I do the engine. When you have a small shop you have to do things in a sequence that leaves you enough room to work. some before/after pics
Loving this thread. I know what you mean about small shop and getting things done so you have room to do the next item.
I'm happy to have a shop at all, I know a lot of guys don't....plus mine has both heat and A/C, although when it's 16* out like today it's just tooo cold to work. My shop isn't THAT small, but it's full of immovable objects right now, with the Jag needing to get recommissioned and the Inno on the rack without any suspension at the moment. I've got almost 500 sq ft when it's empty - it just never is. It's just a 2 car garage with one side extended - I've considered adding a section straight onto the back with a roll up garage door to separate them....I'd have to remove that back wall where the door is to do it, but I could gain at least another 400 sq ft that way. These pics were taken right after I did a complete reorganization and clean up of the shop, built in some tool cabinets, took down all the shelving and painted everything. since then I've added a lot of storage racking and it's pretty full again.
The more you do the more you have to do! You start off just doing a refresh of the suspension and brakes and before you know it you're powdercoating subframes, re-bushing suspension arms and then you find it difficult to find a stopping point. it's always tough trying to figure out when to say "when"! The latest example on the Inno…..the rear brake proportioning valve - I'd already cleaned or replaced all the brake lines and emergency brake cables, this is pretty much the last part on the rear subframe I'll need to do. You can't buy a rebuild kit for this valve, and new ones are $75 so I took it apart....the rubbers appear to be in good shape so I just cleaned everything, put some rubber grease on the rubber parts, put it together and give it a coat of primer and silver paint. I would have done shiny black but I'm out of it. It's hard to paint anything when it's 20* out and snow on the ground - I just open the back door, shoot it real quick and bring it back into the shop, then hang it in front of the heater to cure. This works fine on small parts like this, it doesn't stink the shop up (or more importantly - the house!) too badly. Before and after.
Another case in point - I built up the front uprights and hubs yesterday. First a thorough cleaning, then off to the powder coaters for sandblasting and coating, then when they come back you have to clean all the grit out of every place imaginable, and a few unexpected ones! I left the bearing races in when I sent it to the blasters so they wouldn't damage or raise the area where the race fits - and I knew I would be replacing the bearings and races anyway. So once cleaned, then install the races, pack the bearings and install them and the seals, then on to the fiddly and very time consuming job of installing and shimming the ball joints. Probably 8 hours of clean and assembly time in these two hubs! I haven't decided what to about the Hardy Spicer u-joints, these feel fine, and look almost new they're so clean but there is no way to grease them unlike most u-joints, so I'm concerned about getting the whole car built and having one fail 1000 miles from now or on a long drive (like to Aspen this summer).
Today I built up the rear radius arms, installed the backing plates, wheel cylinders, hoses and e brake linkage. I used my little tool to install the retaining clip for the wheel cylinder, seems like the more I use it the better it works.....one thing to remember the curve of the clip goes up, or toward you as you instal the clip. Also, these older wheel cylinders are different than the later ones I've been buying at Vicky Brits - I had to get these from Mini Spares - the only difference is the location of the pin that goes thru the backing plate. I also used the paper gaskets between the wheel cylinder and the backing plate as they were called for in the parts diagram. I thought I had a set of rear wheel bearings in reserve but I must have used them on Clancy's Moke so I have another set on the way along with some other bits and bobs.....when I took a good look at the hubs tho I saw some damage - this is why I always use a brass drift both to remove the old and install new bearing races....the pic shows what happened, when driving the old one out they jammed the drift into the side of the hub. I used a rotary file to clean up the nubs sticking up, the gouges won't hurt anything.
Today I got some more Innocenti work done, I built up the rear subframe, but decided to install it without the radius arms attached as my space is so limited and I can't get a floor jack under it to support it. I had to use blocks of wood to shore it up into place till I could get it bolted in, then went ahead and added the radius arms, rubber springs and Hi-Los. Once the rear wheel bearings and other bits and bobs get in I can finish it up. Still have to paint the shocks tho and it's simply been too cold to do that, but we might get to the 50's by next weekend, maybe I can paint them then.