(30/11/05)
I needed a break from Rivets so I decided to have a look at the suspension which was much more exciting.This is the bolt arrangements that supports the rear hub (left). Bolted all this together in about 10 mins, easy to follow instructions in the manual except I've put an extra washer between the upright and the wishbone at the front. This is because the metal bush in the wishbone would wear away the alloy in the upright (see circled). Don't tighten these up until the car is resting on the floor with load as it pre-tensions the bushes which is not a good thing.
I then installed the AVO shocks and springs and viola, back suspension, easy peasy.
Will install the hubs later because I want to see what the front end looks like now.
Again, up front the lower wishbone/shocks were very easy, 5 min job. I just had to pack out the shock absorbers with a washer each side and put a longer bolt in the bottom with the alloy bracket to fix the ARB to later.
The top however was a different matter due to the inboard ARB. Behind each of the top wishbone mounting fitted the support & bracketry. First fit the main bar with copperslip on the alloy blocks. Use longer supplied bolts (3.75"). Behind the front mount sits the rocker bracket with the 3 holes inboard. Manual says to use a 3.75" bolt but this will not fit as it's too long, use a 3.5" instead. It also runs VERY close to the springs so I used 2 washers on one side of the shocks (front) to move it back a bit, this gave a bit more clearance for the rocker to move freely without fouling.
The order this fits in is (see pics)
3.5" Bolt > small washer > mounting > wishbone > small washer > headlamp bracket > small washer > bellcrank & into threaded spindle.
Note you don't use the normal spacer before the headlamp bracket so it has to be bent a little to fit into the top clamp.
The manual also recommends taking a bit of metal off the bottom of the headlamp bracket to aid full movement of the top wishbone, this I will check later once the car is on the ground.
(1/12/05)
Messed about with the other side of the ARB today fitting it as per manual, the outer part of the bellcrank still runs precariously close to the lamp bracket, not happy with it but I will see how it goes once the car is on it's wheels (another thing to check). This pic is a better view of the order of assembly (lamp bracket dropped down for better view)
Painted up the balljoints, these rust very quickly so it's a good idea before they go on to give them a couple of coats of Smooth Hammerite. After doing more riveting, I needed something easy to do.
Another easy job was to fit the Steering rack, nothing to write home about really, just 4 bolts, 8 washers and 4 nuts. The mounting brackets are the Westfield Alloy ones, note the small white square in the first pic, this is the nylon pad that goes beneath the rack. This had to be trimmed a tad to fit inside the mounting bracket.
I also fitted the extensions to the Steering rack to accommodate the widetrack.
(2/12/05)
Copper greased all the bolts in the rear suspension today and also altered a few things. First pic shows packing the top of the rear shocks with 2 washers. Second pic shows an extra washer between the shock and the upright. I didn't like the fact that the lower shock bush would be rubbing against alloy so this spreads the load a bit.Another thing I've changed is the way the rear upper bolts go through. The manual says from rear to back but if you had to remove the wishbones for any reason, you would have to take out the fuel tank first. I intend to put an SVA plastic cover over it as an extra safety precaution.
Fitted the front uprights and then went out and bought some Track rod ends, fitted them but it looks like something will need cutting down as the uprights are pointing outwards. It looks like I have a bit too much toe out ... about 5 inches in fact!! I'll call the factory again to check how much to cut off the rack.
Dug out the steering column and attached the lower portion ready for lining up with the upper column which I may have a go at tomorrow (Sat)
Just looking for a quick job to do before finishing for the night and I remembered I'd ordered too many extra long wheel studs a few months ago. Time to fit them before I attach the rear hubs me thinks.
Knocked out the old (well new actually) ones taking care not to damage them as they can be used for the front hubs. Then knocked in the longer 63mm ones. These will now be the right size for the 21mm spacers on my O.Z. Supperleggara's. First pic shows the difference in size, then shows hubs fitted.
Starting to take shape now isn't it, in fact, it looks like a giant go-cart - doh!
(3/12/05)
After much deliberation, I tackled the steering column. I wasn't looking forward to cutting a hole through the powder-coated panels but as it goes, it went quite well. Offered the upper column to the panel and drew around it, then drilled it out with loads of holes and cut the rest with a small hacksaw. This was then gently trimmed with a file and hey presto, a nice neat holeGot about 1mm clearance around the upper column which will give me a bit to play around with just in case it's in the wrong position.
Something not mentioned in the manual is that you may need a spacer below the front bracket, I have allowed about 8mm (see 2nd pic) for an alloy packing piece to be fitted later.
What this does is changes the angle of the Universal joint to 11 degrees (approx) which is better for the SVA if they bother to check it. Although the manual says this upper column (fitted with the collapsible boss) is SVA compliant, I've actually seen a factory car with one of these spacers so better belt and braces than a fail.
(5/12/05)
Went around tightening up some nuts and bolts just for something to do. To ensure I have torqued all the nuts and bolts, I've used a tippex marker. This will not only help me to identify which ones I've done but also be able to spot quickly if any nut/bolts are coming undone as the lines won't line up any more.(15/12/05)
Bearing arrived yesterday but didn't have the time to fit them so without further adoo, I proceeded to fit them to the alloy hubs.First problem was fitting the actual bearing shells, small side (outer) wasn't too bad as I had a large 30mm socket which fitted just nice, but the larger inside bearing was about 50mm wide. I searched the garage for a bigger socket but I didn't have one. I spotted several very large washers which were supplied to fit the seats to the floor and they were exactly 50mm in diameter.
As you can see in the picture, they were just the job, placed the large 30mm socket over the top and they were soon seated and greased up ready for when I get the brake disks - Oh I hate the Postoffice sometimes. I also received my wiring loom which I then proceeded to label etc, see Wiring.
(12/02/06)
Not really Suspension work but I did fit the wheels today which is kind of connected - lol.These are O.Z Supperlegarras with Toyo R888 Tyres (205x50x15 rear - 195x50x15 front). This enabled me to lower the car from the Stands to the Floor with the help of 5 other kind volunteers. Me Julie didn't know it but she was one of them and had the enviably task of removing the stands whilst 5 of us held it precariously above here head - Don't try this at home kids!!
I can't believe how low it is so I checked the suspension height and it's 10mm too low on the back and about 30mm too low at the front so half hour later I finally adjusted the spring with a "C" spanner. No doubt this will have to be done again once the engine is in but it looks like a go-cart now!!
(23/05/06)
A simple job or so you would think, fitting the dust caps on the front hubs ... nope!I bought the caps new from the Westfield factory so I was hoping it was just a push fit and job done but because of the powdercoating, they were too large.
A little sanding around the edges (see pic) and they fitted fine.
They should be a fairly tight interference fit, you may need a small block of wood just to get the last bit in.
