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November 28, 2003
Hi guys
Thought I'd update you all once again on how the restoration is going. I've
taken a few more pics that can be seen on the Yahoo Group Webpage in the
Nigel-71-Midget Folder.
Basically the rear axle is back on the car with the rear springs and
backplates, brakes and hubs all reassembled. I've also nearly completed the
left hand side (RHD Drive) front suspension.
Putting the front and rear suspension components back on before all the
spraying is finished is a bit out of sequence, but due to the restriction on
space within my garage, I now need to be able to move the car in and out of
the garage so I can do the prep work for the outside top coats in natural
daylight. The space and artificial light inside the garage just isnt good enough
for me to be able to see any defects on the panels. Also as the final paintwork
will be seen in daylight, it seems logical to use daylight as the light source for
examining the quality of the paintwork. Hence the reason for putting on the
suspension components.
The rear axle pretty much went back on without too many problems, apart
from the sheer weight and 'awkwardness' of moving it into position single
handedly, which I don't recommend! I did manage to remember to put the
halfshafts in before I attached the axle to the rear springs as once it was in
position, the garage is so narrow there wasn't the space to be able to get
them in!
Likewise the front suspension. The only tricky bits were getting the fulcrum
pin 'flat' in the right position to insert the cotter pin, which involved a lot of
jiggling of the fulcrum pin to get it just right, even then I had to insert the
cotter pin and jiggle the fulcrum pin whilst pushing the cotter pin down until
it finally slotted into place.
By far the most difficult part of the front suspension re-assembly was the
getting the spring 'in' and fitting the top trunnion bolt to the kingpin trunnion
and shock absorber arm. Most of the problems I encountered were due to the
fact that without the engine in, there is no weight holding the body down, so
trying to insert the spring from underneath the wishbone with a jack
underneath simply didn't work, because the spring wouldnt compress and
the jack just lifted the body! Same problem with fitting the top trunnion bolt,
with the jack underneath the front of the wishbone pushing upwards to get
the kingpin top trunnion in line with the shock absorber arm, just lifted the
body up with about 6 inches to go! I ended up having to partly stand on the
front crossmembers while jacking and trying to get the bolt in! It worked in
the end fortunately.
Moral of this tale, don't try and reassemble the front suspension without the
engine in!
As usual any comments are welcome.
Nigel
"amukdigiphoto" < amukdigiphoto@... > 27047
Posted on November 28, 2003 09:49 PM
Posted to category(s) Body | Braking System | Drive Train | Engine (external) | Engine (internal) | Exterior | Interior | Lubrication System | Miscellaneous | Restoration | Suspension & Steering
