May 2014
I got the hubs and discs away to the machine shop to get turned down etc.. So in the mean time I've been busy with making it all look a bit neater and making the shock absorber extension piece.
To do the extension piece I first measured how much of a difference between the old and new shock was. It was roughly 30mm. I went to my old work and got a piece of tubing 60mm x 5mm wall. Should be plenty strong enough.
I also used it to mark out on the shock mount.
Plasma it out and use a grinder and die grinder to tidy it all up a bit.
Then I cut a piece of tube to length and tacked it all together making sure it was all plumb and square (or round in this case ;) )
To get it to fit I had to slightly enlarge the hole on the suspension top mount using the die grinder again.
Then I tested it in place.
It looked good so I welded it up (pic later in post).
I then moved onto cleaning all the suspension and steering components up. To get rid of the grease, dirt and old paint I dunked them in the caustic tank at work then washed them down with the jet wash. I was going to send them away to get blasted but the chassis paint I am using says I don't need to. As long as I get it clean with a machine wire brush it should be good enough. The chassis paint I am using is made by 'Rustbuster'. The same company I got the primer and rust converter from and I've been really happy with there products so far. I spent 2 weekends cleaning the parts up. After I cleaned them I washed them. Then I used an Acid wash to eat the little bits of pitted rust away then washed it all off afterwards. A very boring and tedious job.
Now onto the paint. I thought that id give it all a good thick coat of this stuff so I will brush it on. It was going on thick but I hoped it would level out whilst it was drying.
Unfortunately it didn't level out as much as I'd hoped. Here's a lower arm as an example.
I tried to tell myself that it will do but I don't want it to be "that will do". So I bit the bullet and sanded everything again smooth so I could have a go at spraying it on instead. I didn't want to remove all the paint, just to smooth it. Another weekend gone. Hey, atleast it will have one good thick coat and one fine spray coat. Here's the same arm after all the hassle.
Much better! .
I had put an order in for bolts to re-do the whole front end, £105 it cost!! Just for bolts,copper grease and lock-tite. Bloody hell.
I started by building up the cross member.
Then the lower arms. I have the label of the shocks pointing forward so people can see there not standerd, I'm so vain.
Then the top mount.
At this point I quickly mocked it up before I went home to see what it would look like. I had re-greased the ball joints and they seemed OK, I guess that's what test drives are for. The bump stops are the original ones, I just sanded the top layer off and they came out pretty well.
When I got back to the garage I had to compress the springs to get them to fit. I hate compressing springs at the best of times but these springs are tiny. I had to cut my compressors down a bit just to get them to fit. Also the top rubbers were pretty knackered so I doubled them up with some rubber used for roofing I had laying around.
Then I started to bolt it all back to the van.
I had painted the bits of chassis that will hold the front end in place but I will do the rest later once I have finished welding on the chassis. I started with the passenger side first. It was a bit of a pain getting the new bushes installed but once I figured it out the other side was a lot quicker. Im going to be going on holiday on Sunday so I wanted to get the van off the axle stands and back on its wheels just incase so that's what I aimed for today. I put the old hubs back on for now until I get the machined ones back.
It looks better in real life under natural light. But I'm happy how it has all turned out. Really glad I decided to smooth it all back down and re-paint them. I guess its one of those life lessons you pick up on the way.
I had a little panic moment when I went to try the suspension out. I jumped on the passenger side and it was nice and bouncy but the drivers side was still stiff. It wasn't moving at all. So I thought about it for 10 mins then decided to slacken the bush mounts. Got underneath, done that and it was still stiff. Another closer look I had realized that I forgot to pull out the "emergency" jack stand I placed further along the chassis just incase the main ones failed. Pulled it out and it bounced quite well, doh!
Next up is the steering and brakes. I never had enough time to put the tie-rods and centre link together so I will do that when I get back. Also I should have the new hubs and discs back from the machinist by then. All that shouldn't take too long so I'm also hoping to get the engine back out so I can weld the engine brackets in place and give the engine a good clean up. I also want to take the engine and gearbox one step further and paint it in the old Ford green that the Thames would have had. Maybe get "Lexus" writing in old 50's style on the cam covers.
