1980 Cali rebuild.... Let the games begin

[mellowyellow]

That paint job looks really great there Beno.    I think a lot of mine was sprayed while bits were attached, so when I remove them, like I have been doing with the spare wheel carrier, bits flake off or crack. No matter, I can drive it and that's all that matters at present.

[Beno]

Thanks MY. I know what you mean with getting a car painted with things still attached and that was also a deciding factor for me when I started this project. I started and then thought, well I've come this far (insert naughty word).... I'll just strip it and start fresh.

[dacjac]

Thanks MY. I know what you mean with getting a car painted with things still attached and that was also a deciding factor for me when I started this project. I started and then thought, well I've come this far (insert naughty word).... I'll just strip it and start fresh.

Ha ha  more " NAUGHTY WORDS" to follow. 

[Beno]

Haha I thought I did alright by replacing the letters with a few ## whoops. My bad, sorry forum peeps.

No doubt there will be a few choice naughty words putting it back together... Especially the first scratch 

[Pete Power]

Excellent looks great.
What type of paint did he use?

[Beno]

Thanks Pete. I'll find out the specifics for you but it's just a two-pac in the yellow devil

[Moke2b]

Looks great!!  (even for yellow... )

[Beno]

Righto... we are back up and running (well more like a Hurd of turtles getting through peanut butter but I’ll get there)

Steering rack in today, very loosely of course with just the u bolts and four nuts holding it in place until the rest follows.



I was planning on replacing the pivot pin kit in the upper control arm to get the new hi lo’s in as well as the kits in the radius arm for the rear suspension but alas, I clearly had no idea that those little buggers require some sort of special kit to remove them BEFORE you can put the shiny new goodies in.....my bad.

I should have done more homework in this regard prior to getting too excited. So this has hampered my weekend mokeing a little bit but I will try and get this sorted so I can get back on track.

[Terry]

Hi,

As you don't have one of those special tools you can make up something that involves a thick washer the diameter of the bearings, a long threaded rod, some nuts to suit and a socket. Grind off two edges of the washer flat so that it can slide down past the bearing and then using the  rod with a nut attached push it through the washer and this is where you will find you have to take a bit more off the corners of your washer.

Once you have the rod through place a large socket over the rod and seat it on the outside edges of the arm and then with a bigger washer and another nut you can draw the bearing out.

And when the bearing falls apart I use a die grinder remove one edge of the bearing shell so it can collapse and be dragged out in a mangled mess.

And the steering ties rod ends should be pointing up when you connect them up.

Terry

[Beno]

Thanks Terry... spent all day on it and nothing but a whole lot of swear words so I have dropped it off to someone who has the right gear to get them out.

And yes the tie rod ends should be, but that photo was taken just as I got the rack in so hadn’t been moved correctly yet.

I do have another question about the knuckle/ball and cup assembly’s I was sent in that one set appear different to the other and wasn’t sure If this mattered or even why? Is one specifically for control arm vs radius arm?
here’s a pic to help explain the difference.

[Terry]

Hi,

there is no real difference, just one supplier verses another. However the bottom one in the picture is two rubber pieces glued together and it wont be that long before it will split so put that one in the rear where it is less effort to replace when the time comes.

The usual issue I see with the new items is they only get a smear of grease at the factory so I make a point of opening them up and putting a few good dabs of grease in there. I normally use the moly stuff.

Terry

[Beno]

Thanks Terry! I will pull the caps off, clean out their grease and put a healthy lot of my newly purchased moly grease in there before installing 

[Beno]

Got a probably silly question for you.... should there be two bushes in the lower control arm, one each side? Only because I put one in and the rubber started to split and there seems to be enough room on the other side for a second one which makes me assume two go in there.

[Maddog]

Hi Beno,

Yes, two bushes per arm.  Put the little ends in first, no grease, and squeeze them in a vise enough that you can put the bottom pin in and start the nut.

Cheers, MD.

[Beno]

Thanks MD, back to the garage for me