Anthony's Moke project

[poida97]

Hi everyone,
Some select pictures of my very slow going Moke project from over the years.


Early strip down (10+ yrs ago)





Front subframe out


Paint stripping

[poida97]

Last year, back into it with KBS Rust Seal gloss black on sandblasted rear subframe and parts





cleaned and cleared rear brake valve



rear brakes assembled. Will need to change the slave cylinders as I ordered the wrong ones (dowel on wrong side). The old ones were incorrect also, and had the dowel removed.



rear subframe done

[poida97]

front subframe and parts, over the past few months







front subframe done

[poida97]

Calipers torn down. Only managed to destroy two of the old pistons.



Planning to either clean and clear, or blast and paint.

[poida97]

And this is where I find myself today. Steering column tear down. Kind of stuck on this one and feeling dumber than usual.



The bolts or studs that hold the ignition switch housing on look to be snapped. Is this just a drill out job? Or is there a trick that I am missing?





And I'm not sure how to undo the bolt that is holding the pedal box clamped onto to steering column.

[Halfpint]

Hi,
Nice rebuild pics. Lots of good work done.

The bolts or studs that hold the ignition switch housing on look to be snapped. Is this just a drill out job? Or is there a trick that I am missing?



And I'm not sure how to undo the bolt that is holding the pedal box clamped onto to steering column.

The ignition barrels use "Shear Bolts" that are designed to break the head off when the right tension is achieved.
If you want to remove it, you can drill and use an EZY out, or you might get lucky using a centre punch and tap it to unscrew it.

With the peddle box bolt, I've used a good pair of vice grips on the head to undo it and replaced the bolt with a high tensile one the same length.

HP

[poida97]

Thanks Halfpint. There are a few things I might have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. Eg spraying the sub-frames instead of brushing. Or paying for sodablasting instead of paint stripping and then buying my own sandblaster and using sodium bicarb in that.

It's taken a long time to get to this point, mostly because of the distraction of other hobbies. And laziness. But every now and then a new reason to get motivated comes along and I have another go and getting moving on the project, like build threads on the forum, or the annual British car show at the Kings School, or even a nice summer day - the kids would love a trip to the beach in it (kids where not on the radar when I started this project.. now they are 5 and 2).


And of course you were spot on with the ignition barrel and pedal box. As the plastic shroud will cover the ignition barrel, I'll just leave it there and only paint the visible part of the column.
With the pedal box, yesterday I was hanging off the nut end with vice grips... you made me try the other end - that's when I learned that the nut was welded... 

Anyway it was a hot one in Sydney today, once it dropped below 38 degrees I went outside and de-greased some parts. My pressure cleaner doesn't have much in the way of pressure. Spent a bit more time with the wire brush attachment on the angle grinder and die grinder, but still not happy with the finish.
I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and get a blast cabinet.



Once cleaned up properly, I am thinking to just clear coat the shifter, same as the brake valve in the rear subframe. I like that look, shame it won't be seen and it will be covered in gunk again after a few trips.

[poida97]

I had a look at the steering rack. It seems to be in decent condition, with no play around the pinion shaft at each end of the rack.

The boots were perished so they will be replaced - BHM7113 is correct, and not the longer GSV1056 yes?
I didn't realise that the rack end bushes are so far inside the rack housing so it's not possible to visually inspect them.
The knuckles seem good. It looks like I am saved from having to go the full extent of a complete rebuild like https://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/topic/322176-steering-rack-overhaul-uk-type-mkii/

I found a pair of the C-AJJ1572 Longer Track Rod ends that I had ordered a few years ago, these will go on after painting.

Many people seem to replace the steering rack U bolts when refitting, so the complete FAM7306FK fitting kit seems like good value to me.

Apart from confirming which boot to order, the other question was whether the rack is filled with grease or 200ml of 90w oil - there are mixed opinions on this one, grease makes more sense to me.

[Terry]

Hi,

The racks are intended to have oil in them but I have also run grease and could say one is better than the other, although oil is more likely to leak out so grease is better than no oil.

I have never put new U bolts on a rack and only replace them if the thread is damaged or I want a nice pretty plated one which is a refurbished one and not new.

For boots I use whatever is available from the supplier, don't take too much notice of the part number.

Terry