January 2013

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Here we go again...

It's fun when finally the time comes to begin turning piles of parts back into a car.

Yesterday I put the carbies back together. As it is with these things, the first one took me about an hour, the second 20 mins and the last 10 mins.

 

3.8 carbs reassembled

Today I spent a while putting the reassembled rear brakes back onto my rebuilt diff.

When I originally stripped the IRS I had noticed that there were a lot more shims between the calipers and the diff than I had expected. I assumed that this was because someone had in error fitted the later discs. I ordered a set of new, early discs. Lovely though they are, they fit worse. Eventually I accepted the need for a 40 thou washer. 

 

3.8 rear brakes on diff

 

 

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Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Jigsaw

Ah the logistical delight of car restoration.

Bits of my car are all over the place. The body's at the paint shop 50 miles away in Strathalbyn.

The engine's still up at Chris's awaiting a teardown in a couple of months. The new 5 speed box is there too.

There is a steady stream of parts coming from the UK.

I'm continually dropping off and picking up lots of plating, powder coating and chrome.

The carby bodies are in Sydney being rebushed by Midel.

The tacho is off the see Mike Eck in the US, and the speedo to Nottingham to be rebuilt at Richfields.

There are bits all over the floor in the spare room, on my desks in my study and in ever increasing piles in the shed.

Within a week or so I'll start having complete sets of bits, and then I can start putting it all back together again.

 

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Saturday, 12 January 2013

Nearly ready to reassemble IRS

I'm still plugging along fettling bits of the IRS.

I'm 95% ready to start reassembly. Just need to get a few more bits plated and I can reassemble the driveshafts. I have all of the new parts and all the major bits are plated and powder coated.

Just waiting on the diff to come back from Bob, the diff man.

 

3.8 driveshafts

 

3.8 hub carriers

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Tuesday, 08 January 2013

At the body shop

You might think that I've gone into hibernation over Christmas, but you'd be wrong.

I've sorted all the plating and powder coating, arranged to have a million bits sent around the globe to be fettled, and today Ron and I took a couple of bonnets down to Ross at the body shop.

 

3.8 Bonnet trip

 

When we got there we found Ross has been busy with the tub. Sexy original lead.

 

3.8 original lead 

So far she looks pretty good. Apart from a few rust holes in the floor under the seats she is surprisingly rust free.

 

3.8 Floor

 

 

3.8 boot metal

 

 

New door skins will be needed, as expected.

 

3.8 passenger door rust

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