WITW - Barn-find Final Edition

[MikkiJayne]

The snapped wing bolt wasn't such a big deal in the end. I drilled a pilot hole down the middle of it, then a 5mm down an M6x1.0 thread and all the little bits of broken bolt just fell out.



Cleaned all of them up with a tap and they're fine again



A slightly odd extension cable on the external temperature sensor. I've never seen this before but it looks factory, although not perhaps factory for this model.



The air intake is missing a few screws



I cleaned up the chassis leg and ABS pump area while the wing was off since it was properly nasty in here



Replacement wing on and looking much better



Since I made a radiator pressure tester a while back I thought I'd pressure test a spare radiator before putting it in. I'm glad I did as it blew up like a balloon! Scrap bin for this one then.



Finished refurbishing the PS pipes



The blue rope is used to pull the return hose through this barrow gap in the pipework



Pipes back in place with a replacement bracket



Now I can put the suspension back on. I've got a good used arm in here at this stage as all the others are ok. It may get a full set later on but now I just want it to get through an MoT so I can drive it about.



On the left is a metal bushing which is used to locate the upper suspension mount. There should be two of these - one each on the front and rear studs, but both are missing on this one (possibly also on the other side but I haven't looked). These are unobtanium, I don't have many spares, and they're very fiddly to make on the lathe so I just printed some instead.



They fit on the studs like this



There's no load on them - they simply locate the upper mount in place until you put the nuts on, so plastic is perfectly functional.



The rest of the suspension will go on tomorrow.

[RICKY D]

The chassis legs before and after are night and day different

Seems like the radiator pressure tester used for the green beast is proving very useful

Is this still going to be a slow burn project or have things changed now that Bert has relinquished his ownership?

[MikkiJayne]

I'm getting as much as I can done to it in the couple of weeks I have between projects, using parts I already have and not spending much any money on it. The aim is to get an MoT on it and just drive it about, then I can assess all its foibles and deal with them on a slower timescale, in between other jobs. The longer it stays with me, the better it gets. At some point it will get a machine polish, engine-out service, subframe refurbs, etc.

20 hours on it so far.

Parts used:

PS hoses (refurb)
PS hose brackets (used)
NSF upper rear arm (used)
NSF lower rear arm (used)
NSF wheel bearing (used)

[MikkiJayne]

Replaced the CV boot and put the suspension back together:





I'm now stuck on the headlight level sensor as the 20" cars have a different arm to the others, the car doesn't have one, they are NLA, and I don't have any left. This means its probably time to print a new bracket for use with the balljointed arms I've been making...

25 hours

Parts used:

PS hoses (refurb, £200)
PS hose brackets (used)
NSF upper rear arm (used)
NSF lower rear arm (used)
NSF wheel bearing (used)
CV boot (£12)
Suspension brace (used)

[Ronin]

As far as replacing front control arms, do you only ever change only the faulty ones or do you change them as a lot?

Some say if new and old arms are mixed, the new ones will wear quicker.

[strummagnet]

Originally Posted by Ronin

As far as replacing front control arms, do you only ever change only the faulty ones or do you change them as a lot?

Some say if new and old arms are mixed, the new ones will wear quicker.

When I replaced all mine I noticed the top links were in better condition than the lowers but for piece of mind I did the lot with Meyle HD, with the exception of the ARB links... used Lemforder for those

[MikkiJayne]

Originally Posted by Ronin

As far as replacing front control arms, do you only ever change only the faulty ones or do you change them as a lot?

Some say if new and old arms are mixed, the new ones will wear quicker.

When I'm doing it properly I will normally change all of them, because its a false economy not to. Right now on this one I want to get it through an MoT with the minimum expenditure of time and cash so I can drive it about and see what else it needs, hence fitting a single used arm.

It will get a full set of Meyle HD in due course, but since the other pinch bolt is stuck thats an extra load of work that doesn't need doing for the specific target at this point.

Not the usual approach, but this is not a usual project

[Ronin]

Thanks. I'll be getting a whole set then