195 replies to this topic

[BusheyTrader]

unlike the bodyshell, there's no rot in the front subframe which is now bare.


The nearside upper arm and its spindle / pin were rusted together as one. 2 weeks soaking in penetrating fluid had no effect so I cut the ends of the pin off. The roller bearing inside the upper arm looks like it seized and collapsed many years ago, so the arm may well be scrap. There's no evidence of grease at either end so it may have been neglected in its last years on the road.




The offside upper arm's pin was tapped out relatively easily with a drift. There was some brown dry gummy stuff which was probably grease back in the day keeping the rust away. I don't know what profile the rubber cones should have but this is one I pulled out.



I finally managed to remove the radius arms pins from the rear subframe after they were also soaked in penetrating fluid for 2 weeks. Like the front subframe, the rear one only has some very small patches of surface rust.

Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 16 February 2015 - 08:29 AM.

[BusheyTrader]

There were 4 bolts that sheared when I removed and dismantled everything from the rear subframe. Using the "weld a nut to the top of the stud" approach I managed to remove one of them. Despite the threads on this forum and on YouTube the other 3 remain steadfast.

Here's one of the little b*st*rds. This involved drilling down the centre of the stud about 10mm and filling it with weld and welding the nut on top of it.



Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 22 February 2015 - 01:08 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

I went down a slightly different route of welding the nut to the stud. I had trouble getting the nut to stay welded to the broken bolt and stay in shape to fit a spanner or socket. I reckoned the nut needed to be shallower to maximise the heat in the weld and could be torqued up with a pair of grips. I bought some steel M8 wing nuts.........

Mig at maximum setting. I placed a button of weld on top of the broken bolt then put the wing nut on top of it and welded it together. I then ran a large bead of weld across the top linking the two wings together - white hot. After several attempts where the wing nuts broke off the broken bolts, they held up and out came the bolts - simples.

One b*stard broken bolt.


Wing nut welded to bolt


Waiting for the grips. Will the weld hold or Not?



Bolts removed from subframes plus nuts where the weld failed.


Adam

[Ben_O]

good stuff!

[BusheyTrader]

I borrowed no.1 son's pressure washer and cleaned the mud and cr4p off the subframes this morning. Much like the rest of the car, most of the corrosion is on the driver's side. I always thought the nearside caught the mud and puddles whilst the offside on the crown of the road was better off. Not a bit of it with Spike. He seems to have led a hard life as a one family from new car in a little Bedfordshire village.

Front subby

And again


Rear subby

And again


There's more surface rust on the rear subframe than first thought but it still looks fairly good. Both are booked in for blasting followed by a cost of zinc rich primer. I was going to brush on Bilthamber Electrox myself but as it could be up to 2 weeks before I was able to tackle it the blasters will spray it. Once I've top coated the primer (colour to be decided) I'll spray Dynax into the box sections.

Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 03 March 2015 - 11:15 AM.

[alchall]

I always thought the nearside caught the mud and puddles whilst the offside on the crown of the road was better off. Not a bit of it with Spike.

I've found exactly the same with mine NS is in better shape than OS front to back, perhaps the puddles actually keep things clean on the NS.

[Ben_O]

I think you might find that one half is better because of the oil sludge that builds up from the common leak areas. It protects the metal!

 

Mine was like it too. One side was dry and rusty and the other was oily slimy but in good condition

 

Ben

[alchall]

Yes, that would make much more sense of course

[BusheyTrader]

Yes, the front subframe's nearside had a better coating of oily slime than the other side. The rear was just covered in mud all over.

The subframes are now with a blaster / powder coater. After blasting they will be sprayed in a zinc primer, probably two pack but either way suitable for painting.

My previous B&D powerfile was worked to death filing down welds. This just arrived. Having an inline motor should make it easier for tight areas, I hope.



Adam

[BusheyTrader]

I've dismantled the front hubs to refurbish them and once again Spike showed his Jekyll and Hyde side.

On one side the hub nut came undone easily and the splines slid out from the hub. The other hub nut wouldn't shift. Luckily I found an old school garage near Bushey arches run by a guy called Storm. His workshop had a classic Mini, a Morris Mini and a Fiat Topolino being worked on. A minute with a windy gun and he had the hub nut and the dome shaped ball joint nuts all off. Sorted.

Front suspension broken down

[BusheyTrader]

The firm who blasted the subframes said they were in A1 condition. I painted them yesterday. Finally I can see something in finished condition after much cutting and welding.






Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 11 March 2015 - 07:47 AM.

[BusheyTrader]

With advice from the forum, I now have genuine Timken bearings in the front hubs after drifting the races in. A very tight fit so no issues there. I placed each bearing in a small clear poly bag with some Comma wheel bearing grease and worked the grease into the bearing from outside the bag. Nice grease free hands, simples.....

I cleaned the outside of the hubs and treated them to a coating of Electrox and black chassis paint except for any mating surfaces. They're now both in poly bags until needed.

I had issues splitting the gearbox casing from the engine block. The PO had an an engine rebuild done and the mechanics hadn't used any gaskets, just large volumes of dark blue silicone sealant. Eventually I broke the seal and gravity let the gearbox drop from the engine. Flywheel and transfer casing had to come off beforehand.

Edited by BusheyTrader, 29 March 2015 - 12:49 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

The bodyshell is now in my parent's garage as my tatty stand alone one is about to be demolished and replaced. Boxes of parts are now in various places....... I'm going to build up the various assemblies so progress is made whilst the body is away. At least that's the plan.

[BusheyTrader]

I picked up this large vice on eBay otherwise I can't torque up anything off the car that requires some force. Smaller items were going for twice the price but it was worth travelling west of Reading for this bad boy.


I had a look at the front brake callipers. After cleaning all the road muck off them I was left with these rusty items.

Although rusty on the outside they were 100% corrosion free on the inside The fluid was bright and clean and the seals were in good shape although the pistons were pitted on the exposed edges. Underneath the outer seal there was a fine bright orange powder (rust) when I removed it. I've reassembled the calipers and put them to one side for rebuilding at a later date for spares.

The front hubs now have the wheel bearings, swivel pins, callipers, steering arms, CV joint, gaiter and hub nut torqued up to spec. I used the big washer method to seat the bearings first. The split pin isn't in as I can't get even more torque to move the nut up in line - the temporary bench moves. It'll have to wait till the hubs are on the car. Photos of shiny metal to follow as the hub assemblies are deep in the shed. I have to half empty it to get at the workbench.

Even though I refurbished the dust shields, I've left them off after all the posts advising against them. Gaiters were fitted using this £4.00 tool off eBay to tighten the clips. They look a bit Heath Robertson but holding tight.
http://www.theminifo...or-these-clips/

Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 16 May 2015 - 10:33 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

A profile photo of the tightened gaiter clip on the CV joint, there's not much clearance from the hub.


New shiny discs, calipers and swivel pins on the hubs. Timkens and pins greased up. The brakes are going to have a hard life so decided to fit new calipers. Copper grease on all appropriate nuts and bolts so no wrestling with seized fasteners in the future.




Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 16 May 2015 - 10:37 PM.