On Page 3 we have fiting new Bushings, Chassis back to body, suspension, wheels, 5 stud hubes, 4 pot AP brakes, discs, Header tank, Steering rack, Plenum, Polishing Parts and Gearbox.
It was time now to fit the new wishbone bushes, I decided to go for the harder compound Red poly bushes from Superflex, this should help make the chassis a little sharper (certainly can’t be worse than the ones I removed anyway!). After fitting the wishbones (using new nuts) it was time to mate the chassis back with the body. I layed cardboard on the floor under the body and dragged the chassis under and in to place. With the aid of a few jacks and friend we got the chassis back in to the body. This was a milestone for me. To see your pride and joy in so many pieces can be quite worrying, now the major items were back together I was much happier.
While the chassis was away being blasted I removed the heat shields from the engine bay, they were well past their best by now anyway.
Now that all the bushes had been changed I decided it would be a half job to put the original dampers back on, they were the original items and at 10 years old were probably not performing as well as the day they left the factory. Choosing a damper to suit my needs took a while. I asked around after other peoples experiences with certain dampers and suppliers and eventually came to conclusion to use the latest generation of GAZ dampers. I went for the nickel coated option on the damper, 275lb rear springs and 325lb front springs. I may have to change the springs at a later date to suit the type of driving I do but I thought this to be a good starting point. I purchased the springs and dampers from Derek at absolutely Shocks. Recent reports from people suggest the dampers are very good; I can’t wait to find out.
My next step was to re new all the brake disc/pads and buy new tyres. But I’d always fancied a set of spider wheels in Anthracite, so I set about researching how to approach the task of converting my 4 stud hubs to 5 stud and at the same time bought a set of silver 16inch spiders with the intention of having them powder coated Anthracite.
| | | The Spiders were second hand but in great condition. But after weighing up the cost and hassle of having the wheels coated, hubs converted and buying new disc/pads and tyres all around I decided it was not for me. So I splashed out on a Spider conversion from the factory J They came with everything I needed: | |
Big discs (I have now painted the unswept area and inner centre part to prevent corrosion, but I don’t have a pic of it)
Here a pic showing the new 5 stud hub fitted with calliper adaptor bracket awaiting fitment of the calliper and with the disc and calliper fitted.
New bottom ball joints, track rod ends and top ball joint have been put on the front. The steering should feel better than new after all this work . I then proceeded to clean all of the parts that were going to be going back on the car: Header Tank Before and After, after a few hours of polishing.
Steering rack before and after. After cleaning,polishing and refitting to chassis (not the best pic, it had got a bit dirty by now and needs a wipe down)
Alternator before and After, fan and pulley powder coated, body polished, blue paint was awaiting a second coat in this picture Plenum and throttle linkage before Plenum and throttle linkage after,Linkage was powder coated and teh Plenum after alot of polishing.. Rocker cover before and after Polishing, of which I wasnt happy with so I sent it of to powder coated which I am Happier with the Finish. I then prepped a few parts ready for chroming but decided to have them powder coated as well
And a few more bits polished including the wiper motor that was machine polished.
| I also bought a few bits from ACT. As well as the bits above I also purchased a stainless exhaust system from Tim at ACT, I specced it to look totally standard but be completely straight through. Basically the same as having the silencer sleeved but instead of being sleeved it was made that way by JP. I needed a new exhaust (well would have soon looking at the state of the old system) anyway so this is why I went this route. My old silencer was already sleeved. | |
Me being me I wasn’t happy with how shiny the exhaust was so I set at polishing it up further.
The radiator and fans were looking a bit tired so I cleaned up and resprayed the rad and spent a lot of time cleaning the fans up. To finish them off I polished up the aluminium fan holders and spacers and used stainless stain cap head bolts to attach them (this is an area that is hardly seen in the car but I still had to do it!).
I painted the rebuilt gearbox in silver and topped it with POR 15 Glistern clear lacquer; this should provide a durable and easy to wash finish
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I fitted a complete new release arm and bearing assembly. Bottom pulley assembled with powder coated parts
It was now time to start the engine strip and see what I was dealing with. The engine was strong before removal without any poor running problems, and with only a very slight tap from one of the tappets when the engine was on over run after the throttle was blipped and this noise only occurred when the oil was very warm. Why rebuild then I hear you ask? Well the engine was out already sooo….. |
