Very inspiring MEC, well done. The whole lot is looking mint now, and should send you off in good stead for the future enjoyment of the car with much less worry. I'm very jealous of you being in this position now. It really makes me want to pull my thumb out and get the same thing done on LEX. One day.....one day.
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 9:43 am
by dmc4087
Great work there. That fan/bracket setup looks the job. Is the bracket from a sierra too?
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 10:11 am
by mec
dmc4087 wrote:Great work there. That fan/bracket setup looks the job. Is the bracket from a sierra too?
Yes thats correct the fans come mounted on that frame from the company
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 1:30 pm
by jerzybondov
Mec, this is outstanding!!! Did I read right that you made those brake lines by hand?
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 2:37 pm
by mec
jerzybondov wrote:Mec, this is outstanding!!! Did I read right that you made those brake lines by hand?
Hi Jez, thanks !
Yes that's correct, they are made from a material called Kunifer which is a mixture of Nickel and copper, this is a lot stronger than just copper alone and will not corrode or fracture, its a little harder to work with but a lot nicer end result. I created a lot of the bends by using 2 sockets in a vice spaced just enough for the pipe to fit between and used the curve of the socket to make the bend without kinking it, this gave me very close to original bends that the pipe bending tool I've got cant do
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 3:08 pm
by cis6409
Stunning work mec Trojan! Love the capturing of the original chassis number in pen great thinking.. Have to get mine moving along now to, great to see
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 9:09 pm
by IGB
Great work Mec well done.
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 10:11 pm
by DMC1983
Simply awesome stuff. Its a level i could only dream of really.
Re: MEC'S EPIC RESTORATION
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:21 pm
by mec
Hi All
Update time...
1st was the master cylinder, the pins we seized in so new ones required ...
20190522_121751 (Medium).jpg (184.36 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
the old one looked to have been leaking for a while which can be seen once the reservoir was removed
20190527_150142 (Medium).jpg (211.75 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
new one assembled with the original reservoir
20190527_152154 (Medium).jpg (181.65 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
Installed..
20190527_154126 (Medium).jpg (101.04 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
Stainless A4 80 grade bolts ordered for the body to be bolted down with, the tensile strength of these are almost the same as steel so should be more than strong enough
20190525_111556 (Medium).jpg (151.6 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
The alternator bracket was cracked so I welded this up for extra strength, didnt get a pic of it done but this was before...
20190529_230006 (Medium).jpg (229.67 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
I also took the starter motor and solenoid apart and repainted them..
20190602_214630 (Medium).jpg (228.45 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
MMM a few wiring guesses required and some remote phone support from Mr T sorted that
20190601_200006 (Medium).jpg (189.21 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
20190602_223732 (Medium).jpg (97.41 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
I then turned my attention to the steering, connected the wheels to the column, i 1st removed the column and fitted a new column bush, then started connecting the other end up with the cv joints, the clearance between the lower knuckle and the frame was very very tight so i decided a little modification was required...
20190604_211910 (Medium).jpg (179.04 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
I also used a half nut and modded the end of the bolt for a bit more clearance
20190605_093202 (Medium).jpg (164.09 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
Fuel sender was next, one of the wires had snapped completely and the middle one was hanging by a thread so i cut these off flush and managed to drill out what was left of the wire and re crimp it
20190605_101041 (Medium).jpg (224.48 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
20190605_101958 (Medium).jpg (196.22 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
20190605_102947 (Medium).jpg (187.06 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
Unfortunately after doing all this the sender still doesn't work so a new one is now required
So then Fluids time ...
20190603_104111 (Medium).jpg (201.44 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
had a small issue doing the gearbox as i didn't have the right square socket to fit si i went to the local motor factor and improvised with a brake caliper wind back tool which has the right size square in the centre
20190606_212407 (Medium).jpg (104.44 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
Here's a video of the 1st start up in 8 months..
Bit smokey as you would expect from all the rubbish thats probably got in it whilst its been apart but this soon wore off
So the BIG question, (some of you will already know the answer to this)....
DID I MAKE IT TO NORFOLK FOR EUROTEC ???
well after spending 9 days solid in the garage, most days were 14 hour days, i was down to the wire, however at 9pm on Friday 7th June....
20190607_211410 (Medium).jpg (337.6 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
YES I MADE IT !!!!!!!!! The welcome i had from everyone was quite overwhelming !! It was Epic !!
To say that i was shocked and stunned was the understatement of the year !! the car ran perfectly, we found a small fuel leak on Saturday which just required 2 new copper washers (thanks Mr T) and i developed a random squeak on the way home from the suspension but other than that all good !
20190608_190848 (Medium).jpg (196.38 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
20190608_191805 (Medium).jpg (194.74 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
I got an action shot on the way home of the mileage ticking over to 76k
20190609_153111 (Medium).jpg (97.45 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
And home safe ...
20190609_162540 (Medium).jpg (219.54 KiB) Viewed 3863 times
The car is by no means finished, half of it was missing in Norfolk so still work to do before the Voyage to Hamburg !
I would like to say thank you to everyone who has kept me going with the nice reply's on here, its been a monumental task for me, also everyone who has helped me along the way, Alex for doing a simply superb job on the chassis, Arran for the constant supply of parts ! , Mr T, Dan Stacey for phone support and trailer loan, Darren for the advice on my initial lifting bracket design, i apologise if I've missed anyone by name but Just THANK YOU TO EVERYONE !! I really really do appreciate all the help I've had from you guys