Bordfunker Posted December 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 So much for getting any welding done on Friday, or anything else for that matter as I ended up having to work, which was a bummer, and not very popular with the household authorities! Yesterday I ended up going into Oxford with Mrs B, so no work done then either, which just left today to actually get some work done. Now the plan for today was to finish cleaning the diff up, and draining it of oil, ahead of applying a coat of rust stabilizer. Now as we all know, no plan survives contact with reality, particularly when that reality involves a 50 year old Triumph! Draining the diff was the easy bit, followed up by further clean up with Gunk and a selection of brushes and scrapers. With that out of the way, I thought I'd remove the diff rear mounting bushes, how difficult can that be? The first central steel tube came out with a few whacks of the hammer, however that is where the 'easy' stopped. I was going to use my usual technique with washers, studding and sockets as per the set up below: Slight problem, I couldn't find my usual selection of studding, I've put it away somewhere very safe, so safe I can't find it! Cue hunting through the garage for another length of studding, which I finally found as a left over from when I used it for the rear over riders, however the ends were a bit chewed up where they had been cut with an angle grinder. Thankfully Santa had given me a tap & die set for Xmas, which was swiftly applied to the studding, rendering it fit for use once again. Thank you Santa! As you've probably already guessed, it didn't work, the socket just buried itself in the rubber, and didn't cause the outer metal sleeve to move a millimetre! Time to carve out the rubber, and break out the junior hacksaw. Rubber duly removed. Hacksaw time. I cut a slot into the collar with the hacksaw, being careful not to cut into the differential casting, before attacking it with a screwdriver and a hammer. I ended up snapping one of my oldest screwdrivers trying to get this git out. It did come flying out when the corrosion finally relinquished it's grip, and the collar went flying across the garage, leaving me with one unobstructed hole at least! I then started on the other side, running into exactly the same issues, so the diff is now sitting on the bench awaiting another bout of hacksaw work. I did also do a bit of clean up on the rear of the chassis, but am now waiting on the spot blast gun to get into all the little nooks and crannies around the area of the diff. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 this is when you question did they really need doing anyway . tip cut it in two halves , any bit of saw contact with the diff casting wont affect the fit of the new bushes Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 They definitely needed doing as the rubber had gone all spongy and started to deform. The aim is to replace all of the rear bushes with polybushes, however I notice that the polybushes for the rear diff mounts don’t come with an outer sleeve. Does this mean they don’t need one, or is the expectation that you re-use the old ones, which could be an issue in my case! At least the spot blaster turned up today, so hopefully I might get to play with it either later today or tomorrow. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 They don't need one; I posted a photo in another thread showing the set I fitted and they're a straight push-in fit. You could try the red Polybushes but they're firmer and more difficult to press into place, and I don't really believe the extra stiffness is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Colin thanks for that, that looks a lot less hassle. I went with blue polybushes on the front of the Herald as I figured ‘comfort’ more appropriate for what is effectively a late 50s saloon! Having said that I did toy with the idea of fitting a lowering block, just half an inch, at the back. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 With these type of bushes i bought a load of sacraficial sockets from car boot sales and shows (never more than 50p) and ground them down to fit the exact size of the outer steel bush and then did the same as you Karl. You only need to grind a small amount off as once they are on the move they generally come out with a whack It is surprising how much you can do with old sockets because the thought of ruining one of your expensive ones stops you doing it. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 43 minutes ago, poppyman said: With these type of bushes i bought a load of sacraficial sockets from car boot sales and shows (never more than 50p) and ground them down to fit the exact size of the outer steel bush and then did the same as you Karl. You only need to grind a small amount off as once they are on the move they generally come out with a whack It is surprising how much you can do with old sockets because the thought of ruining one of your expensive ones stops you doing it. Tony. I use metric ones, no intention of ruining good Imperial ones; Cash Converters sold me a bag of 64 sockets with two socket wrenches for £6.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 The bulk of my sockets are from a Halfords set that I bought for my first car almost 30 years ago. I guess those are my good ones! The two in the photo are metrics from when I used to own a Beetle, so semi-sacrificial. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 I did'nt think cash converters sold tools? I will pop in next time. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Just now, poppyman said: I did'nt think cash converters sold tools? I will pop in next time. Tony. I’d always suspected that Cash Converters was where ‘tools’ ended up! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 1 hour ago, Bordfunker said: The bulk of my sockets are from a Halfords set that I bought for my first car almost 30 years ago. I guess those are my good ones! The two in the photo are metrics from when I used to own a Beetle, so semi-sacrificial. Karl I have a socket set that I bought more than 35years ago that is still going - was very mistreated in my youth - went through several ratchets doing up the rear hub nuts on my Beetle - 6' scaffold pole over the handle was the usual method! I now use a lot of the Halfords tools - the Pro ones - because they have a lifetime guarantee and are actually very good - the torque wrenches are made by Norbar from memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 3 hours ago, poppyman said: I did'nt think cash converters sold tools? I will pop in next time. Tony. They are in fact just about the only 'charity' or second-hand shop that does; none of the rest do for safety reasons. Always a lot of drills and electric saws in my local, plus the occasional battery charger or polisher. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 3 hours ago, Anglefire said: I have a socket set that I bought more than 35years ago that is still going - was very mistreated in my youth - went through several ratchets doing up the rear hub nuts on my Beetle - 6' scaffold pole over the handle was the usual method! I now use a lot of the Halfords tools - the Pro ones - because they have a lifetime guarantee and are actually very good - the torque wrenches are made by Norbar from memory. I’ve still got the bloody massive Allen key in my toolbox for removing the sump plug on the Beetle. I can remember acquiring a length of scaffolding pole for the rear hubs on the Beetle, I have no idea where that got to. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 lol. Yes mine came from the local housing estate that was being built at the time. Both my friend mother and nine thought it was the others 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 Having finally fallen out of bed at about 11 this morning, and established that Mrs B didn't want to go anywhere on New Years Day, an opportunity presented itself to go play in the garage with my new toys, but which ones? Do I use the new puller to remove the drive shaft flange from the diff and replace the leaking seal, or break out the spot blaster and attack the chassis? Obviously I went for the noisy option, media blasting! The diff mounting point on the left has been partially blasted, while that on the right hasn't been touched yet. There followed several hours of zapping everything with the blaster, and generally getting a feel for how to get the best out of it, which left me with this. Looks almost new! I gave up on using the bag that came with the spot blaster, and just used a plastic container under the pick up tube, which was much less hassle to reload, and just went around the rear of the chassis cleaning off the old paint and rust. I'm loving the blaster, as it makes removing rust and paint from nooks and crannies a lot easier, and leaves a keyed finish which is ideal for the epoxy mastic primer that I will be using. It was particularly good on the insides of the uprights for the rear shocks, remember this? Twenty minutes with the blaster and I had this. Well chuffed with that! Overall that was a good start to the year, now I just need to work out how to wear a dust mask, ear defenders, goggles and glasses without my glasses steaming up! Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted January 1, 2019 Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 How's about one of these? Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Blasters are great! One word of caution - that "keyed finish" is also ideal for developing new surface rust in no time. If you can't blast the whole thing in one go (which you clearly can't with a whole chassis) I'd give it a coat of something on the bit you have just done before proceeding to the next bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 When I take large parts such as wheels or bodytubs to the shotblaster he always asks if I want them primed as well, or left for myself to do. His priming is a bit rough and ready, being simply a barrier to rust and not very cosmetic, so if I want to do it myself I need to make sure it's a dry day, long enough to get the bits back home where I can coat them properly. The exposed metal will rust amazingly along the eight-mile journey home. Anything I blast at home is coated immediately but the finished item is often like new. You can't get that effect with a wire brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Tony, if I used that I'd have to do all my blasting lying down with my head on the garage floor! Rob, I'm lucky that my garage is amazingly dry, not sure why, and I don't seem to have an issue with flash rusting. Having said that the aim is to get the back end of the chassis done over the next couple of weeks and then apply the epoxy mastic primer. Colin, I know exactly what you mean about the finish, the wire brush, even in a grinder just polishes the rust in any pits, whereas the blaster just removes it. The downside of blasting is the need to sweep up the media afterwards and then sieve it before you can re-use it, but at least it keeps the costs down. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 When I spoke to a specialist restorer in the autumn, he advised me to brush on 2k epoxy primer as soon as the metal is exposed and on no account to leave standard primer (say zinc oxide) overnight as it would absorb and hold moisture which would cause top coat blistering. The 2k stuff is waterproof and if done thouroughly will protect inefinitely if untouched. I suspect the blistering on my bonnet and elsewhere was caused by 'damp primer', but all those years ago I didn't know any better, neither did the guy who did the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Normal primer is next to useless as protection, if anything it’s probably worse than doing nothing, as at least then you can see the rust if you don’t paint it! As you can see from the pics I still need to give a number of areas another going over, so once is done, I’ll apply a coat of epoxy mastic. I did think about painting it with a brush, but in order to get into all the nooks and crannies I figure spraying is a better option even if a bit more hassle. That will have to wait until Sunday, weather permitting, as Saturday I’m taking number 2 son back to uni in Lancashire. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 I only managed a couple of hours in the garage this weekend due to yesterday's trip to Lancashire to take youngest son back to university, and then having to sort out the remains of the Xmas tree, and all the other things I didn't get to do yesterday. After last week's tribulations with goggles & glasses steaming up, I purchased a face visor type mask from Screwfix for the princely sum of £7.99, therefore time for the obligatory selfie! Looking like a cut price Darth Vader I think! Happy to say, that while it looks a bit ridiculous, it does actually work very well. All of which allowed me to get on with the media blasting. This is the passenger side upright, looking pretty manky. And here it is after the attentions of the spot blaster. These are the types of areas that I specifically bought the spot blaster for, and am really glad that I did, as it works a treat. I then went back to the rear diff mounts, as these need further work. The driver's side is pretty much done here, but the passenger side still needs more clean up, which will have to wait for next week. Next week I'll get under the chassis and do the box sections where the front of the diff mounts, as well as the underside of the main chassis members, after which I'll apply rust inhibitor and epoxy mastic primer. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 It's Saturday, I don't have any children to drive anywhere, and Mrs B wants to spend the afternoon sewing, which freed me up to go spend some quality time with the Herald. Yes, more of the same, I'm afraid, blasting rust and crud out of the Triumph's nooks and crannies, starting with the top hat section above the rear diff mounts. Access here is very difficult, especially with the chassis at normal height, so I hoisted the rear of the chassis up on a couple of trestles, giving me more room to work. As a result I was able to get a lot of the crud out of this section, but there is still more to do. I also got into the front diff mount on the passenger side, getting that nice and clean, as well as the inner chassis rail between it and the diff bridge. With the chassis up in the air I attacked the underside with an angle grinder and a wire brush to take off the last remaining area of under seal before I gave it a blasting, starting on the passenger side. 2 minutes with the angle grinder left me with one of those 'Oh bugger' moments, and here's why. From the leaf debris visible through the holes, it's obvious that the chassis has rotted from the inside out. With my heart in my mouth I did the same on the driver's side, but in this case there were no unwelcome drainage holes, just solid looking steel. I then blasted the passenger side again, leaving me with this. I am going to have to cut out the rot and carefully weld in patch using some 2mm steel, as there are no repair patches for this area, just the inner curved section. Before I packed up for the evening I thought I'd do something more fun so cleaned up one of the shock absorbers with the blaster. Before & after. I am quite pleased with that. In the midst of doing all this I had a visit from a neighbour, who hearing the compressor running had come round to see what I was up to and introduce himself. Turns out he's restoring a car too, in this case a DeLorean! That was a surprise. Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Karl thats the old nutshell the outside is easier than how you clean and protect the aged box....... insides We made a very long lance to do some wild injecting in the chassis boxes Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Pete, it’s a pity Triumph didn’t do that when they built these cars. Once all the chassis paintwork was done I was going to inject all the box sections with wax, even more determined to do it after this. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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