seank90, Back to cleaning

No i didnt, wish i did though... I was saving since January for it Dead chuffed with it now.. Ireland is worse than the UK for weather it can be terrible here. Rust is a massive issue , At lease with this now i can paint everything properly and have it all well protected.

Thanks

Cheers roy!

I know the feeling trust me. It all takes time and patience but you will build up your collection if you save a little every week.
Ya! that's my mig, really good one also... wouldn't trade it for anything, its worth its weight in gold.

I think ill be leaving the respraying to the pro's. but i will be painting my engine bay and the under-body! but i can now use Air tools, and paint parts to stop them from fully rusting, No lotto ticket just a lot of saving for my compressor, Its a twin cylinder and fills up very fast! so dead happy... Just keep up the good work and your engine will get done, Do it yourself slowly and we can all help you out with advice if you get stuck

 

So today i was in a good mood and i wanted to finish off cleaning the engine bay and get it ready for stitch welding, i started by removing the two front brake calipers and i found out my wheel bearing on the passenger side was defo gone because it fell out into my hand as i was dismantling the hub... So new wheel bearing is to be got! I removed the brake caliper by the two seventeen bolts holing it into place, and i then removed the Ball joint and the hub just came out on either side




Then just disconnected the flexible brake line from the steel line and the calipers came out!



I then took off the drop link from the anti roll bar.



This ment the wishbone was free to be removed. To remove the wishbone there is a large 22mm bolt on one end of the wishbone and a u clamp holding on the bushings on the other end.





All placed in a box and left to one side for later!



I wanted to remove the brake lines also, to do this just push in the rubber grommet on the brake hose and open off each end and with a bit of movement it should all come out.




I removed the vacuum hose from the brake booster.



And with a bit more dismantling i managed to remove all the brake lines from the engine bay.



Next was to remove the Brake master and booster, there was only 3 bolts holding on the brake master in place, one was very awkward and had to get the extension form the ratchet onto it... But it came out.





Now i removed the booster, There are 4 nuts holding it in place on the brake pedal, once these are removed the Booster is free.




Now for the clutch master! I found to get to the hidden bolt at the top it was best if i just dropped the steering wheel, I had to take it out anyway.



Engine bay clear!


Time to remove the wiper linkage! To do this the wiper motor had to be removed, This was just 4 10mm bolts and then pry off the connector on the inside and its free!




Then i popped off the black cover underneath the windscreen and this allowed me to pull off the plastic covers over the wiper linkage, I toke off the 3 bolts around the wipers holder on each side and i was then able to pull out the linkage.





On inspection , there was no rust in the wiper linkage section... result! :smug




Engine bay is now fully clear, So let the stitch welding begin... After i remove most the sealer! syduck

 

Thanks :ewink



Just for people who don't know what stitch welding is , Over time the panels on the car shift and move and stretch over time and this causes the car to loose rigidity , Flex then comes into play and the suspension cant do its job to its full potential. While not fully noticeable in everyday driving once pressure comes on in the corners it can be felt, By doing a method called stitch welding it can restore the solidness in cornering in the car and increase rigidity. This allows the suspension to work to its full potential and removes alot of the chassis flex. It also increases the feel in the steering.

To do it it involves removing the seam sealer from the seams were one panel meets another, By making an inch of weld every 2 or 3 inches it pulls the panels together and reduces flex.

My weapons of choice for removing the seam sealer were these, A wire wheel on a grinder and a heat gun and a wire brush.




I start by removing the sealant and cleaning off the area were I'm about to weld and make sure its all removed. Its impossible to get it all completely off without any solvents so i did the best i could.




Here you can see how when the seam sealer was removed it reveled the gaps which have formed in the panel over time.




all these gaps hold water and this causes rust. The seam sealer does a Ok job of keeping it out, but not perfect. You must start welding at the part that has no gap and work your way towards the actual gap. The gap must be clamped closed to make sure it has a tight seal. then weld it up.





Thats all there is to it, There is alot of time involved but its worth it in the long run of the car , It improves everything , but don't weld too close together because you can pull the chassis off and the handling will be terrible. More updates later! :razz

 

No steve... its only done in rally cars, race cars etc etc... or for people that request it. It turns the feeling on the road of the car back to the day it came out of the factory.

Im only doing the front of the car. As in around the engine bay. stiffen up the front end alot! The worst part about a cage it you have to look at a big ugly cage. And in a project that you want to look standard this doesnt help at all.

Nope! no st185 cyclinder, just the ABS master from the 162.

 

Thanks jon, means alot!

 

big enough do you think for bigger brakes?

 

booster is the same, were on about the master cylinder.

 

was yours ABS?

no problem bud!

 

so what booster have i got?