Build ~ October 2002

Tuesday, just re-profiled a weld at edge of pedal box support, to make the battery shelf sit neater. In truth this was just a ten minute fill in while the oil was draining out of my Rover.

Actually made it to the garage tonight, and painted the small patches I previously attacked with the grinder, also carried on preparing the inner ali panels to fit. Feel the need to start attaching things.

My diff, courtesy of Classic Conversions. 7" 3.14:1 with Quaife LSD. Hopefully will be the dogs danglies.

My differential arrived from Classic Conversions today, it was so well wrapped it took 10 minutes to get into it. From the outside they appear to have done a nice job, even removing the rear mounting lug for me. Spent a little while drilling holes for the ali panels, surprised how long this is taking me.

Left work on time on Friday with the express intention of fitting the diff, sounds easy doesn't it. Well it took Dad and I fours hours in total. A couple of times we nearly threw in the towel, it appears the chassis rings which the bushes slide into are welded in the wrong place. First attempt we started with the top bolts, followed by back lowers, but that left the front lowers about 3mm out of alignment.

The Diff Is In!, and never to be allowed out again.

Well after dinner we tried the reverse, got the front two bolts in first, then went for the easiest looking hole next. This ended up being up the offside front to back, then repeating on the nearside. It was a major struggle, forcing the diff about using ratchet straps and even a 'Spanish Windlass'. I seriously hope it never has to come out again, it would be impossible with fuel tank and bodywork in place. So it is probably good news that it was professionally reconditioned by Classic Conversions.

Instead of using the multitude of washers Dax supply, a friend (thanks Nigel's Father In Law) had some 17mm spacers made up in stainless. As for bolts, of the three unlabelled bags of cap head bolts that Dax send, one of these has a total of 10 bolts, 4nylocs and a handful of washers. To fit the diff I used the following bolts;

	Port (Nearside)	Starboard (Offside)
Lowers (Front)	70mm Bolt & Spacer	70mm Bolt & Spacer
Lowers (Rear)	80mm Bolt & 1 Washer	80mm Bolt & 1 Washer
Tops	100mm Bolt & Spacer	80mm Bolt & 1 Washer

Washers mentioned are between diff and bush, all six had washers outside the bush. So from that bag we have 4 60mm left, as yet I don't know what these are for, but a guess might be that it is different for the 7½ diff.

Saturday was an early start and a drive to 'Fords Only Breakers' at Swindon to collect a rear subframe from an XR4x4. Helpful chaps, also split it into three bits for me to make it easier to get home. Thing is I already have a diff, so that's now going spare. On the way home also picked up some rivnuts and bolts and ordered the new wheel bearings.

When tried to take the hub nut off, found none of our big sockets to be big enough, so back to town for a 40mm socket. Got home to find this too small, back to town again. Swapped it for a 41mm, £3 extra, can you believe it £10 for a socket. Went to try the hub nut and found the sockets drive was ¾, I only have a ½ wrench, damn. So all I did was clean off some of the initial clag and take CV joints of inboard ends of driveshafts.

Sunday brought a more productive day, managing to borrow a ½to¾ converter the hub nuts were "gently" persuaded to come off. To stop the hub from turning a coal chisel was driven between disc and pad, to hold the frame on the ground, a huge oak gate post, Mum and Dad all on top, while I jumped up and down on the end of a scaffold pole. Ended up with a large pile of junk.

A-frame, dedion and trailing arms fitted.

I then turned to assembling the dedion tube and trailing arms. This was much more rewarding as it is great to see how something other than ali panels on the car. Sadly could not do the shockers, as Dax didn't send me the springs they promised, oh well maybe next week.

Also discovered what another bag of bolts was for, hence another table coming up;

Contents	Use
2 big Nyloc Nuts & 2 large security washers	For top end of rear shocks
2 x 110mm bolts + nylocs (hex head)	Connect A Frame to dedion, through bushes.
4 x 60mm bolts + nylocs (hex head)	Trailing Arms
8 x 50mm bolts + nylocs + washers (cap head)	Bearing carriers
2 x 50mm bolts + nylocs (hex head)	For bottom end of rear shocks

Tip ~ Tape pads on the horizontal bars beneath the dedion tube to protect the chassis.

Ended the weekend with a really good tidy up. The picture shows what is being kept from the rear subframe, compared with my growing pile of junk above.

Got the diff oil during Monday lunchtime and filled it this evening, better to do it now why I remember. Then spent a while with the wire brush on the donor parts.

On Wednesday got my own socket drive converter and spent a bit more time cleaning up the donor parts.

Thursday and I finally managed to get the first of the bearing outers removed. Also decided that one of the CV joints is definitely knackered, have to find how much a replacement is.

Tip ~ Use a blowtorch for about five minutes to heat the bearing carrier then drift out the bearing outers. There are two, separated by a ridge in the bearing carrier, therefore you can't push both through one way.

Dad collected from the local motor factors the CV Gaiters and Wheel Bearings that I ordered last week. Also managed to get Hub Nuts and a new CV joint, the total came to £108 that's nearly as much as the sub frame cost and I have not started on the callipers yet.

Seats have arrived, I reckon they look great.

Also a big box arrived from Dax. The seats have been corrected to the colour layout I originally requested, couldn't resist putting one in the car. The springs arrived too, these slotted onto the shock absorbers easily, but the manual does not state which spring rate (300 or 375) goes on front or back. As for the headlamp shells, poor effort. The top edge has a deep defect and the gelcoat colour is thin in places, I think I will have to send them back.

Phoned Dax, Simon immediately knew the answer to the springs. They must get asked this every week. So why don't they put it in the manual. Armed with the information they were easy to fit, however, I then pondered whether I would be able to reach the shock absorbers adjuster. It was facing the rear, but the CV joint and driveshaft will be there soon and it will be right behind the wheel. In the end I turned them round, so hopefully my hand can reach up from in front of the tyre to make the adjustments.

I then moved onto cleaning up more of the donor stuff and removing the second wheel bearing, much easier the second time.

On Sunday I managed to paint the driveshafts and the exposed part of the stub axles. We also started fitting the nearside transmission tunnel. Here I have decided to use rivnuts as it is extremely likely to be removed, but the mandral broke so rain stopped play.

Many hours done, but not that much to actually show for it. Hence the lack of pictures.

Tuesday evening fitted the passenger front footwell panel. Despite it all being prepared this took a rather long time, so never got to do the nearside panel.

Wednesday was also slow, the new rivnut mandral has arrived, so fitted those and loosly fitted the nearside transmission panel. It is in need of little bit more "persuasion" but it is not that bad. Also offered up the rear bulkhead and one of the bulkhead side panels or "ears" as I call them. This included making a hole for the head of the trailing arm bolt.

A film has come back from the developers, so the other evenings I have been adding some pictures to this website ready for a long overdue update.

I collected some new collars for the CV gaitors to fit to and a new lobro joint bolt (one of the donors was a hex head). So I think I now have everything to assemble the rear transmission.

My bearing carriers arrived back with the new bearings pressed in (thanks Nigel), so these and the new collars were painted today. I also fitted the nearside cockpit side. As shown in the accompanying picture. I have not decided whether to fit a stereo yet, so I have lead some speaker cable (cheers Nick) behind this panel. Therefore if I ever want speakers here, I need only cut the hole and pick up the cable.

I would like to fit one of the 'ears' (Dax call them 'rear bulkhead side panels'), however, I don't know whether they should also rivet to the diagonal round tube at the top. I guess it also depends on how the rear tub fixes. I think I will have to ask the 'Dax List'.

Footwell panels now bolted in, still need to figure out how to fill a few gaps.

Spent a few hours on Sunday, trial fitting the drivers side transmission panel. I have elected to use rivnuts for these so they are easily removable. With the complex shapes it has proved tricky to make sure all the bolts screw in easily, which is important as in future these will be relatively inaccessible down the narrow footwells.

Very little has been done this week due to work being horrendously busy. I did however make it into to the garage for 45 minutes on Thursday to bolt on the rear bearing carriers, along with the stub axles and wheel flanges. Friday just saw a bit of cleaning of the CV joints, so they can hopefully be installed this weekend. Sorry for the poor focus on these snaps.

First job was to re-assemble the driveshafts, with the new gaitors and 1 new CV joint. Part way through fitting the nearside one, a bolt sheered off in the diff cup. BU**ER. Removed the driveshaft and tried to drill the bolt, but the shear was very uneven so difficult to get it started centrally. Took a bit of a break and mixed cement for Dads latest project. Then noticed that about 1 thread of bolt had appeared through the hole and I could just get pliers on it, and manage about a 25º degree turn. Much persistence followed and the bolt came out, now just need to purchase another. The other driveshaft went on much better.

That done opened the brake pipe kit and started working out what where. By the end of the day, the nearside rear pipe (union to caliper) was in position. Feeling pleased with this little job (well it is my first ever attempt at bending brake pipes) retired for the day.

The first brake pipe bend I have ever tried.

Tip ~ Careful use of a suitably large socket and your thumbs has given a nice even radius curve. I just hope fluid still flows!

Sunday's work was a bit of bonus as storm force winds cancelled our trip up North to see the family. Did some more brake pipe and fitted the offside inner side panel.

Absolutely nothing, work way too busy to enable me to get home early enough to then make it into the garage. Oh and a night out up in London.