388 replies to this topic

[stevemc32]

I tried the phosphoric rust converter on the old shifter housing and it didn't really look to do anything so I've just sanded the coffee pot a little more and hopefully it will be ok.  I used an epoxy metal substitute to fill the holes and it looks to have worked out alright.

 

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Got a coat of matt black onto the column tube and bracket and an aluminium etch primer onto the coffee pot.  Will have to get some spray putty onto it next to get rid of the all the sanding marks then think about a final coat colour.  Probably just a satin black I think for the column covers and steering wheel.

 

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[stevemc32]

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In Rod we Trust!

 

My chunk of delrin rod turned up tonight.  Hopefully I can turn it into a steering column lower bush tomorrow.

[stevemc32]

The Delrin rod is definitely a winner.

 

Didn't take much effort at all to turn up a lower bush though it did make a pretty big mess in the shed.

 

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I've cut a small recess on the bottom side for an oil seal to keep the dirt and water out.  Waiting for the seal to turn up in the mail.

 

The bush is held in place with the screws top and bottom that originally held the auto shifter gate.  Looks like it works well so far.

 

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Quick question that google couldn't really answer.  Does this type of acetal bushing need to be lubricated or is it best to run dry?

[stevemc32]

Nothing too exciting.  Shaft seal arrived today so I fitted it up to the bottom of the steering column lower bearing.

 

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Still haven't found any solid info on whether to lube the delrin bearing but I threw some Lithium grease at it anyway.  The seal should keep it dirt and water free.

 

[gad05]

Nice work Steve.

Cheers Graham.

[Heath]

In the LH/LX/UC models we can easily installed a sealed bearing on the column which is nice. 

 

Any idea how well the Delrin bush will work in comparison?

 

Nice work.

[orangeLJ]

I whacked a fine smear of vaso in there to be safe. Not that I've done a heap of kms, but it's still really nice to steer.

[stevemc32]

Good to hear the delrin bearing is working well orangeLJ.

 

Haven't had any real progress on the LJ for about a year now, still working on the house and carport so I can get it undercover and start on the body.

 

 

Hey Steve,

Hope the build is going well.

I was hoping to speak to you re your clutch cable set up.

Do you have a number I could call you on?

Thanks

 

Shoot me a PM Nath and I'll tell you all about the clutch.

[stevemc32]

Well about a year has passed, the Torana is waiting patiently and I'm still watching other builds move along.  No progress on the car unfortunately but there has finally been some movement on the carport project.

 

Hopefully not too much longer before the LJ has a home.

 

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[stevemc32]

Almost a year later and the bloke doing the structural steel for the carport went bankrupt so still no home for the Torana.  There's a chance the steel might come through so all is not lost just yet.

 

Still waiting patiently...

 

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[gtrboyy]

That sucks still not able to have the torrie sheltered.

 

Just noticed had something done similar on lc steering column years ago but without that bearing just turned down superpro bush in it's place.

[stevemc32]

Hmmm, long time no progress.

 

Long story short, the f-wit doing the steel for my carport took 7 grand off me, bankrupted his company and pissed off to Queensland without delivering any steel.  That was a pretty big hit to my motivation for both the house/carport works and the Torana build.  It was a good while ago so I'm over it and there's finally a little bit of shelter starting to form for the car.

 

I've moved away from the full rebuild plans as I just want to be driving it now so I've got a whole heap of suspension, steering and brake parts ready to be fitted for a full refresh on those and a couple of sill repair panels and lower guards that'll need sorting out for rego.  Looks like I've finally got an engineer on board for the EFI and gearbox mods too so hopefully it'll be on the road soonish.

 

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[stevemc32]

Kicked off the front-end refresh with caliper removal.  There's certainly 50 years worth of crud in there and someone had replaced the anti-squeal shims with a generous coating of silicone on the back of each brake pad!

 

Three out of the four caliper pistons came out without any trouble but the last one is stuck in there good.  Save that one for tomorrow.

 

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[Heath]

Nice to see some progress on this project. Welcome back.

 

The car looks pretty good. I wouldn't blame you for getting it out and enjoying it with the paint that's already on it. 

How it performs is more important anyway.

[rodomo]

I feel your pain with the calipers. I went through this as well. Have a look here, post 502 http://www.gmh-toran...-thread/page-21

[stevemc32]

Cheers Heath, it was good to catch up on your build and see the awesome result.  Fantastic!

 

Thanks for the link Rob, I did actually see that post when I went searching for ways to unstick the bastard.  A few days of penetrene and lots of swearing and I finally got it out.  Lots of progress on your build as well, I'm impressed!

 

I've painted up the calipers and just waiting on some new pistons so I can put them back together.  Done a bit more dismantling of the front end today, got the lower control arms, springs and stuff like that out.  Reading the Max Ellery manual on the removal of the upper control arms it says remove the two bolt attaching the upper control arm to the tower and remove the shims.  Got that part done no worries but the next line is - remove the upper control arm from the vehicle!  I'm stuffed it I can figure out how that is supposed to happen without dropping the crossmember, am I missing something???

 

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Not sure if this lower control arm bush is 50 years old but it sure looks it!

 

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[warrenm]

You have to drop the cross member down.

[RallyRed]

As above..

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[RallyRed]

The crossmember part referened in the above..

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[stevemc32]

Thanks for the info gents!

 

I was hoping to only lower the crossmember just enough to slip the insulator bushes in then bolt it straight back up again.  Think I'll block up the engine and just drop it completely out now I know it needs to be clear of the chassis for the upper arms to come out and go back in.  Good chance to get it cleaned up I guess.

 

Step 5 in the picture above says use a block of wood under the oil pan and jack up the engine.  Is the bottom of the sump strong enough to hold it for a week or so while I work on the crossmember or should I look to block it up under the sump bolts?

[warrenm]

The sump is strong enough with a block of wood under it.

[stevemc32]

Cheers, thanks Warren!

[Heath]

Yep, just spread the load across the sump and you'll be sweet.
If you try and hold the motor up with all the pressure on one little point, then you'll bend the sump, which will nearly always happen directly where the pick-up is, haha. So don't do that.

[stevemc32]

Cheers Heath, I avoided the pickup area as I needed the room to drop the crossmember out.  Looks to have all gone ok and I was surprised the crossmember was no where near as heavy as I was expecting.

 

Definitely gone further than I'd hoped to at this stage but it's out now so I'll give it a wire wheel, rust convert and cheap arse rattle can spray job before putting it back together.  I reckon it'll actually look pretty good for a few months!

 

Calipers are coming along too, caliper pistons and a new master cylinder should be arriving soon so the next job is to make up a whole new bunch of brake lines to replace the rusted out crap.

 

Should I use rubber grease on the caliper piston seals or just brake fluid for initial lube when putting them back together?

 

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