Springs in black

Having finished the shocks I started to think about everything else that is needed to get the axel in the car and decided that I really should look at the springs.  There were two issues: yellow paint/markings on the springs and exposed metal which will surely rust given any exposure to our damp environment.

A little bit of cleaning / stripping and all ready to go.

The finished article hanging in the garage whilst waiting for the paint to dry.

Shocks sorted

Had a few distractions from garage time which were beyond just work so I delighted to open the door and step inside this morning.

I had ordered the shock oil and links from Ahead 4 Healey's and got on with making the gaskets and putting them back together.  I started with the one original gasket that I managed to get off the shock without damage and some gasket paper.

A little bit of tracing.

And lots of cutting and faffing produced the finished article.

Then I cleaned off the shocks and filled them with oil being careful to expel all the trapped air which I hope I did.  It took quite a lot of leavening the arm up and down but I got there in the end.

Then having fitted the top back on and carefully tightening the screws I was able to paint with my new POR15 in matt black.  Very pleased with the finished shocks.

Well the return to work has been consuming.  Now I like my job, well actually I love my job but it knocks the living daylights out of me so getting in the garage is nigh on impossible during the week.  Last weekend I was out on the Triumph Thruxton so that means that it is two weeks since I last got going on the Healey.  I started by collecting some stuff from my in-laws shed so I could get on with building up the drive train.  I was a little undecided on what exactly to take.  I took the rear springs so that I could mount the axel and the shocks as I know they will go on soon.  I also took the front wishbone / kingpin set up but decided against taking the box with all the brake parts and bearings which I will definitely need when I do the front suspension.  Sometimes there is no logic in my world.


Illogically I decided that I would start by looking at the the rear shocks.  It took some Oxy-Acetelene action to persuade the shock link (the thing that is on fire below) to come away from the shock arm.  I'm a little perplexed now because I wasn't sure what the shock link was called so I looked on Ahead 4 Healey's site to check the name and have seen that the type I have taken off the car today is the type fitted to the late 100 cars.  Now everything else about the rear suspension is the early type, so how does that work out?

Having teased it apart with minimal force and maximum skill (Oxy-Acetelene and a big hammer) I left it to cool.

Then I set about getting the crud off.  One of them looked much better than the other as far as the build up of road grim is concerned.

However, on the inside they were identical.  Both looked well topped up with oil but both had loads of congealed gunk inside, some of which is visible in the picture below.

I emptied the oil into a waste canister and you can see the type of gunk I referred to in the picture below.

Having had a good go at cleaning the inside out I figured I should probably run some fresh oil though it to flush out the rubbish.  However, I couldn't actually waste good oil on this so I filled the pair with degreaser and place the cap back on.

So now I just need to remove the degreaser and double check that it is truly clean before filling with oil.  Actually I need to order the oil as well.  Once done I will paint it black.  I know the original colour was silver, well just aluminium but I'm convinced it'll just corrode so I'd rather have it black and neat looking than original and corroded.

Grille distraction

Well I did fit the rubber on the chassis to prevent the chassis crashing down on it and it felt very good to start putting things on that are going to stay on.

Then I went to fit the springs only to remember that I had stored them and was unable to access them so I looked for something else to work on.  I found the grille and thought it would be a good thing to have a go at.

I had stripped the grille some time back and separated the two sections before making a start on cleaning it up.  This is as it was having dug it out from under the bench.

I had studiously ignored the fact that one of the slats had broken away  from the frame at one end though.
























So I made myself a sandwich and searched Youtube for a video or two on how to braze.  A great sandwich and many videos later I returned to the garage and got down to brazing.  I had never bean able to braze successfully as a kid although I had watched both my Dad and my metalwork teacher do it many times.  So I set up some practice pieces and tried and tried until I got somewhere that looked OK.  However, the trial pieces kept pulling apart and I became unsure if I was making too much of my abilities.  In the end I decided that there was no alternative so just go on with it.  And it worked out well, if not too pretty.

You can clearly see the braze in the picture above but from the front it doesn't show.

Then I dug out the surround and cleaned that up before fitting the two parts together.  I was delighted to discover that I had actually bought the small screws for assembling it when I took it apart, very organised.

I think it looks absolutely wonderful although I have some fettling on the fitment side of things to come, but by George does it look good.

Brackets in place

After a leisurely week of dipping in and out of the garage I did get the missing brackets welded on and painted.  Pleased with the results and hoping that I dot discover anything else that is missing.  On reflection I don't regret painting the inner bodywork when I did, I had to make the jump at some point.

Tomorrow I am going to bolt the rubbers that the axel bottoms out on for the final time.  It'll be the first item I fit on the car and feels a little symbolic to my small mind.

Back in the swing of things

Opened up the garage and found the car tucked up in the corner.

Got down to making the battery support brackets with some steel from B&Q of all places.  It is amazingly similar dimensions to the original.  I spent a lot of time hunting for the other two brackets and became very aware that from here on in I am going to have to look for stuff which is difficult to find as it had been stored years ago.  Much patience needed I think.  Anyway,  some time for them in an acid dip to de-rust them and now they are ready for installation.

I decided I would prime the inside of the battery mounts so that they have some rust protection and decided to unpack the wire wheels recently acquired.  Frustratingly, of the 5 I have 2 are a little too tired to use.  You can see they have spokes that have pulled through the rims and left large holes in the process.  Two of the others are a little jaded but should recover with a few new spokes and some TLC.

The wheel below is one of the better ones but clearly has bent spokes.

That was a disappointing way to end the day, oh well, back to eBay I go.

Birthday boy and the route forward

So this teacher is back from his summer excursions and ready for the next steps.  Whilst away I got to think about the 100 and what I needed to do next which is good as I feel energised for the challenges that await.  I also had a birthday, not a major milestone you understand but a regular getting older but still young enough to live life one.  So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that my Mother in law kindly bought me a new dashboard and wiring loom.  There a few issues with the delivery of the working loom (#itslostonroute) but I'm confident that A-Head 4 Healey's will remedy that.  However this is what it means and how my plan looks:

Before school starts in anger a week on Monday I will  fabricate and fit the battery tray mount, brake cable bracket and the panhard rod bracket before painting them.  Then I can begin the big mechanical install.  I have all the major parts to go from bare chassis to rolling chassis and I am very excited.

I will start with the rear suspension / axel which is already restored and has been previously installed.  Then I will fit the front suspension and steering for which I have all the major components but they need a overhaul.  Then I will fit the engine / gearbox.  The engine has been rebuilt by the previous owner (this was one of the major attractions of the project when I bought it) and the gearbox looks sound.  Then the wiring loom.  Then the dash and the gauges.

Then I turn the key, it starts and I post a little video of me driving the car up and down the lane at the back of my house.  OK, I may be getting ahead of myself here.  However, I have got most of the components I need to get to that stage.  Or rather, I have got all of the expensive components I need to get there.  I will need to buy stuff for the steering, the odd bracket, petrol pipes, electrical switches, a few parts for the brakes and so on but I will be able to do that as I go.  The next really expensive thing I need is a set of tyres and they are not cheap but I have a long while to save for them.

In other words I have no financial barriers for the foreseeable future and I like it that way.

Happy times