Brooklands September

Its been a long time since the last update, I've been working abroad so progress has been slow. I
managed to get a little time in the garage last Monday evening before flying out and decided to start
cleaning off the gearbox. First job was to remove the speedo and clutch cables, and then the brake
discs and calipers, and then drain the box of fluids. This was all pretty easy although it is un-nerving to
have the calipers fall in half as I've been used to one piece calipers in the past. One good discovery was
that the discs and pads (brake and handbrake) have plenty of life left in them which will save a few beer
tokens.

I started cleaning the box itself with the driveshaft stubs in place and soon realised what a pig of a jobb
it was going to be. The box is covered in strengthening "webs", which create small recesses, each of
which was full of road dirt and oil. So I stood it in the plastic tray and coated it liberally in Jizer,
leaving it to soak whilst I was away.

When I got back to it today it was a little better, but I still spent the best part of three hours starting at
the top, spraying a bit with Jizer, scrubbing that bit with a toothbrush and then rinsing it using a garden
spray bottle containing warm water. At the end of the day it is a whole lot better, although not perfect.
I'll have another go some time later to finish it off, but it was so wet with water that the Jizer wasn't
really working well.

Then it was onto the front axle which was cleaned with a drill mounted wire brush and coated in rust
inhibitor. That can be primed tomorrow.

After that it was time to clean the brake calipers, handbrake arms and springs using the same technique.
These again were awkward as there were lots of narrow slots and little corners, the answer was one of
those green nylon dish scrubbers which, when used with Jizer, cleans them off a treat. Makes sure that
and openings that will pass LHM fluid are plugged before you start as I doubt that Jizer and water will
mix well with LHM. Then onto the suspension rods and eyes. It is getting to the point at last where I'm
having to look for the next thing to do.

I'm picking up the suspension arms from the bead blasters tomorrow and I need to tidy the garage as its
a tip, so I'll take some photos then and post them up.

I haven't forgotten my promise to add photos, however on Monday night I had to work late (I know this
should be a lower priority, but it does earn the money that pays for the Pembleton). Last night I took the
first photo and the camera batteries went flat - I've recharged them and will try and get some this
evening.

Anyway, I did get the arms and they look much nicer, all coated in metallic zinc primer. What it does
show is the poor quality of the welds down the sides of the arms. I'll have to try flattening these as I'm
sure SVA won't be impressed even if they don't technically cause a problem. My concern is that if the
weld looks this bad from outside, will I weaken it by flattening it off.

I finished cleaning the suspension rods and eyes and gave them a good dosing in Kurust. In actual fact
they were pretty good, the only real problem areas were where they passed into the spring tube
originally as that had caused some surface rust. As with all of the parts, to get to that rust you have to
get rid of a thick layer solidified blackened grease first, which is like hard rubber. Finally I primed the
handbrake levers and the front axle tube. Of course, this then mean't that I couldn't sweep out the
garage because of getting dust on the wet primer - D'oh! Should have tidied up first!

I am now getting to the end of the dirty parts of the refurbishment which is welcome. The garage looks
like a war zone with the floor covered in a fine layer of dust from the de-rustuing process, various
buckets and trays of noxious chemicals and parts laid out liberally or hanging from wires to dry. Don't
underestimate the time taken to do the strip - I have spent probably 60 hours just getting to this stage
and I haven't degreased the engine yet, done any of the final painting or re-built assemblies such as the
brakes. Of course, it does depend on how fastidious you are.......................

I didn't get much time in the garage over the weekend, but I did manage to tidy up the garage and sort out
what parts I had lying around and what jar/box of bits went with which assembly. I also degreased the
master cylinder. On Sunday Dave brought his trailer round which was full of building rubble and we put the
chassis on top and took it to the tip (and got into an awful "tank slapper" on the way).

This evening I primed the master cylinder and then decided to tackle the gearbox. Because I'm putting the
BMW engine onto it, the bellhousing needs to be removed so that it can be modified. I had been putting this
off as gearboxes look like complex beasts. First thing was to tale the top cover off and have a look - do this
carefully as there is a ball bearing held in with a spring that is compressed by the top lid - removing the lid
quickly allows this to fly off and get lost. The internals were in perfect condition with no wear to the teeth
or selectors. So the lid went on to stop any crap getting in.

Removing the bellhousing is a bit like one of those puzzles with interlocking shapes that create a square, and
Haynes doesn't have any photos. Remove the thrust bearing and retaining clip (by pulling the bottom of the
clip sideways)First remove the eight bolts in the bellhousing (the photo here shows where they are), then
remove the 6 nuts holding the driveshaft stub to the box on both sides before attempting to remove either.
The back of the bellhousing is the differential top cover, so remove the driveshaft stubs carefully trying not
to disturb the bearings they go onto. Slide the bellhousing forwards until the three driveshaft stub
retaining studs are clear and then re-connect the driveshafts studs. Don't slide the bellhousing all the way
off (as I did) as the diff assembly collapses. Note that there are shims either side to control the backlash
in the diff. Whatever you do don't lose them or mix them up - they are specifci to that side.

Once I had the bellhousing off I started to clean the insides, but evbentually left it soaking in Jizer as it
was caked in oil and carbon