Rust; Springs

A typical time spent with an old Land Rover: a selection of rusted nuts, bolts and washers, all in various states of damage and corrosion - all to be replaced with brand new ones, thankfully.

Test fitting of the front axle casing on the new springs. Good thing I tested, as it turns out the dowls that center the axle are not exacty in the middle, from front to back (not side to side). On each front spring, they were off by about 3/16, both in the same direction when reading the stencilled words on the springs. Not much, but when I had the springs initially placed with the stencilled wording facing outwards on each side, it was visible, by comparing with the chassis, that the axle had a very slight 'turn' in one direction. By making the springs identically placed, i.e. with the stencilled wording reading from the driver's side, on both sides, the axle lined up properly.

Have now made sure the rear springs are also identically placed.

Busy

No photos these past days as there's been too much going on, and the garage has been very cluttered. Basically, had set up to paint, and have been doing the axle casings and many other parts. With all the parts now waiting for reassembly into front and rear axles, plus the wait for the last remaining small items to arrive from the UK, USA and here in Canada, I think it'll be nicer to take some photos when things are a little further along in a few days. : )

Hand Brake - Dismantled and Cleaned

The hand brake parts have cleaned up nicely. Have ordered new OEM brake shoes and springs from Rovers Down South, along with the dust cover for the expander unit, and the packing plate, locking plate and retaining spring which go with said expander - these last were completely missing. The hand brake cover, which isn't visible here, has already been cleaned and has received a new coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, prior to getting final coats of chassis black. The same will be done for the backing plate.

In this view you can the expander and adjuster parts in the plastic bag at top. They are in top shape.

Over the past few days have also started to install the springs on the chassis, seeing as the axles are coming together and it may be possible to make a rolling chassis fairly soon. Today I found a place that will remove the old tires from the wheels, and have already lined up a company that will media blast the wheels. Then the wheels can be painted in Limestone (the original off-white visible on one of the wheels immediately behind the chassis) and the new tires  installed.

The original rear springs bolts are truly seized, and I can't get a good angle to try and get them off, so have ordered new ones (plus shackles) from 3 Brothers Classic Rovers. Was able to use the original shackles and shackle bolts on the front springs.

Hand Brake - First Look

While waiting a few days for the garage to get warm enough to work in again, went in briefly and took the hand brake drum off. Drum itself appears in perfect shape, however the rest will clearly need a good cleaning, inspection, overhaul and, if nothing else, new brake shoes.

Before:

After:

Rear Axle

Finally removed the rear axle today. The prop shaft bolts came undone without any trouble at all, a nice change after the struggles with the front axle. I have to say, though, that the special tool I bought for the purpose has been useless, not fitting around the prop-shaft yokes. Brake line screw-in connections were rusted solid, so simply cut the lines again. U-bolts were not going to be used again, so simply cut through them. Et voila, off it came, although I forgot about the remaining oil in there and had to clean a fair amount off the floor.

Best news today is that the replacement refurbished galvanized bulkhead from Ashtree Landrover International is due to be shipped from the UK at the end of next week. Looking forward to seeing that.

Rear axle itself appears, externally at least, in good shape, and should clean up nicely. The differential turns as it should, and so I'm hoping that when I take it out that all the teeth inside are in equally good shape. So far (touch wood) the rear axle and hubs have been refreshingly free of problems.

Spot the Land Rover Parts : )

Just a couple of views of the heated storage area, which shows many of the parts and assemblies that are ready to go back on the vehicle or have been primed (grey) ready for their Pastel Green paint later in the restoration. The more you look, the more parts you'll see.... 10 points if you can spot the tires. : )

Back in the garage, the rear axle has been disassembled to the point that just the U-clamps holding the axle to the springs  need to be undone, and then the axle can come away and have the differential taken off and looked at. Hubs have both been disassembled and throughly cleaned. Everything is in excellent shape.

Out of sight here is the front axle case, which is painted and ready to go, and the front diff, which is in the garage. The entire front axle is ready for reassembly, just waiting for some shims to finish off the differential, and I'd like to do a leak-preventative overhaul of the brake cylinders before they are installed.

Among other things in this view are the steering relay and arms, plus the rebuilt hand brake lever mechanism.

Rear Left Hub

Having spent the warmer past few days painting the forward axle components, tonight it was the turn of the rear left axle hub to be dismantled. This seemed very simple after the front ones! Everything came apart easily, although coated in a goo made of brake fluid and dirt. Once the brake shoes were off, it was quickly apparent that the shoe pivots on the backing plate were loose here too, and given that the shoes, cylinder and now backing plate were all scrap, it was just a matter of taking the brake backing plate off with everything attached and throwing it out. Axle casing, drive shaft, and stub shaft all in good shape, and new backing plates ordered. Brake line fitting into the cylinder was a rusted corroded mess, impossible to remove, so the brake line was simply cut.

View here of the drive shaft and stub axle.

The main hub castings, after a cleaning and inspection. The bearings are in perfect shape, so they'll be staying. The parts below are from the hand brake, waiting for the painted parts to come back (the newly painted parts are drying/curing the the warmth and dryness of the basement).

A view of the rear axle casing hub with everything removed.

A look inside the axle casing towards the differential, off in the distance.

Not much left of the axle bumper stop! Strap fittings may need replacing.

Finally, a view forward. Note the corrosion in the aluminum where the steel bolts passed through. The corrosion will be neutralised and large washers will help strengthen the area when all is back together.