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yes mate, they were appliance 5 spokes, brand new second hand when i got them from an abandoned 1500 wolseley project (i liked a bargain even back when i was 19, lol). the green car's a '38 nash lafayette coupe, gasser of course. tunnel rammed 454, th400, gm 10 bolt from a pontiac gto and a straight tube front axle of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by taxirod
the cresta's currently orange, didn't you see the pics? :whistle:
neil.
the suzuki jeep steering box is 'roughed' in place inside the chassis now. the box would normally bolt to the outside of the rail but that would've made the column a real pi55er to connect up. inside the rail the uj pretty much lines up spot on, just needing the bulkhead hole opening up downwards slightly. we cut 3 steel sleeves to go from the box through the inner of the chassis rail (they're almost fully boxed as standard) out to the outer. the tubes will be welded both sides of the chassis rail for strength. the steering arm will need heating and flattening some as it's dog leg will put it too close to the leaf spring when they compress. nothing insurmountable though.
neil.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...23-jpg.648356/
Getting closer Neil, you keeping this one [emoji23][emoji106]
Cheers Tim W
Sent from my M2103K19G using NSRA mobile app
it's not mine Tim, it belongs to a mate who's even less active than me, lol.
neil.
we opened the holes up in the chassis for the sleeves and with the box back in place we welded them in place. then the dodgy bit of column was cut out, the ends tapered off and welded properly together. it just needs a clean up in the lathe now and we can mock up the engine bay end to the uj at the box.
neil.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...42-jpg.648372/
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...61-jpg.648371/
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...84-jpg.648370/
ash' popped round after work so we could check the timing and points gap on his zephyr. it barely had 8 thou' points gap and the timing was a bit retarded. it revved much more 'crisply' afterwards. he called when he got home and said it's better but still seemed slower than the 350 chevy he had before. yes, that had a performer cam kit and headers but was otherwise similar spec to the 352 fe fitted now. probably the bigger change is going from the old 3.73 diff ratio to the new 3.25 ratio, that'll make the car noticeably less 'nippy'.
so..... on the basis i'll be having that engine once the car's rebuilt (again) with the 440 engine i've ordered an old crane cams fireball 296 cam, a set of new lifters, a double roller timing set and a full gasket set. :whistle:
oh and we'll be making fenderwell headers for it too, lol.
neil.
and i'm waiting for postage costs from the states (ebay) on a nos lunati voodoo cam and new lifters for the 318 that's going in the cresta. with the 360 heads, weiand inlet, fenderwell headers, holley 750 and 2500 stall convertor it should be quite lively :thumbs_up_smiley:
neil.
we refitted the column inner, removed it again and cut the outer back closer to the bulkhead as we'd forgotten to do it :whistle:. then refitted the inner.... again, slid the splined shaft up in the outer alongside the inner and pushed it into the uj on the box. now we could measure where to cut the splined shaft allowing about 2" to turn down in the lathe so it'd fit inside the hollow inner column to be welded. with the inner removed.... again :rolleyes: it was welded to the section of splined shaft that we'd by now turned down. last job before final assembly was to turn a polybush to go snugly in the outer column and over the inner column. this wasn't needed to be honest as there's only the 1 uj which is at the box but as always 'belt and braces' is the order of the day. so it all went together finally, the steering wheel boss was bolted back to the green flake wheel (what else, lol) and then refitted to the column with the addition of a brass thrust washer between it and the column (belt and braces, remember).
neil.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...24-jpg.648408/
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...85-jpg.648409/
Nice work [emoji1303]
Sent from my SM-A515F using NSRA mobile app
Aye, well tidy.Quote:
Originally Posted by jsf55
Cheers Tim W
Sent from my M2103K19G using NSRA mobile app
thanks :thumbs_up_smiley:
more soon, neil.
that's the steering all mocked up and part built then. i've got to wait for some l/h thread 'rose' joints, locknuts, threaded inserts and top hat spacers to arrive wednesday now as the ones i thought were 2 right and 2 left were all r/h thread, doh! we mocked up with them to get it all sorted and welded the inserts into 1 end of each bar. last job was to extend the pass' side steering arm by adding the end from a second arm. this now is like the 2 hole ones old fords came with. we could've stacked the joints 1 above and 1 below the arm (as i did with my anglia) but both arms have been shortened so the box put the tyres into the leaf springs before getting to full lock so wasn't going to work. all sorted now though.
while waiting for bits we'll remount the line lock valve, replumb it and finally bleed the brakes. that only leaves sorting vacuum for the th400's vacuum modulator valve which'll entail removing the back carb and spacer so it can be drilled without getting swarf in the manifold.
neil.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/cdn-cgi/...25-jpg.648415/
My OCD is strugling a bit with that bench :whistle:
cheeky bu66er! we tidied it up before starting today ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by jsf55
anyway it's all good 'stock' and right to hand too :lol:
today we remounted the linelock valve and remade the brake pipes (again). the brake pedal fits on a large hex' on the pivot and this hex part was too long so when the pedal retaining bolt was tight the pedal still 'wiggled' which over time would wear more and more..... not good. so we trimmed it back about 1.5 mm which allowed the pedal to be held tight. next... try bleeding the brakes again. this time we got fluid coming to the front of the system, unfortunately before it got to the calipers it was dribbling from the 't' piece fitting. turns out this was the wrong part so was never going to seal, doh! it must be about the only part of the brake plumbing we haven't changed except the front flexis now. so... lets try bleeding.... again. this time the whole system bled as it should and we have a firm pedal. the next problem is the cut n shut pedal touches the inside of the 'a' panel/post and the throttle rod just as you get to the point where the brakes start to work..... ffs! so that's another job then...... we then moved to the vacuum modulator supply for the th400 box. we drilled and tapped the rear carb spacer for a 1/8 npt to 3/8 unf male brake fitting so we could make a brake hardline from there down to the modulator. with a short piece of vacuum hose that was another job done.
so we're left with 2 l/h threaded inserts to weld to the steering rods, fill the rear axle with gear oil and lsd additive and sort the brake pedal to get full travel. nearly there, lol.
neil.
a quick update on the 318 for the cresta..... the seller in the states obviously couldn't be bothered sending his camshaft to the uk as he didn't even reply. so back to rock auto and order a 340 cam' and lifters instead. it's recognised as a good upgrade for a 318 and in fact specs out as having both more lift and duration than the edelbrock performer cam' so i'm sure it'll be fine. with the 360 heads, weiand inlet, holley carb and fenderwell headers it should be quite 'peppy'. the 2500 stall convertor won't hurt either, lol.
neil.
edit... just added a double roller timing set and engine gasket set to the order.
the greeny is nearly done. we put gear oil in the rear axle, refitted the driver side header/exhaust and altered the throttle rod and bracket to clear the brake pedal. we now have a good pedal about halfway through it's travel...... almost anyway. we noticed a small puddle of brake fluid on the floor under the linelock valve, ggrrrrr! after checking we found the 2 bungs fitted to the spare 'holes' in the valve weren't tight. they didn't leak sat there, but apply some pedal pressure and it'd slowly drip past the threads. easy fix though, just tighten both bungs and no more leak. whould've thought that brake connections need to be tight? i mean really, there's mock up and there's f**k up. some people shouldn't be allowed near a toolbox, they really shouldn't. ok, i feel better now, lol.
2 threaded bungs to weld in the steering rods, refit the rods and set the tracking and it's down the road.
neil.
that's that done and ready to go back sunday then.
neil.
https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/attachme...2469abcd6cc4d0
Neil you must explain the spring and shock set up here?
i would if i knew why they've fitted coilovers when perfectly good leaf springs are there and just a pair of shocks were needed? same setup at the back too, weird. i'd have gone for one or the other but it's not mine so......
neil.