Dead line day

Well yesterday was another really long one. Managed to install the second brake slave cylinder, thanks for sending me 2 cylinders the same handing and then telling me "you'll see when you fit them they are not handed" square peg round hole/locating roll pin and bleed nipple are opposite way round and diff sized holes on the back plate, so with no time to argue the point drilled another hole in back plate, have it! So all brakes are on  (big thanks to Newtown motors for sorting me out with 1 brake adjuster wedge, no idea if I ever had it or just lost it?) hubs with new longer studs fitted .... grr couldn't press out the wheel bearings, no time left so they have been refitted and will be back off later for that one as I have new ones.

Lets take a random pause to thank the morale boosting duo, oh yes, they have realy helped in those lonely "I just can't do this, its to hard" moments. Worked their magic and then I got back on with it, um super big thanks also goes to the wife for being soo understanding xx.

Rear sub frame fitted, fairly straight forward couple of hours of encouraging. 1 Radius arm fitted and then realised I had not removed the ball joint cup from the arm, brilliant, not taking it back off so will just have to deal with being bunched up under the car to get that little rugger out before the shocker can go in to hold the hi lo and doughnut in place. Stopped there when I realised the radius arm braket for the other side a friend had picked up for me at a auto jumble didn't have the hole for the radius arm spindle ! Thats its purpose, to hold the end of the arm to the car !!! but at 10.30pm the only person I know with a pillar drill, was in bed.

As I had been going back and forth getting new parts to fit on, if I had a spare hand I grabbed a wheel, so cracked on putting the wheels on the front, yep they are so coming back off later to change the front hubs from metro to mini. Passenger side went well, driver side ... oh lovely, brakes seized solid, funny that as I have no master cylinder so they have not been used or under pressure. Found a crow bar and put it through the studs then stood on it, wire brushed the disc, kept turning it more and eventually gave up and turned almost freely, so fitted the wheel. Then gave up at 1.20am

Today managed to haul my self down there for 8 and started to clear out the bits and bobs, whilst I waited for the phone call to use the pillar drill. Got the call and went round with my blank bracket and a broken bracket to use to reference up the hole. Oh yes, that would be a quick run to a shop to get a drill bit, then back home to get a vice and finally did the hole which ended up 0.2/0.3 mm off from datum bracket. Pleasently surprised with that, pic on the right is the revised bracket with borken bit.

After nearly crashing the car on the way back home and then pulling out in front of another car, got home to check with the wifes plans for a charity run I really wanted to go and support her ... and had a bit of a emotional melt down (yes the long hours have got me a little jaded/zombiefied). 2 cups of tea, a big hug and a sit down, feeling a bit more normall and just need some lunch before attacking the ball joint liner and fitting the other radius arm.
Will add a few pics later on today, and boy do those front wheels with no spacers look funny. Food time :)
With the revised bracket I managed to get the second radius arm on and started to fit the hi lo ... which unlike the passenger side did not just slide over the ball joint, so again with all contacts not being around with pillar drills and lathes sat down on the bench in the sun with rolled up sand paper till it did fit. So much for buying new so its easier to install.
I caved in and took off the passenger radius arm to get that bloody ball joint liner out and re fitted that. Then it was on with the 1" spacers and then the wheels. Oh dear going to need some really big wheels to fill those arches.

Got on and cleared the last of my stuff from the garage and then went to open the big door, sigh padlock was solid, soaked it and then went off to get some benches for the scouts.
Having given the still seized padlock and a good wack with a hammer, open sesame. Time to wheel it out and blast it with the air line, as the hoover decided to burn out!
Dispite the worries about the half unseized front wheel with all the family pitching in (chose the lieghtest one to steer) it pushed round to the front quite easily.

New covers on and garage swept out. Time for a well earned bath.