Front Axle Update and Paint Process

I have done some more work over the past week on the front axle, mainly cleaning stuff up an painting it. So far I have painted the diff housing, diff head, swivel housings, brake backing plates and steering arms.

I thought that I would do a post on my clean up and paint process as I found it very helpful with my rebuild.

Firstly I get my hand wire brush and try knock the big greasy stuff off. I do this because if you went straight in there with the power brushes it would make the job a whole lot messier.

I use three types of wire brushes. One on the grinder and two on the electric drill.

The one on the left is for the grinder and it is very aggressive. I am careful not to touch gasket faces with this as it would scratch up the metal pretty bad. However, it is much more efficient at cutting through stuff compared to the drill. The big circular one on the drill is the one I use most frequently. It is great as I can vary the speed easily so I can be more accurate around more delicate parts. It does pretty well at cutting through paint but it struggles with rust. It cleans up gasket faces nicely and is safe on threads. The smaller end brush is also used on the drill for getting in tight spaces.

Before wire brushing

Next I start removing paint using the wire wheel on the grinder if possible. Some parts are too small to do this but on things such as the axle casing and brake backing plates I use it first. The steering arm example here is not a great result as a lot of the paint remained but I guess if it's been on there 50 years already it isn't going to come off anytime soon. This was done entirely with the drill which I like for smaller parts.

After wire brushing

Next I clean it up using Brakleen to get rid of the oils and any dirt left over. I then apply rust converter by rag and wait 15-20mins for it to react. I use SCA rust converter, its just the stuff that was in the shop. They're all pretty much the same. I don't wipe the steel down between the rust converter and paint and the bond seems fine.

Next I mask all the areas that shouldn't be painted. This is a pain but if you do this stage properly the paint job will look much better.

Steering arm masked

Next up is paint. I use Rust-Oleum paint and primer in gloss black. I use gloss as it should give a harder finish, a satin black would be better for looks but I suspect the paint will lose a bit of it's gloss after it's had a bit of mud on it. I usually only do one coat, mainly because it's winter at the moment and with the colder temperature the paint takes a while to dry. I'm not patient enough to wait for the paint to dry fully before doing another coat. However, obviously if the paint looks thin or if i've missed a spot I go back and do it again.

Painted

And that's my paint process. It may not be the best but it has worked so far and all the parts that have been painted look great.

Also, I am in the market for a set of parabolic springs for the landy. If anyone has any tips or experiences with them it would be great if you could let me know.

Front Axle Rebuild Begins

The past few days have been spent solid working on the Landy and heaps of progress has been made. 

I'll go through it as days as it splits it quite nicely into stages.

Monday

I began by pulling the front axle from the car. This involved lying in mud as I had to pull it somewhere where it could sit for a few months. Thankfully all the suspension bolts came undone easily and with the help of an engine crane the came out. Pulling axle did reveal a few new issues that need to be addressed. Firstly, the spring bushes are f***ed (see pic). the centre tube just fell out once the bolts were removed. It does make them easier to replace though.

Axle coming out

 

The freewheeling hubs are also leaking a huge amount of oil. I spent a couple of hours disassembling the axle and getting it into my tiny shed that will be used as my workshop. 

Tuesday

I spent the entire day disassembling the axle down to the core components. I had a good run with the suspension bolts but the axle itself managed to throw up a few problems. The hub nuts were so stuck I had to cut them off and the top swivel pin took my biggest hammer and a massive chisel to get them out. That was the cause of the heavy steering then. I also had the chance to inspect some of the parts. the half shafts are in excellent condition although they will require new distance pieces. The swivel balls are gone and every bearing is destroyed. I am overall quite happy with the condition of the axle and will just be a case of replacing wear items. 

Wednesday

I spent a few hours wire brushing the axle casing, the diff and the swivel housings. The wire brushes are very effective however the wire brush on the angle grinder really hurts when the wires fray off. 

Axle casing wire brushed

In other news I have purchased a series 3 gearbox which I intend to swap with the current one. I really want full synchromesh as it makes the drivability much better. I will be swapping the bell housings so I can retain the current clutch setup. 

I have also had some wise words of wisdom from a friend who has advised me to get the car on the road before swapping the engine etc as it makes the certification process much easier. He worked as a LVVTA inspector for a while so I trust his opinion. However, I you know better please leave a comment down below. 

I'll be back within the next couple of weeks with another update on the axle rebuild and a post on my painting process.

Rust repaired!

Lately the project has really kicked into gear and I quite a few things have happened. The biggest milestone was getting the rust repaired professionally. This included a rear crossmember replacement, bulkhead patches, and some minor patches on the chassis. I had this done professionally as I cannot weld and I am very happy with the results. The work was carried out by Costin Revival, which is based near Christchurch. If anyone is looking to get any work done on their car I would highly suggest them. There are still some small patches that need to be addressed but I hope to buy a cheap MIG welder and attempt to do them myself. As you can see by the photos some of the work done was quite complex!

This is a major milestone in the build as it is pretty much one of the only things I can't do myself and therefore one of the biggest costs. It all came in well under $2000NZD which I think is very reasonable for the amount of work put in.