I thought it would be better for me to start a dedicated thread for my 500 since I'll have a lot of questions to ask you guys, and I want to avoid opening hundreds of threads

So let's get to it, my 500, its an F, from 1966. It's been a long process of getting it over to the states, but finally it arrived. The journey itself was quick, thanks to a new route the cargo ship has recently started sailing. It took quite a beating on the cargo ship, seems like a lot of salt water/humidity and heat.




This was while it waited to board for its first transatlantic trip. Sitting next to some of it's modern day relatives (Alfa Romeo Stelvios) as well as some New Holland tractors.

Anyway, once it arrived to the port, it again took another serious beating, with daily thunderstorms for a week while it waited to be cleared from customs
Managed to get it trucked down the day after it cleared, and started work on it the moment I pulled it into the garage.

Now thanks to your recommendations I ordered some parts, they arrived today, and will work to change them out tomorrow, starting with the brakes.

So here are some questions I had before I go ahead a mess something up :

-What grease should I use for the hub nut area? Mobil1 M1 / Lucas Red #2 grease ok? They are both lithium complex, both with GC-LB rating, so they're indicated for wheel bearings.

-When changing out the brake pump, is it a simple swap out, do I need to do anything to prime it with brake fluid/ considering I'm going to be swapping out all the brake cylinders/brake pads/brake drums and handbrake levers inside the drums. Anyone have a guide showing how to do this?

-I also got copper exhaust gaskets, because I noticed the gasket connecting the exhaust pipe to the exhaust manifold is leaking. Can I simply swap them out for the copper ones, or do I need to do any sanding or apply gasket sealant before tightening the bolts?

I have to overthink these things because I can't just stop by my local car parts store and pick up what I need, so I would rather triple check!

Thanks again guys, and I wanted to thank Luxe and all the other users who helped answer my questions about importing it to the US.

Ciao

Today's work:

Install new brake flexible lines, brake shoes, brake drums, etc

Started with front left, but the damn copper line nut won't come lose from the flexible hose. I'm scared it's starting to strip, especially because it doesn't seem straight.

How can I remove this stupid nut???:bang:




Here is the rest of the front left work. Everything look ok?


Edit:

I have the banjo bolt retaining clips, where am I supposed to mount them?

You can just about make out the banjo bolt clip in this photo. It should be copper washer, flexible hose, copper washer all held in by the banjo bolt. The clips are handed and fit to the back plate by one of the bolts that hold the brake cylinder on. You will need to tighten the bolt up so the clip lines up.
I think your only option for the copper union is to cut it off and replace with a new one. These are renowned for sticking tight. When it comes to remove them you only have a couple of attempts before the flats get rounded and yours look very rounded. I always use a crows foot spanner on brake pipes rather than an open ended spanner to give yourself the best chance

It may be advisable to replace the brake lines at the same time.
They are 51 years old. They don't cost a great deal and at least you know they are all new. Some things you can do a bit at a time. But brakes should be a priority.

Paolo66 said:

You can just about make out the banjo bolt clip in this photo. It should be copper washer, flexible hose, copper washer all held in by the banjo bolt. The clips are handed and fit to the back plate by one of the bolts that hold the brake cylinder on. You will need to tighten the bolt up so the clip lines up.
I think your only option for the copper union is to cut it off and replace with a new one. These are renowned for sticking tight. When it comes to remove them you only have a couple of attempts before the flats get rounded and yours look very rounded. I always use a crows foot spanner on brake pipes rather than an open ended spanner to give yourself the best chance

Click to expand...

So the clip goes under the rubber hose and then secures the bolt?
Also, how do you check that the banjo bolt hole is aligned with the brake hose hole? Is there a trick or should one just mark the location on the outside and align it as you tighten it?

It was impossible to remove the front copper screws, so I'll have to order new lines.

Along with the pads/springs, I got new drums, but I did run into a strange issue with them. I reversed my steps; mounted drum, put smaller tapered bearing, hub lock plate, and then finally the asymmetrical hub nut. But when I tighten the nut, the drum has a lot of play.

I went to look at new front bearing sets for sale online, and for 1 front wheel it shows this:


This is what my main axle bearing looks like when I removed the original drum:




Original drum


So now the silly questions of the evening:
Are there bearing rings inside the original drum I'm supposed to fish out and place in the new drum? If so can I just pull them out or do I need a specific tool?

It's the only thing I can think of for why the new drum isn't fitting properly.
When I reinstall the original drum, it sits well, and the same thing happened on the other front wheel.

Thanks guys

Can anyone help? I'm completely lost with the new drum issue...

turbo500 said:

Can anyone help? I'm completely lost with the new drum issue...

Click to expand...

It sounds like you havent taken the outer bearing races out of the drum. That bearing that is stuck on your hub is only the inner race. That needs to sit inside a tapered outer race that will be pressed into your old drum. It should be relatively easy to press/bang out. However I would be tempted to use new bearings if everything else is new

Yep, they're in there all right, but I can't get them out!

I tried hitting them with a flat head screwdriver aided with a rubber mallet, but they won't budge. They seem to be fused to the drum... Any tips on getting them out?

Try heating the drum up but to be honest if they wont come out with some gentle tapping then thats even more of an excuse to buy new ones

turbo500 said:

Yep, they're in there all right, but I can't get them out!

I tried hitting them with a flat head screwdriver aided with a rubber mallet, but they won't budge. They seem to be fused to the drum... Any tips on getting them out?

Click to expand...

Use a proper steel punch and a real steel hammer.


Don't forget to prop the drum up near where you are hitting and allow space for the bearing cup to come out!

Ok thanks.

So once the new bearings come in, do I need to grease also the rings that slot into the drums, or am I greasing the bearings only?

Ok so new bearings arrived, but I am once again stumped.

I am having trouble getting the old (larger) bearing off the axle, it seems to be stuck. Is there a trick to pulling them off without going and getting specialized tools for it?

The best thing would be to invest in a bearing-puller setup, which needn't be expensive in these days of cheap Chinese tools. If you have two proper car tyre-levers you might prize it off....one each side. Failing that you might get it off with two big chisels or screwdrivers used as levers. The problem is that the outer may still be left on the axle. With care and skill it could be cut off either with a flame or angle-grinder. The puller option is best. This is the type of tool that goes behind the bearing and then a puller against that. You may find cheaper.
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301509192542

Buy or rent a bearing puller. No other tool will do it as efficiently and without damage. As stated cheap Chinese ones will cost little and serve you well for the limited number of times you use it.

Thanks guys. I should be able to rent one for free locally.

Also, I'll see if I can remove the existing outer parts of the bearings that are stuck (most probably fused ) to the drums. Haven't had success so far.

So I managed to remove the rear drums, using the trick Peter recommended of the wheel on the ground.

Installed all new pads, springs, piston, handbrake hardware, but when I installed the new drum, the pads are touching the inside of the drum making it hard to spin the wheel. I tried moving things a bit with a rubber mallet, but it still rubs.

Before


After


Also, does someone have a guide to replacing the rear wheel bearings, starting from how to remove the 4 hub bolts?

Thanks

As general advice, NAPA autoparts and some other stores in the U.S. rent specialty tools for ridiculously cheap/and/or for free. Definitely look into them as an option!

When you say you replaced the piston, do you mean the brake cylinder (the thing at the top with rubber at each end that presses against the two brake pads)? It's normal for the new brakes to rub, and near impossible to settle exactly in place by tapping them about. The best method that I know of is to get up to 40mph and slam on the brakes, then rev it up in reverse to a high rpm (15mph?) and lock up the brakes! Repeat 2-3 times and see if the brakes are in a better place.

turbo500 said:

Also, does someone have a guide to replacing the rear wheel bearings, starting from how to remove the 4 hub bolts?

Thanks

Click to expand...

There are quite few threads on here which deal with the various aspects of that job; you will find them by searching "hub bearings" or similar in the box at the head of the Forum page.

For a starter though, which of the sets of four bolts are you thinking of first? You know how to get the drum off although separating that is not strictly essential at the rear and worth keeping on at this stage. The first thing is to remove the splined, driveshaft coupling inboard of the hub. That is the four 13mm head bolts (setscrews) which screw into the aluminium coupling. These can be quite tight and often have worn heads. Easiest removed with a really good ring-spanner. Keep the car on the ground and roll it along to improve access to all four. When removed, clean flaky bits off the driveshaft and push the cast-iron coupling towards the gearbox a tad. You should be able to wiggle the shaft away, retrieve a small spring (which may be broken) that sits in the end of it, and you will see a very large nut............
To be continued I am sure......

I've just finished a complete overhaul of my brakes and had similar problems to you with rubbing brakes. As Pazzo 500 said, if the rubbing is slight, I wouldn't worry about it. On my car the rear drums were very difficult to turn. To solve the problem I gently levered the shoes back where the adjusters are, using the flange on the back plate as a fulcrum point. Don't over do the levering as you don't want to damage the flange. Some people use a block of wood (to protect the linings) and hammer the shoes back.

I also discovered that my handbrake cable adjustment was wrong for the new shoes and this meant that with the handbrake released the brakes were still on enough to prevent the drums turning.

As Pazzo 500 said, when you've finished working on the brakes, you'll probably find that you've got too much pedal travel. Do what Passo said driving forward and in reverse at 10 to 15mph and repeatedly stamp on the pedal. The pedal travel will reduce as the brakes self adjust. I haven't done any work on rear bearings yet so can't give any advice on the work involved.