General She'll live again!

[Oletimer]

Today feels good!
Yeah, I know it's sunny and all that, but today is nearly a birthday.

Pondering whether to shoot the ole girl or bite the bullet and throw some more good beer vouchers away.

I decided to have tootle round the graveyard to see what was about - 'just to have a nosey, wiv no serious intentions '

Blow me if there wasn't a Nugly Bug, (nearly the same colour as mine too)

So I moseyed into the office and asked about the donor.
Johnno said 'It's nearly all still there, had a smack on the nose but nowt a good hammer wouldn't sort out'
R send was intact. Mirrors, seen better days, but ok.

So, how much you want for the back axle, rear bumper and the mirrors.

Er, what you reckon Ste? Ste - 'We've had it a while...... (a little smile in me brain...)
Er, ok, Mirrors'll be 30, bumper, dunno, say 50?, back axle... erm, 50 sound ok?
I check back... so 50 for the axle, 50 f'th bumpa, un 30 f'th pair of mirrors?
What's that...130 quid all in?
Yeah, that'll do mate.
Can I come in on Sunday to get em off?
Yeah, no probs, we close at 1 tho.
I agreed, shook hands and went out light headed.

Yesterday, The Stealer in Oldbury quoted 879.00 for the rear subframe, after the ambulance had gone, I thought, it's curtains for the ole girl...

The second hand axle is on a recent face-lift, so is in awesome order.
Rear bumper is 99% ok, mirrors have the ally bases, so they'll need looking at.
So, happy birthday girl, you're gonna live again.
George

 

[widemouthfrog]

Is the donor a squarenose?

 

[Oletimer]

Sorry bro, so bizzy yesterday, only just looked back on the site.

Got an unexpected day off, so zoomed round the graveyard and got to work on retrieving the bits.

4 hours later, I now have:

the back axle - in really decent condition. It's a drum job so I'm pleased with that, get rid of these rotten discs on the old girl.
rear bumper and all the associated bits - got a few marks, but very serviceable.
a pair of mirrors - need a bit of tarting up, but ok.
a rear tail gate, also well ok - in blue, so will need a coat of purple.
also got a pair of ally wheels, complete with colour coded centre's.
and a radio, which the purple bug is lacking.
the extra's came to an extra £60 - not bad for a decent tailgate, radio's good, wheels and tyres in near perfect order.
I'd already got a tailgate in but this one is much closer to the colour.
so, £190 and it'll put 2 Nugly Bug's back on the road - that can't be bad.

Yeah, it's a nose job donor, but all the bits are straight swap.

Now gonna give the axle a bit of TLC, strip it down, light glass beading, coat of hammerite an it'll look like noo.

oh, almost forgot, got a full set of rubbers for the rear subframe AND a rear brake adjuster off ebay for £66. So I'm well chuffed.

Think I might do the radius bearings while the axle's down, should be easier by the sound of threads I've read on here.
Going to have a couple of bizzy days, but dead chuffed this weekend.
George

 

[widemouthfrog]

The squarenose rear bumper will fit a roundnose, but you'll lose the rear reflectors (which are built into the lamp clusters on the squarenose) so will fail an MOT. Just prize the round reflectors off the old bumper and stick them on the new one, or buy some bicycle ones off ebay.

You'll also find the the very top front corners of the bumper don't reach up to the rear wings at the wheel arch. Not a problem, just looks a bit odd. It's because the rear wings follow a slightly different line on the squarenose.

And yes, a LOT easier to do the swing arm bearings with the subframe off. Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to do them in situ again. Getting the subfrrame off is easy as long as the brake line unions aren't seized.

 

[Oletimer]

Thanks for the advice WMF, that's something I hadn't thought about. I did notice the reflector issue, but I've got a few spare ones in the shed. Happily, the bumper came with a set of reversing sensors, which on the smashed one were wrecked.
All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with my visit to the graveyard.
Just need a bit of dry weather to get it all done.
Cheers George

 

[Oletimer]

What a lovely day I've had.
I dreaded stripping the radius bearings, with all the gorey stories I've read on here, who wouldn't be?
Got the gear ready:
Air hammer gun, air hammer sockets, great big pinch bar (crow bar), big hammers, etc etc.
Thought: if this ain't going down without a fight, I'm ready for it.

Quick mugga, to add to the energy levels...

Compressor on.... let's go!

The 24mm nuts came off like they didn't wanna stay on!

Nice, hopefully, this ain't gonna be that hard after all.
To be frank, it came apart as if it had read the manual before I had!

Taking the axle to the grit shop tomorrow to have it beaded, then with a nice coat of hammerite, it'll look the dogs.
I've got some pictures, but I really don't have much luck getting em on here, any ideas, please.
Till later
George

 

[Oletimer]

Now here's a turn up for the book...

The axle is stripped ready for the bead blaster to clean it up before painting, having the springs and torsion bar done at the same time - it'll look like new
Up bright n early, cuppa in the yard - one of life's little pleasures.
Went out to the Bug, hit the starter and the battery was almost flat!
Those courtesy lights couldn't have murdered the battery could they? Well, the doors were open all day while I was messing about - it's possible I suppose
Out with old faithful, this battery charger must be as old as I am but it still does the trick.
So, better have another brew then, while I wait for the battery to get pumped up.
I don't think I'm entirely surprised, it sounded a bit off colour when I kicked it up yesterday. I feel a new battery coming on...
A word on the bits I acquired for the rebuild.
The new rubbers were bought off ebay, with a spare rear adjuster bar for £66 plus a bit of postage.
The radius bearing i got from WestMid for £42 the pair (left and right) same part number BTW.
Couldn't find my spring compressors so had to get a new set.
And treated myself to new hammer socket set, just in case those 24mm nuts played up.
I need some help to get some pictures up, if someone would be kind enough to explain how to, I'd be very grateful.
More later,
George

 

[boilermansab]

I upload my photos to something like photobucket.
Then you can add the links on photo bucket to here so we all can see!!

 

[Oletimer]

Thank you for the advice.
I'm a complete numpty when it comes to computers and the like.

Back to the saga...

Rear axle... part whatever... seems like it's turning into a book!

After the ease with which the donor cars axle came apart at the graveyard, I was expecting my old girl to be a real pain. It's in far worse condition and with a greater degree of rust around it.

Took my trusty wire brush and set to cleaning up the threads and heads before I started.

18mm bi-ex socket and long breaker bar in hand, I dived under the ole girl,
sure enough, the 4 bolts that hold the sub-frame were as tight as hell, solidly rusted in, so the bi-ex took the corners off the first one as sweet as you like and I thought, now for some hassle.

Back down the shed to look for my flat drive sockets - bought them 25 yrs ago from the bloke in the van who used to call every Saturday at the garage where I worked. They're called Sykes-Pickavant and even then I paid about £88 for the sockets alone - no bars, ratchets or box, just a line of sockets on a metal rail. Snap-on were actually the same price!, but I don't like the shiny slippery finish of them.
To say they're the best thing I've ever bought may give you an idea of how good they have proven to be. Unfortunately, S-P no longer exist, or should I say, they don't make tools anymore, they sold out to, I believe, James Neill Tools (J.N. also got Britool and a few other tool companies along the way - but the tools they make are no where near the quality of the original makers).
Anyway, I couldn't find my sockets, after a few phone calls, found they are in Portugal... my brother 'borrowed' them and will return them when he gets back home. God only knows how long he's had them
Went to my local auto store and bought a normal hex socket to see if I could shift those rusted bolts, also bought the hammer socket set, mentioned earlier, just in case.
The bolts, whilst really tight, came out without a lot of fuss, just the normal grunts - well I ain't as young as I used to be.
In about 20 mins, I had the axle down, now for those lovely brake hoses...
I'll be honest, I fear them more than anything, every time I look at them they normally break, and I didn't want more trouble.
Looks like I'll have to get new brake pipes, might as well renew both now that I broke the one on the near side.
i'm going to give the underside a good wire brushing and throw some Shilts or something on it, should help it last a bit longer.
That'll do for today, can't do any more till I get my axle back.
Cheers george

 

[chr1s]

It's a bit late now, but I replaced the rear axle without disconnecting any brake pipes. I unclipped the brake parts, took out the swing arm bearings with the rear axle in situ, and supported the swing arms in place whilst I removed the rear axle.

 

[Oletimer]

Hiya Chris, yeah you're right, I begin to put it all back together tomorrow , I've pulled it all to bits, nut by nut, bolt by bolt. I haven't rushed anything, just enjoyed the job and it'll look nice when it's done. I've got a few pics to get up to show what I've be playing at.
The gritting was what took the longest, he couldn't get in the shop till today and with having some running about to do, meant that I'll be putting it back tomorrow.

The main reason why I split the brake pipes was that the 'new' axle has drums whereas the old un had discs. (I really wanted drums so it's no problem, I'll renew the brake fluid and service the brakes and it'll be like a new mota .

I'll see if I can get the pics up, I made a photobucket account, once I've sorted out the method of up loading, I'll have the pics up.

So far the new bits I've bought are:
Radius bearings x2, front rubbers x2, rear rubbers x2, grease nipples x4, hammerite paint and ally paint (to make it look pretty )

I've decided not to use the rubbers yet, the old un's are in good order. I shall renew the bearings tho, cos there's no way of knowing what state they're in.
That's it for today, going on to Photobucket to see what I can upload.
Later
George

 

[widemouthfrog]

Sounds like you're making quick progress. I took much longer when I did mine!

Once you're up and running with Photobucket, click on the image you want to add to your post on here; you'll then see four boxes to the top/right of the picture - Email & IM, Direct, HTML and IMG. Click on the "Direct" box. It will flash up "Copied" and the box briefly goes yellow. Then switch browser tabs to come back here, right click/paste the Photobucket address. It'll just show as the text string when you first do it, but once previewed or posted, you'll get the photo instead.

If I'm telling you how to suck eggs - apologies!

 

[Oletimer]

WMF: :worship: You certainly are not trying to teach me how to suck eggs!, It's rotten poota's I need the help with, mine runs on stream n I still can't figga it out.
Noo teknolagees n ole brains don't make gud bed fella's.

Back to the saga:

Working on my own wasn't the best way to tackle this job, there's not much grunting to do but it's nice having someone to blame when the proverbial starts flying.
Using me rolla jack, got the axle sort of in line, got the bolts started and it was easy after that, hung the radius arms up, that was a ball ache, but easy after sorted out the balance. The bolts went in ok, normal bit of fiddling finding the inside hole but otherwise not bad. I'd attached the new shocks to the axle at the top before lifting it. (the old ones, whilst not leaking, looked past their best) and I didn't want scabby shocks on a nicely refurbished axle did I?
I had a bit of trouble with my spring compressor, it seemed to work arse about face, so that when I compressed the spring, the bolt screwed out and up into the subframe and shifted the whole lot away from the top.
I modded it so it worked in the opposite direction (basically, removed the nut hook and the slider hook - one is threaded and one not, the slider part-reversed them so the slider was loose at the screw bolt end, got a 16mm nut and welded it on) works a treat, now when you turn the screw to compress the spring, the bolt works it way down instead of up
I located the springs at the top, then eased them on to the lower end on the arm, jacked up the arm to meet the new shock, shoved the bolt thru and done up the nut, undone the compressor and jobs a good un, took the jack out, nice easy job,
Roll bar went in dead easy, now for them pesky brake pipes - having been to Monmore Auto, for 2 new pipes and pistons I set about fitting them, it's an easy little job. The adjuster on the offside was seized so I fitted the new one I got with bushes. Bleeding was a pig, my mate couldn't come over, so I didn't have anyone to help and I don't rate those auto bleed kits. So I let gravity help me out, just cracked the nipple, gentle pressure on the peddle and once the fluid had got thru allowed it time to dribble the air out, it's not 100% but it gets out most of the air, enough to start with.
One thing with the nose job axle I had to sort out was the abs wiring, they've changed the plugs to connect the wire to the loom, I had to solder my own plugs on, but it's not difficult. Screwed the plastic covers back in place.
Last job was the exhaust, I renewed the hanging rubbers, ain't they a pig to get off and put on? I'd split my exhaust at the bottom of the down pipe, the 3 x 12mm nuts came off easily enough and with it back on the job was as good as done.
Well, nearly!, when taking up the slack in the brakes, the brake adjuster fell out of place - so I had to take the wheel off to reset it, this time taking out most of the slack before I put the wheel back on
It's now at the test station and I'm hoping I've covered all the bases.
The total cost of the job is probably more than the ole girls worth, but I simply couldn't throw her away after it being a good faithful little shed, and it's never let me down - that's got to be a rebuild ain't it?
The Bill...
Rear subframe, (*back door, rear bumper, 2 mirrors, 2 ally wheels with good tyre's, and a Multi radio*) = £ 190 - the subframe itself was £50
Brake pipes, wheel cylinders and DOT 4 = £38
2 x Radius bearing kits = £ 62
2 x Rear shocks = £52
Hammerite and Ally paint = £15
Duck oil (under body seal) = £10
* = got the bits to rebuild the latest one, it'd had a shunt up the jacksy.
Total cost = £225 (ish) odds n sods like rags, oil, exhaust sealer etc I already had.

I'm working on getting the pic's on, be patient, I'm hoping it will be soon.
Cheers
George

 

[AaronG]

Would like to do this to my own one but she's very rusty along the sills and jack points had to be replaced for mot so im not sure if this will be her last year on the road!

 

[widemouthfrog]

I built my complete rear subframe up off the car. I didn't need to use any spring compressors to get the springs in - just turned the subframe c/w swingarms upside down, put my foot on the back edge of the subframe and pulled the swingarm up as far as it would go and popped the spring in. The second one was a bit more tricky because I had to keep an eye on the first (the arms were linked by the ARB at the time). Then fitted the dampers to keep it all together.

Moving the built up subframe around on my own was a bit of a pain, but I lifted it onto a short scaffold plank and dragged it around on that. Once it was under the car, I put blocks of wood under a bit at a time on each side, until I could get the 4 mounting bolts started. The biggest concern I had was alignment of the subframe to the chassis; there seemed to be lots of free play. There are no alignment dowels between the two, just the 4 bolts holding the subframe bushes onto a flat surface.
Anyway - pictures please!

 

[widemouthfrog]

Click on the "Direct" box. It will flash up "Copied" and the box briefly goes yellow.

Ooops, this is wrong . It's the "IMG" box at the bottom of the list that you need to copy, not "Direct".

 

[Oletimer]

Many apologies for the delay, just got back from Valencia - furniture van full of gear for Phil Neville (ex Everton FC, now coach at Valencia FC)...
OK, so I was forced to endure the terrible Spanish weather you've got to feel sorry for me , this sunburn will wear off soon enough I reckon.

Going to get stuck into the pics today, hopefully with some success

By the way, the old bug passed the MOT with flying colours. Whose a happy chappy now then?

SHE LIVES AGAIN!

Later
George

 

[widemouthfrog]

Just a quick tip to follow up on this thread. I replaced my rear springs last weekend and found a very simple way of compressing the springs by the small amount needed to get them located on the swing arms.



While I wouldn't in any way consider this a safe way of doing the front springs (or even the rear ones if a lot of compression was needed), for the approx. 1" or 1.5" of 'squash' required for this job the ratchet straps are perfect, for two reasons:

They don't add anything rigid to the bulk of the spring, so manoeuvring them into place is a doddle (one handed job)

The strap webbing is soft, so it doesn't damage the springs coating. This is important, as any scratches in it will let corrosion get started more quickly and before you know it you'll be replacing springs again.