0014 Back to Qld and work on the VW

0014 Back to Qld to work on VW
20th January 2019
Time to head home.

Janet & sister Sally in Mt Eliza

Had a lovely 3 days with Sally and Mike in Mt Eliza, which included lots of games of cards as well as an excellent lunch in The Grand Hotel in Mornington.  Quite cool in Melbourne, and it rained a bit which was good, but it was time to head north after a very enjoyable time with them both.  Due to the fires to the east, we drove via the (somewhat boring) Hume Highway to our

With Jos & Tony and family in Yak

friends Jos and Tony in Yackandandah, just in from Albury.  Normally I would drive through the beautiful Snowy Mountains to get to Yack, but the fires have made this impossible at the moment.  As always, great to catch up with Jos and Tony and kids and grandkids.  We had a lunch in Albury where Tony had a doctor's appointment, but the rest of the time was spent at the farm, either playing cards or drinking red wine !!   Very pleasant couple of days.

Camping on the way home

From Yack we headed north again, overnighting in a great rest area near a waterfall about half way home, and then getting home the following evening.  We drove up the Newell Highway and saw no sign of any fires all the way home until, after Warwick, we were coming down the hill at Cunningham's Gap and that was all burnt out.  But other than that, nothing.  The fires really were concentrated on the coast and down in the entire SE corner of Victoria / NSW.  But after almost 6 weeks away, it was good to be home again, and able to get back into a routine.

Rusty speedo

After a couple of days of weariness (travel lag, or was it just old age fatigue ?), it was time to get back into the VW.  Over my time away from working on the car, I have realised how much more I still have to do, despite the large amount I already have done.  Much of the "big" stuff is done - Engine and gearbox rebuilt and

ready to re-install, All 4 wings and the inside wings rust proofed

Re-furbished speedo

and primed and ready for painting, roof primed and ready for painting, inside of roof and floor all cleaned up and rust proofed, and all the front suspension and steering all refurbished and back together.  But I had not anticipated dismantling the rear suspension until I saw the poor state of the rubber bushes, and that had turned out to be a major job for me.  Additionally I still had to do the gauges, the wiring, and also investigate the play in the steering column.  So I decided to start with the gauges.

I had to remove the gauges in order to remove the ratty old dashboard.  They just clip in place, but one has to lie flat on the floor in order to see and reach up behind the dash in order to release the clips.  Luckily a friend had left an old yoga mat behind, so I spread that on the floor so I could have at least a little comfort !  The gauges quickly came out, and all wires were labelled so I know where they go, and I started work on the gauges themselves.  They came apart fairly easily and the chrome rims actually polished up really well just with AutoSol.  The inner surrounds were pretty rusty but with some fine emory paper they cleaned up

Removing switches

well, and a spray with a satin finish silver soon had them looking like new.  The perspex screens also cleaned up well, and once the 50 year old corrosion was removed from the dial lights, they were ready to go again.  I tested the original clock on a battery and it didn't seem to be working, so I took that off to Attila my gauge repair man and left it with him to check it out.  If it doesn't want to work again, I might just end up fitting a period tachometer in the spot for the clock, and fitting a regular clock somewhere else.  But as that is nothing to do with getting the car running again, I will leave that for later !   I then took all the switches off the dash, cleaned them up, and got them ready for re-installation.  That also included the headlight relay and indicator unit - If they don't work, I will replace them with new, but I want to try all the original parts first in order to try to save money.

Fusebox as found

Next it was on to the fuse box and wiring.  Once under the dashboard, I could see that not only were all the fuse box terminals really corroded, but also there were quite a lot of wires that seemed to go no where.  First job was to remove the fuse box, and this involved labelling every wire.  I have several different wiring diagrams, but not one of them seems to fit my car entirely.

Original vs new fuse boxes

Maybe the Australian built 1970 cars had a mish mash of Euro parts and USA parts, or even Brazilian parts ? !! So there is a lot of work to do there.  I intend to fit blade fuses instead of the old cylindrical style, so I had to buy a new panel - Unfortunately the original panel is quite complicated, and the only way I can use a more modern box is to use two smaller panels, so that is what I will try initially. 

Isn't wiring fun ?

With the wiring all out and labelled, it was time to tackle the steering column.  Luckily the car came with an old spare column, so I was able to take that apart first and see how it worked. Unfortunately it is not much use because all the plastic parts in it are perished and brittle and falling apart.  I checked on line to see

Work starts on steering column

which parts were still available, and ordered what I hope will be the correct parts from California - We will see once they arrive !  I then pulled my steering column apart, and found that the excessive movement (not steering wheel play, but just a "floppy" steering column) was because it had been installed incorrectly previously.  A plastic bushing was not only perished and collapsing, but in fact was in the wrong place !  I also found the steering column mount itself was missing a couple of screws and was loose, so once the parts arrive, I think all will be good.  But, like the wiring, it was not something I expected to have to do, so that was another few days of unexpected work !

Dismantling RH axle bearings

Next it was on to the right rear brakes and axle.  I was almost ready to reinstall the LH side, so it was time to start on the right - And everything came off pretty easily. brakes off, cleaned up, and taken down to Wayne at Better Brakes for reshoeing and refurb of the brake cylinder.  The trailing arm seem to come off more easily than the other side (or was that because I now knew how to do it ?), and before long I had the short axle and bearings out of there, and the trailing arm was taken off for sandblasting.  When I took

VW logo on original ? oil seal

one of the rubber grease seals out, it was very tight, but when I got it out, there was a very clear "VW" logo on it.  This infers to me that it might be original both because it was so tightly in there, but also because in the last 30 years or so, the newer seals are not VW seals but are from 3rd party suppliers.  So yet another indication that some of the parts on this car have never been touched since new in 1970. 

Trailing arm before sandblasting

Trailing arm all refurbished

Pulling the axle and bearings out, I took great care to double
check the correct way round for some of the spacers that I had overlooked (through ignorance) on the other side.   All good, and once cleaned up, ready with new bearings and seals.  With the trailing arm back from the sandblasters, that was given two coats of anti-rust primer and two coats of anti-rust top coat, and then it was ready to have the axle and bearings reinserted.

Turn buckle used for torsion bars

It was then time to re-isert the LH side torsion bar.  Being another "first time", this proved VERY frustrating, and actually took me 2 days

At the correct 22 degrees

due to this - I just couldn't work out how to do it ! I then found that the bolts that hold the part together were corroded, as were the holes they fitted into, so I had to buy taps and dies to enable me to clean up there threads on both.   I also had to go and buy a new turn buckle because the pressure of the preload is proving almost too much for them, and is damaging the thread, and I don't need it to give way with that much pressure on it.  Anyway, I finally managed to get the torsion bar in at the correct 22° angle, and the preload set and the bar up onto its stop.  New rubber bushings are in and everything tightened up, ready to fit the trailing arm.  What a relief. 

When I rebuilt the Healey, I was working out of the garage at Classic Car Clinic, and had the help of Steve mechanically and Andrew for the body work. Unfortunately CCC are moving premises so are in a bit of turmoil at present, and meanwhile Andrew, who is now out in his own, is proving to be very disorganised time-wise, and very slow to get work done.  Between the wiring and steering etc, I have plenty to keep me busy, but after no progress on a couple of the small rust spots on the wings, I decided to take them back off Andrew, and look elsewhere.  I eventually found a place called GC Restoration and they agreed to do the work.  They weren't cheap, but in 3 days I had the panels back.  With the upheavals at CCC, and particularly their relocation, the advantage of having a paint shop and an upholstery shop all close by has gone out of the window, so maybe I need to look for a new option, which is a bit of a bugger, but not much I can do about it.  It just happens that GC Restoration can do panel repairs, have a paint shop, and also an upholstery shop all in the same compound, which removes the need to have the (non-running, non registered) car trucked between each work shop.  So I am working on this. 

Broken RH engine mount

Last thing I looked at this week was the rear engine mount. It appears that

Undamaged LH engine mount

the right hand rear axle had a sideways "bang" at some stage.   There is no panel damage, so it doesn't look like an accident, but when I had the gearbox rebuilt they found a shattered spacer, and suggested it could only have happened from a sharp impact on the wheel or hub.  On closer inspection I found that the right hand engine mount is slightly bent, and also a few of the small tack welds have been broken.  No big deal, but it reinforces the idea of the "bang" that damaged the gearbox internals, and is something that needs to be welded up before the engine is re-installed.  While doing that, I may as well strengthen them a bit so it doesn't happen again. 

Ooooooh !!!    Fun!

Lastly, one idea I have is of taking the car to Alaska in September 2022, because I REALLY like Alaska, and also want to go in September when the salmon are running, as I haven't been there at that time of year before. Then, while looking at the Rally Round website (https://www.rallyround.co.uk/rally-round-launches-2020-2022-calendar-of-driving-adventures/) I find that they are planning an Alaskan Rally at exactly that time !   Now, I am not sure I will be able to afford to do it, but it really would fit in with my timing and is something great to look forward to !!   We will see.

Rest of the pics are here :-   https://photos.app.goo.gl/WFzGJbdi1YJVxq15A