1982 Eclat Riviera restoration......

[Benco]

Chassis prep complete... does anyone have the thread sizes for all of the captive threads on the chassis?

 

[EXCEL V8]

Seat belt anchors 7/16" UNF.  Rear suspension "bobbins" 5/16" UNF.  Not sure about the front upper body mounts.

Pete

[Benco]

Thanks for those sizes, does anyone else have an idea of the remaining sizes?

also, the x4 chassis lifting points, anyone know the size of those? (I’m looking to build a small dolly to move the chassis around in /out of the garage)

 

 

[Benco]

Morning, just a quick question as I’m getting to the point of rebuilding:

- any recommendations for the closed cell foam for the rear cross member and between the body and main chassis (above the tunnel), and also those small rectangular pieces as sound deadening on top of the radius arms?

- also recommendations for any anti-seize for the suspension bush sleeves (front and back)?

 

[EXCEL V8]

I'd recommend using a reasonably dense closed-cell foam - the fibreglass above the crossmember takes the weight of a full tank of petrol.  I buy most of my foam from D&B Tapes - he's really helpful if you call.  I used double-sided tape to keep mine in place as well.

Copaslip or Alumslip are both very good anti-seize greases.

Pete

[soldave]

8 hours ago, EXCEL V8 said:

Copaslip or Alumslip are both very good anti-seize greases.

I usually use copaslip on...well pretty much any bolts that go back in the car!

[Tony D]

Copaslip for me too. Used it for years anywhere two different metals are in contact. 

Still recall the first time I tried removing the wheels from my Elite. - Totally furred up. Lashings of Copaslip ever since. 

Tony 

[Bibs]

This stuff is also very good between mixed metals. 

https://www.mbfg.co.uk/duralac.html

[Benco]

Great feedback, thanks - Copaslip it is! And I’ll follow up on the foam recommendation.

Cheers

[Benco]

I’m slowly acquiring bits and pieces for the front suspension rebuild, it’s going to be my Christmas activity and present to myself 🙂.

In my disassembly haste I didn’t label my passenger / driver side vertical links. I’ve new trunnions etc and these are labelled ‘L’ and ‘R’.

1) ‘L’  - I presume means passenger side - could anyone confirm?

2) How can I identify which of the vertical links goes with which trunnion?
 

Thanks

 

 

[EXCEL V8]

The trunnions have LH or RH threads - they can only be screwed onto the correct uprights.

Pete

[Benco]

Well Pete, you’re right thanks for the feedback (now I need to have a word with myself for not thinking about that!). When assembling is it a case of screwing them completely in until they are unable to move any further and backing off a turn? Or another method?

thanks

Terry

 

[EXCEL V8]

Screw it in as far as it will go but remember that it still has to turn when in situ.  Usually you have to back it off slightly to allow enough movement when assembled.

Pete

[Benco]

Slow but steady progress on the front end. After scaring myself compressing the springs (with plenty of safety measures in place) I’ve now fitted the shock absorbers and after finding a friendly garage to press in the lower link bushes - I’ve fitted the new trunnions.

I’ve torqued up the trunnion bolts - with everything supergreased - but the trunnions seem quite stiff to move.  What should I be expecting?

 

[soldave]

Not sure about the trunnions, but I'll agree on those front springs. Taking them off is one of the most terrifying moments I've had working on a car! I ran out of the garage with it like it was a bomb!

[eclat22]

Hi, when you say you have greased everything up does that include the trunnions? There is a thought that trunnions should be filled with ep90 oil from memory and when new should be  nice and snug unless the uprights thread has corroded and warn, 

[Benco]

Hi Dan, thx for coming back, I’m wondering about the tightness of the trunnion and how easily it should move up and down (rotate) around its new bush kit at the end of the lower link arm. With its new kit it was a snug fit in the arm itself and that was before torquing up the trunnion bolt.

I can rotate it up and down but I’m not sure whether it should be as stiff as it is. Before I cut the old ones free, one of them was really tight and the other was so loose that with the weight of the link arm it would ‘flop forward’ on its own.

 

 

 

[eclat22]

So you are talking about where the trunnions are bolted to the lower link. I believe it should pivot between the bush and the bush sleeve, if this pinches up tighter when the bolt is torqued up has the bush washer been caught between the sleeve and lower link? When new I would expect this to be tight as I would assume you needed to squeeze the sleeve in. I was originally thinking you was talking about the steering motion of the trunnions

[Benco]

Hi, yes you’re spot on, the bushes were a tight fit in the trunnion. I think the outer of the 2 metal washers is being caught between the lower link and the metal sleeve (I didn’t think the hole on this washer was big enough to let the sleeve ‘through’ to the lower link). I’ll check that out and if that’s not the case maybe it’s just because it’s all ‘unworn’ at the moment.

thx for feedback!

[EXCEL V8]

Also make sure the rubber sealing washer is seated properly between the two washers.  I've got a kit from SJ (although I'm trunnion-less now) where the rubber seal is far too small in dimeter to sit properly.  If this gets trapped it will make things very tight.  The holes in the outer washers of this kit are bolt-sized - I'd assumed they should be trapped between the spacer tube and arm?

Pete

[eclat22]

Did you oil or grease the trunnions?

[Benco]

So to help (I hope) here’s a sketch of how I have used the kit in the trunnion. The square profile sealing ring is a tight fit around the circumference of the bush flange, and it’s also about the same thickness as the flange itself.

I presume that when bolted in, the sleeve is tightened against the outer washer and the lower wishbone. I guess the bush itself might also become compressed between the trunnion, the outer washer and the lower wishbone?

The trunnion then rotates around the bush (and also against the face of the inner washer).

The sealing ring is a tight fit - it had to be stretched a little to fit around the circumference of the bush flange, I placed it there having watched some videos on YouTube - so maybe it should be in a different place. I greased every surface before final assembly (and I intend to use EP90 at the trunnion/vertical link interface as others have done, rather than grease).

I think this whole setup is correct?

 

 

[Clive59]

Good to see some nice drawings. Takes me back to my old school tech drawing days.

[EXCEL V8]

Yep - spot on Terry.

Pete

[Benco]

Delighted to share that the front end largely complete with just hub bearings to change and brake ‘link pipes’ to be built for each side.

...but a quick question about track rod ends... I measured the position of the track rod ends on the arms when I took everything apart. Now I’ve fitted new ones, it seems that I can’t screw the new ends in far enough (both sides) to ensure that the wheels are pointing in the same direction.... seems to have too much toe out...

... what am I missing? Could the new track rod ends (From SJ for a manual rack) be longer than the ones I replaced (and have gone long ago to the metal recycling - so I sadly can’t compare)...