Discovery Rust - Boot, Sills and Wings

Good to 'see' you back. Been away too long!

BOO - I'm Back

Yes the GreenHornet is ALIVE & Kicking - well when i say kicking I mean rattling and throwing bits of metal out of axles - but more of that later on..

First off I must apologise for my absence - I have been messing with another mistress in my life taking the shape of the Lotus 7 Replica - One day I drove her into the garage and then after a while I was working out how to connect this



But enough of that as it doesn't belong on this site, firstly it has NO rust on it and it isn't GREEN

So at the beginning of the month I taxed and insured the 'Hornet' and away I went........for about 10 miles before modifications started again. Much to the annoyance of the new Mrs Hornet (Yes I got married), seems she must love me as I am old, have no money and already have 4 kids between us!!

I needed to finish off the winch bumper as I had a lot of plans and hadnt started anything at all. So to get the ball rolling I brought a 12000lb winch for £150.00. Unfortunately it was buggered. When I fitted it the wires started smoking just when it was winching OUT the cable!!!

What followed was a crash course in winch motor repair that included two new terminals, a complete clean and a new main cable. SORTED but still not tested yet.

To fit it in this is what I did.

I firstly stripped the front of the car down and cleaned off the chassis rails and cross member.



Now I stripped it all down as I was also putting in a new timing belt as I had a buggered water pump. However it wasn't until I removed the timing cover that i realised the engine had the Zeus Timing Gear Conversion. Umm... All the signs were there. Zeus in big letters for one and no timing cover drain screw for another.



Well it did give me time to clean everything down and, much to the annoyance of MattBaxter I painted the pulleys to make them look nice.

Anyhow back to the winch thingy. Onto the clean metal chassis I welded 50x50x2 SHS box section to raise the plate I was mounting the winch onto. As the 'Hornet' has had a body lift, I struggled in vain to get modified winch trays and bumpers to suit the new height. I didnt want any part of the winch exposed beneath the chassis, nor did i want the grill cut out and for you to see the winch.

On top of the box section I seam welded 8mm plate all the way back and this also served as a plate to mount the radiator too, therefore raising that up to the normal sort of height.







Next on went the winch. I mounted the drum centrally and then worked out the cable run ensuring that the main cables from the starter battery to the Aux battery, and the cables from the winch were not going to get rubbed or trapped in anyway.







Now at this point you will notice what the muppet who owned the winch before had down - YES he had wound the cable on incorrectly. the winch cable (and I may be wrong but everything I have read supports what I'm saying so bollocks ) should be wound on from the bottom of the drum. Well on this model anyway. He had it wound in reverse and this can easily damage the brake. anyhow here is the underside of the plate prior to seam welding it.



The funny thing I noticed is that I have gone to all this trouble to make sure the metal is welded in strongly ONLY for the winch itself to be mounted to the vehicle using 4 M10 bolts. PLUS the winch is in two halves held together by two M8 allen bolts!! funny that.

Anyhow this is what she looked like before I started on the bumper.

So the bumper is next.

After winding the cable onto the winch properly, I then set out the bumper height. Measured the centreline and made two cuts to the rear face of the box section. Here I used 60x100x3.2 RHS at £12 a metre roughly.



No I had really wanted a tubular bumper (I have one up for grabs if you dont mind repairing and painting it). But the rear bumper (to come shortly) is of the same steel RHS so i needed it to match.

Once I had got the centre sorted I then made two cuts again and match the bend in the front grill.



I then mounted the fairlead to see what it was going to look like. I also made a low notch in the grill to view the cable as it spooled onto the drum AND another notch to get your hand in to access the clutch



From here I added sections at the corners and made the returns. I also used 60x100x6mm Angle in 100mm lengths for the bumper ount to the chassis and from these I came off with some more 60x100x3.2 RHS cut to shape to weld on the bumper to its mounts. A quick coat of black paint and here we are.









To me it looks nice and it has only cost me a couple of days messing around and 2m of steel and some angle. Eventually I want to replace the steel cable with Dyneema rope and the smaller fairlead that you use with the rope, will be let-in to the bumper to make an even smarter more tidy look.

BARGAIN

So finally onto the problems this week. Wednesday night was raining and dark and miserable when suddenly a grind and a bang followed by a metallic crunching was heard from the back end of the 'Hornet'.

Once underneath I discovery that the rear prop had a massive amount of play in it. Yes the input bearing had failed AND it was all my fault.

*******FLUIDS MUST BE CHECKED & CHANGED REGULARLY*******

Luckily I managed to get a hold of a secondhand diff (Tx GummyBear) and on Friday I spent the day putting it in.

First off, out came the half shafts. Five 17mm bolts per side and a little tap of the rubber mallet was all it took before I realised what a mess was waiting for me inside the axle casing.

Whilst these shafts had no signs of wear on them they were covered in muddy, watery sulphur smelling crud.





Then the prop removed and the fluids drained. Well I say fluid, what came out was a light brown treacle type substance. Once drained of fluid, I unbolted the 9/16ths nuts and removed the Pinion Carrier. (TRIVIA: Many people refer to the big cone shaped thing on the axle as the 'Diff', 'Diff Housing', 'Differential'. In fact it is called the 'Pinion Carrier' or 'Third Member').

Here is what greeted me





The Crown wheel and Differential was just as bad.



Rust can be clearly seen due to the water in the axle case along with being sat for many months while SORN.



So I started to clean up the inside of the casing with WD40, tissues and for the shaft housings a good old fashioned 'Rag on a Stick'.





As you can then see in the photos, and something that I wouldn't have noticed doing this at night, was the big hole in the rear pan which was made when some of the input bearing inner race was pushed through

So a quick clean off with the grinder and out came the welder



The secondhand unit had very little in the way of backlash. It should be around 6 thou and this was pretty damn close. A quick clean of the gasket face and she was ready for putting in.





Once bolted in and filled with fluid, I replaced the diff guard and the prop shaft and went for a spin. All quiet and no clunk from taking up drive.

Job Done

Lovely bumper mate, really like that!

But that 'diff oil' ... heheheheh, as bad as I've seen that ..

So today I spent time changing the fluids in the transfer box and the gearbox. Not much to say on this but I took the motor for a twenty minute run to warm the fluids up before the following.

1. Undid the filler plugs first - Always important
2. Got myself a 10 litre paint tub that was in the garage which I had saved from painting the house.
3. Placed thhe tub under the gearbox and undid the large drain nut
4. after 10 mins and a coffee all fluid was in the tub. Replaced the drain plug
5. Then undid the drain plug from the gearbox extension.
6. Removed the small filter as well - Yes the LT77 boxes have them - Yes even the manuals
7. Once drained I replaced the filter - After cleaning of course - and secured the drain plug
8. Then I undid the transfer box drain bolt
9. After what seemed like ages all the fluid was drained and it was time to re-fill

To re-fill the boxes I used a friends garden sprayer. Absolutely brilliant . However to aid in the process I filled a bucket with HOT water and sat the oil cans on this for about 20 mins. I did this whilst draining all the fluids.

It certainly helped with the EP80-90 for the transfer box and the ATF for the gearbox just flew in. Qty's were about 2.1ltrs for the transfer box and 2.3ltrs for the gearbox. Put it this way, I had 5litres of gear oil and this did both axles and the transfer box and I have 5 litres of the ATF which has done one change of the gearbox and there is just enough for another change if I add 1 more litre.

Once all done I took it for a drive and the change is amazing. Very quiet in the cab and the gear changes are so smooth.

As it has been a while since the fluids have been changed I will run it for a week and then change them all again.

Paul D said:

Lovely bumper mate, really like that!

But that 'diff oil' ... heheheheh, as bad as I've seen that ..

Click to expand...

Yeah I am soo embarrassed about it. That must be some of Salisbury Plain in there too. You may recall my getting stuck......

YEAH I CAN MAKE THIS.....


OH NO I CAN'T.....BUGGER




Trouble is I have some play in the front housing too. I may be able to take this up with a little adjustment on the castellated nut though hopefully as it isn't much

We've all been there mate ..

The rear bumper has also been worked on although not finished yet.

I have been running around with the supports done which were 50x50x2 SHS box section. Over these I put 60x100x3.2 RHS. You may think its over kill but TBH, I want to protect the arse when dropping into holes and gullies as well as from rear impact, PLUS I want swing away wheel carriers and framework eventually like this

[]
[]
\ /
\/



Here is a section of my bumper.


I then added the wrap arounds.





These were then cut to match the flow of the extended arches.



I am still toying with a class 3 type hitch arrangement.



All in all it looks bulky at the moment but it will come good soon as I finish it.

Hey! All good stuff, a good saturday night read, (whilst mrs was watchin casulaty)
your mods are really a high standard, better than any old add on's!!
credit where credit is due, keep it up cos it's good reading
PS your in that mans garage!! i reconise it from that other fred!! makes me envious when i see his lift!!!

discodrivercumbria said:

Hey! All good stuff, a good saturday night read, (whilst mrs was watchin casulaty)
your mods are really a high standard, better than any old add on's!!
credit where credit is due, keep it up cos it's good reading
PS your in that mans garage!! i reconise it from that other fred!! makes me envious when i see his lift!!!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the praise matey.

We all need a good read in between Casualty, Xfactor and countless other crappy soaps lol.

Next up this week are tree sliders

qoute: Next up this week are tree sliders,

carn't wait!!

i would think boyancey bags to float next, your tree sliders won't help do that with all this
bloody rain we are having, absalote pi---g it down here!
is it as bad were you are?

Can I ask what mig set up you are using?

Yes mate it is. Started raining Monday and only stopped briefly yesterday when I replaced the diff. Sill peeing it down now. The garden is like a sludgy mud pit and every time I let the dog out he nearly always nee a bath afterwards.

On the plus side, I can't wait for some off roading later.

Lyndon said:

Can I ask what mig set up you are using?

Click to expand...

I have a 150amp set up. It's a Sealy ripoff which I brought off eBay last year. It's a great little unit.

I typically use 20% argon mix although the last bottle has been 5% mix. Wilst not too different on heavy stuff, I find it worse on thinner material so will be using 20% from now on.

Another thing is I have in the past used small reels of wire. Now I have the larger 5kg reel and to ensure a good feed I have to have the gun tube completely straight or it doesn't feed well.

I can weld anything upto 6mm with confidence and also down to 1mm with a steady hand. Also the best buy was a descent auto helmet. Keeps you hands free and you can see once you stop welding.

My mate has just bought a new 200 amp set up. Can't remember the name but it is a purple unit. It is brilliant!!! Coast him nearly £600 though.

Now with the tree sliders I also have the same problem as everyone else who raises their suspension but keeps the standard trailing arms.



What I really want to do is this



And I need some ideas for the front. I am basing them around a 3 link system and a slit radius arm affair.

Liking your work Hornet :0)

JonnyP said:

Liking your work Hornet :0)

Click to expand...

Cheers JonnyP

Looking good, the diff looked a bit of a nasty job, I suspect mine will be the same when I open it up, and I like the front bumper.

JoelC said:

Looking good, the diff looked a bit of a nasty job, I suspect mine will be the same when I open it up, and I like the front bumper.

Click to expand...

Job wasn't bad to do and very simple. Didn't even need a ramp just literally crawled underneath. Not so sure the front will be as easy. However I may be finding out soon lol

Pit was a bit embarrassing as I am normally quite good at keeping on top of maintenance. It won't happen again. After a couple of off road water sessions it's work £10 for some oil and replace both axles and transfer box fluids.

Yeah I'm happy with the bumper and just need to sort out tree sliders and front/rear arms and bushes.

It never ends.