I got the roll of pipe delivered yesterday as well as the additional fittings needed to make up the brake pipes. I just tried making off an end of the Kunifer using the cheap tool I always used for copper and it worked fine and made a good flare.
So sometime over the next few days I'll start making up the pipes and see if that job can be completed apart from the two up to the master which will need to wait till the bulkheads on.
Galv chassis have lots of holes in them to allow the galv process to work and not explode enclosed sections. There are obviously a lot more holes than in a standard steel chassis (ie dozen and dozens of them)
I have just had delivered a selection of various sized rubber blanks and 4lt of Dinitrol, My intention is to inject cavity wax into all the chassis sections and blank off all the holes with blanks apart from the lowest level ones which will act as drain holes.
What have others done on Galv chassis to blank holes and openings?
My thoughts are to blank as many holes as possible to stop water and mud getting in as much as possible but is this normal practice for most?
Well pumped in nearly 2lt of Dinitrol penetrating cavity wax tonight and plugged about 60% of the holes on the top and sides of the chassis sections, ran out of 10mm blanks so just ordered more to finish.
I am leaving the lowest holes open to act as drains but everything else is being blanked off to try and stop mud and water getting in the the first place., I reckon as long as I make sure the drains are open now and again this should be fairly effective rust prevention on top of the galv and the Corroless paint treatment.
Ask me again in about 15 years if it worked
Tonight I got the PWDA bracket baked and mounted, the PWDA valve mounted, the T piece on the front crossmember and the one on the rear hose mounted and the fuel pump fixings fitted. Too dark now for pics tonight
Thats all the parts ready and here to start making brake lines and start plumbing them into the various parts of the chassis.
Will also need to source fuel line but not sure what to use at the moment, half the vehicle was in rigid nylon hose and half was in copper so not sure just what should have been there originally and the parts manual doesn't help.
I have black plastic pipe on both the feed and return to the tank. Perhaps the copper was installed at a later date?
Mine appears to be original from 1974….
The copper went from the pump to the fuel filter on the engine. There is only one pipe from the tank to the pump and this was in rigid black nylon? pipe
Started on the brake pipes tonight, weather a bit damp so didn't get far. However there is no hurry, rather do it right and take my time than rush things. Trying to get as much of the little chassis parts on while it is on the roller before putting on the springs and working on the axles on the ground the right way up. Once it is off the roller I can't turn it over any more and I am getting too old to be working on the bare ground outside these days.
Plus I can only go as fast as I can afford the bits and its not the only project on the go !
Pump fully fitted and the rear brake line completed, start on the front ones tomorrow and finish plugging all the holes in the chassis as another batch of grommets turned up today.
No much progress the last week or so, domestic works on the house interrupted play
Went out today and completed all the chassis brake lines and finished plugging the chassis.
Next job is powdercoating the spring shackles and painting the new parabolics black.
Once these are mounted the whole thing will need to come off the roller back onto stands as it is getting too heavy now.
I'd reccomend clear fuel lines if you haven't already purchased an alternative. I used about 5m of 5mm internal hose to do both lines from/to the tank, filter etc. Makes identifying air leaks very easy. It is a little bit less rugged than the nylon, but I used some length of split conduit to protect it once I was happy the fuel system was good.
I am still thinking of what to use for fuel line but since the pump and tank are now on the pipe is accessible from the top so isn't urgent as yet.
I went out and blasted, coated and baked all the shackles later on tonight so they are now ready to fit.
They were all new NOS but I found that some had no paint on them and the rest only had that very thin matt black coating. Plus two of them the holes were not large enough for the shackle bolts to go through.
So drilled the offending ones out so the bolts would fit, blasted them all and tried a two coat powdercoat with a zinc rich primer. Seemed to work OK for a first attempt at this.
Springs now need fully painted and they can all go on the chassis sometime this week hopefully.
Got the last plugs in, pumped in some more wax and painted the tank and some of the unseen crossmembers at the rear with waxoyl today.
Turned her over and loosely fitted the springs. Its now too heavy to turn over so the next job is getting the crane out to the tent and lifting her off the frame onto stands again before cleaning the axle cases and refitting them. Can't fit the front spring until the weight is off as the frame is bolted through the front frame fixing at the mo.
Back to domestic chores for the next few days but happy enough with the progress over the weekend.
View attachment 247663 Once it is off the roller I can't turn it over any more and I am getting too old to be working on the bare ground outside these days.!
When working in a tent can really recommend laying down 2-3layers of 1200dpm, then top off with sheets of 12mm+ marine ply. Dpm's cheap as chips and really does keep out the damp from the ground. The marine ply can be picked up used/second hand and gives a great floor for lifting + being able to sweep up, having a clean floor. For super-duper comfort one can buy large/thick neoprene mechanic mats...they're very comfortable to work from
Unfortunately the roller is meant for a much shorter lighter car than a 109. The chassis as stuff gets added is now getting a bit heavy for the roller to cope and is getting quite heavy to turn over.
I may put something down when I get the chassis mobile but at the moment the wheels on the roller are too small to move around on the gravel bearing in mind the weight, maybe once the wheels are on.
Nothing moved tonight but did manage to get the chassis lifted off the roller, the roller disassembled and the chassis laid stable on axle stands on the spring plates. Next job will be to get the chassis jacked up onto something more solid and stable and start on the axles.
Ideally I would use the wheeled and linked stands I have for that but they are holding the MG up at the moment.
First coat of primer on tonight, this one is fairly easy as I can bolt it onto the springs pretty easily and build up the rest on the vehicle. I cleaned it, wiped it down with rust converter and then sprayed it with strong degreaser, it will be painted with the same 4 coat Corroless system I used on the chassis
Not looking forward to the rear as it will need to be done with the diff in and it is just a bit too heavy to easily move around.
I'll get this one on the vehicle and then worry about the second one when I come to it