Where u can mount the pipe after you form it. I'll show u.

More disappointment!

This evening I got the four swing arms home after wire wheeling them back to bare metal and painting them.



I've been trying to find a set of arm bearings that are worth using. Whilst I'm really keen to replace as much as I can so the car drives as well as possible, at £35 each and needing eight per car I'm also keen not to blow almost £300 on bearings. Whilst I've managed to find five races that are as good as new I can only find a couple of the outer ring parts that are any good. This is rather sad as I can only fit one swing arm, This is a bit pointless, obviously.

All the rings are heavily worn. Annoyingly I don't have the rings that mated with the good bearing races.



So, it looks like I'm into this for a good couple of hundred quid.

I *hate* spending money on cars. I hate it.

To top off this tale of woe and misery, I damaged the paint on one of the arms on my way home.



FFS.

Put them in as they are for now, they will work (because they have worked before)..
Then ask all your family for a bearing these Xmas next birthday aso... Would take about 2 years then (don't know the number of your family and friends).....

Putting in a bearing would take you about 2 or 3 hours.... so doable...

I'll buy the bearings, as and when I can afford it. I'm going to bring the engine and gearbox home tomorrow and start stripping them down on the bench. I'm reasonably confident that there's not a lot of expense involved in freshening them up so that'll be the next job until I have got the bearings.

Good news!

I recently discovered a new fastenings supplier locally and they stock M7 AND M9. Which is handy. They're also on some sort of constant fiddle and everything is a bargain if you don't want a receipt...

Quick question; I have got the tank saddle/seat belt mount ready to go on, is it acceptable to tap the threaded plates out to M10 and use some nice 12.9 cap screws I picked up at the previously mentioned fastener company?

Oh, and while I'm asking, for the fuel tank mounting bolts I have a selection of oval washers, I have twice as many washers as I do places to bolt them, are they also spacers? what's the sequence for fitting them?

Yes, they are spacers, but I can't remember the sequence. I bet Ken does

Russell,
those spreader plates (aka lumps of steel strap) were only necessary on an original chassis in order to provide adequate pullout strength; if your aftermarket chassis has a 3mm thick web through which the bolts pass, 10mm bolts, nuts and washers should be OK.

Re fuel tank mountings, reading 'upwards' on the rearmost pair; M7 bolts/set screw > plain M7 washer > oval steel washer > oval plastic washer > petrol tank mounting flange > small square plastic washer used as spacer.

At the front end of the tank/into the rear axle: M7 set screw > plain M7 washer > oval steel washer > oval plastic washer > tank flange > round plastic spacer/bobbin about 10mm deep.

Guess a photograph would have been easier, but too cold and damp to be out in the shed right now.

i left the tanksaddle out as i don't have rear seatbelt anyway. I cut the space between the two holes open so i can get at the fuelline and the gauge wire.

This would be ideal but I want rear seat belts. I guess I could have made something that allowed access to the sender but I hope not to need to get to it very often.

Thanks Ken, I just tore the whole thing to bits without paying much attention. Dumb move!

All the fuel tank questions were a bit pointless because I forgot to bring it home. Arse.

What I did remember to bring home was the engine. It's been sitting out in the weather for a while and it's only a matter of time before its fubar.



I've only half made the engine stand so it's currently on the WorkMate, which isn't quite strong enough to instill confidence. It's the best I can do until I've made a proper engine stand/trolley thing for it. As mentioned, I don't have a pot to piss in so with any luck the engine will just want a bit of tarting up. What it certainly needs is new manifold studs because they were not coming off. I attatcked them with a grinder and a chisel and now that's that.



I've left it tonight draining the oil as best it can and I can start taking stuff off it tomorrow and assessing what to do with it.

You lot take the piss out of us southerners for being upside down, at least we don't drain oil sideways!