Back On The Road!

Well, Coventry's Finest is back on the road!

That last run of work was not a small one, but the car is in significantly better shape than when it entered that phase. I finally resolved the brake issue when I found that the new caliper pistons I installed were actually slightly out of round and were locking up in the calipers. Before getting all that right however, I had also rebuilt the master cylinder.

In the process of rebuilding the brake master cylinder, I found that the clutch master cylinder was completely blown. It still operated, but it was leaking heavily. The rebuild on it was quick, but I found that the cylinder casting was completely shot. I ended up using an old Girling casting which was in perfect shape. I used several other parts from the old cylinder, including the piston.

So, here is the latest list:

Rebuilt Rear Hubs - rebuilt by Phil (all other items rebuilt by myself)
New Outer Universal Joints
Rebuilt Front Hubs
Rebuilt Front Brake calipers (new seals, new stainless pistons)
Rebuilt Brake Master Cylinder
Rebuilt Clutch Master Cylinder
Refinished Tail Light Assemblies
Repainted Kamm Tail
Rear Bumper rustproofed inside and painted inside
New Interior Visors
New Bullet Door Mirror
Seats Reupholstered
Differential Oil Topped Up
All Rock Pecks Touched Up

It feels great to have it back on the road again!

Back On The Road....

So, the green monster is back on the road.

Took too long, but I got it there. Yesterday, my buddy Matt came by and we took an hour or so to bleed the brakes and get the braking system running- or stopping I should say.

The first couple of rides and the rear brakes got pretty doggone hot. It seemed like the rear brakes were set too tight. I got out a wrench and re-adjusted the rears and took it for a spin. The result was much better than previously.

So, while the car sat on stands, I was able to complete the following....

- Reupolstered most of the trunk
- Rewired the coil
- Repainted the wheels and wheel centers
- Repainted and refinished the steering shaft
- Repainted and refinished the rear of the exhaust system - Tried to get it looking like a Monza exhaust tip
- Repainted and refinished the rear braking assemblies and drums
- Installed new rear wheel cylinders
- Installed Speed Bleeders in all cylinders.
- Repainted and refinished the brake booster
- Repainted and refinished as well as rebuilt the master cylinder
- Rebuilt the PDWA
- Installed new flexible lines in the rear brakes
- Installed new flexible lines in the front brakes
- Repainted and refinished the front brakes
- Installed new brake pads in the front brakes

The results are pretty doggone good!

More of the Good, Bad and Ugly

So there is good news in this story.... (see earlier post for the story)

The good news is that there is nothing wrong with the threads in the trailing arm. Not stripped, not even worn out. Everything threaded back together nicely.

However, I've decided to put steel inserts in the trailing arm to reinforce the holes. I did the driver's side years ago, and now its time to do the passenger side. To make the job easier, I'll be using the jig from Patton Machine. Sixpack member Poolboy offered to ship it to me to let me use it. Should make the job easier than when I did the driver's side.

I'm now waiting for the parts to install the wheel cylinders (one set was completely missing) so I'm going to pull a few other things off the car and work them over to get them right.

In the meantime, I've painted up the drums, stripped and painted the backing plates for the brakes, and have most of the car ready to go back together.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Again!

I've been thinking for some time now that the rear hubs in my car were coming apart or at least seriously worn out. This is something that happens with TR6's and definitely with 40year old TR6's, of which they all are... The car had been wobbling in the back end when I'd go over any crown in the road. As I mentioned, the back end was wobbling.

The bad news is that I replaced the hubs approximately ten thousand miles ago. They should not be bad by now.

So, the other day, the car began to clunk when going over bumps. I knew the sound was the sound of loose mounting bolts holding the lever shock in place on the right trailing arm.

I pulled the wheel off to tighten up the mounting bolt, but found that the wheel was wobbling terribly. A very serious flopping...

So after tightening up the lever shock, I grabbed the drum and wiggled it. However when I did, the backplate wiggled with it..... Yikes. I decided to pop the drum off and put a wrench on the nuts/studs that hold the hub in the trailing arm - and as the drum came off, something fell out of it. Definitely an ugly sign.

I checked and quickly found the hole the stud came out of. I tried to insert the stud, and there was nothing to bite on - Uglier yet.

The good however was/is that the rest were just loose. I tightened up each of the remaining studs and the hub was then completely tightened up. Not perfect, but still significantly tighter than before and perfectly usable.

So now, its time to get my hands on some helicoils and fix the trailing arm. I thought I had done them all years ago, but apparently not all of them.