22-09-2019, 06:10 PM
Following on from yesterday's post(s), I amused myself (if that is the right phrase) by starting on the list of things to be done to the RP that does not require the purchase of bits. The main job of the day was to sort the small amount of 'rock' that has always been present between the steering wheel and the column. The steering wheel also was not centralised, and that has annoyed me from day one.
It looked to be simple job: undo the lower steering column control arms together with the horn wire, undo the clamp just under the upper column control levers , slide the inner column out and remove the nut securing the steering wheel.
It proved to be anything but! Firstly, the little 1/8 whit nuts and bolts holding the lower control arms were impossibly tight right to the end of their threads. Not easy when one has to hold one spanner from under the car to stop the bolt rotating whilst working with another spanner from inside the bonnet to undo the nut, effectively cuddling the front wing.
It took me an hour to get the arms off. Undoing the clamp the other end was easy. Then came the next problem. The inner column wouldn't quite come out. The roof was in the way! If my car had been a 'de-luxe' model with a sunshine roof, there would have been no problem. At least I had enough clearance to remove the steering wheel nut and reposition the steering wheel. The 'rock' in the steering wheel was because there was no washer between the nut and the wheel itself, so I have made a horseshoe washer to interpose between the two. Problem solved!
Having cleaned up the lower arms and their little nuts and bolts, it was a lot easier to put the inner column back together and set the controls up. The trouble is that once one has disturbed the advance /retard control arm, it mucks the fine setting of the timing up, so the Motoring Dog and I have been out on road test, stopping at convenient laybys to play with the distributor to get the timing back to the point where one has the maximum advance without the engine sounding rough. Came back along my favourite straight between Fron Goch and Bala at a steady indicated 45 to 50 (the speedo is a little vague and (according to a friend's 'satnav') reads about 3 mph slow throughout its range, so I am assuming that all is well.
And the steering wheel is straight!
No post should really be without photos, so here goes:
Two shots of the car at Llyn Celyn and one of the Motoring Dog with a big silly grin.
Finally. A question for the cognoscenti. My rear body mountings are bolted directly to the chassis extensions. Should there be small blocks or pads between the body and chassis at this point?
It looked to be simple job: undo the lower steering column control arms together with the horn wire, undo the clamp just under the upper column control levers , slide the inner column out and remove the nut securing the steering wheel.
It proved to be anything but! Firstly, the little 1/8 whit nuts and bolts holding the lower control arms were impossibly tight right to the end of their threads. Not easy when one has to hold one spanner from under the car to stop the bolt rotating whilst working with another spanner from inside the bonnet to undo the nut, effectively cuddling the front wing.
It took me an hour to get the arms off. Undoing the clamp the other end was easy. Then came the next problem. The inner column wouldn't quite come out. The roof was in the way! If my car had been a 'de-luxe' model with a sunshine roof, there would have been no problem. At least I had enough clearance to remove the steering wheel nut and reposition the steering wheel. The 'rock' in the steering wheel was because there was no washer between the nut and the wheel itself, so I have made a horseshoe washer to interpose between the two. Problem solved!
Having cleaned up the lower arms and their little nuts and bolts, it was a lot easier to put the inner column back together and set the controls up. The trouble is that once one has disturbed the advance /retard control arm, it mucks the fine setting of the timing up, so the Motoring Dog and I have been out on road test, stopping at convenient laybys to play with the distributor to get the timing back to the point where one has the maximum advance without the engine sounding rough. Came back along my favourite straight between Fron Goch and Bala at a steady indicated 45 to 50 (the speedo is a little vague and (according to a friend's 'satnav') reads about 3 mph slow throughout its range, so I am assuming that all is well.
And the steering wheel is straight!
No post should really be without photos, so here goes:
Two shots of the car at Llyn Celyn and one of the Motoring Dog with a big silly grin.
Finally. A question for the cognoscenti. My rear body mountings are bolted directly to the chassis extensions. Should there be small blocks or pads between the body and chassis at this point?