Pick up Restoration (Part 1)

Post by **davidmiles** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:43 pm

surprising how all those components weight adds up, the cab is really off balance now. Have to get started on the offside front suspension soon, then I can re position the lighter cab on the dolly. then its time to strip out all the windscreen wipers and other small bits...

Post by **davidmiles** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:46 pm

Here at last is the nearside kingpin free and ready for a cleanup. Anyone got any advice/tips about kingpin restoration?.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:02 pm

collect as many pots, tubs, egg boxs, chocolate box's as you can, they become invaluable as you progress.

Chinese/Indian takeaway round here are a valuable supply of clear plastic tubs and 2 litre icecream containers for bigger parts...

As for the kingpin - just a good wire brush but if the threads are badly worn or heavily rusted then don't waste time on it.
aupickup mentioned it already (IIRC) that you need to remove the pivot pin from lower trunnion before you can unscrew it.

LH kingpin is LH thread, and LH trunnions marked with an L.
[although if all the trunnions were RH thread it probably would not have made too much difference, but LH and RH are different]

Post by **jaekl** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:49 pm

The left hand thread was chosen for the left side to reduce body roll in turns. Had they both been right hand thread, right turns would lower the front and left would raise it. If the left hand thread would be on the right, it would have created excessive roll. He had to make a decision based on something. Then again maybe something other than threads would have been better.

Post by **davidmiles** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:52 pm

Thanks Ray,I'll take that into consideration, quick work on your thread by the way, can you take off my last comment on your thread saying "for deletion", thats now redundant.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:06 pm

can you take off my last comment on your thread saying "for deletion", thats now redundant.

no sooner said than done.
As for the dodgy poster I'm also impressed how quick that was done - although not too surprised for this site!

For the track rod end balljoint - I have a screw/lever type remover which has never really struggled with them - that's probably why i didn't recommend to undo them first

sorry about that and am glad the big hammer trick worked.

When I fixed up my pickup last year I had to use the big hammer one heck of a lot - mostly on the front suspension including freeing up the arms on the torsion bar splines. Patience and release fluid helped but after 2 weeks they still needed major brute force.

Post by **davidmiles** » Wed May 13, 2009 2:59 pm

The front offside suspension was the target for today. Unfortunatley not as straightforward as the other side, some bolts were not only rusted on, but were rusted partly away, this made contact inside the socket wrench impossible, so the answer late in the day... grind them off enough to break them apart, this left the thread on the forward part of the torsion bar intact. but the thread of the lower link fulcrum pin was destroyed.
In the Haynes it has an exploded view showing this to be a seperate component to the king pin, hope I can get a replacement.

Post by **aupickup** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:22 pm

yes you can buy fulcrum pins seperate

Post by **rayofleamington** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:46 pm

I'd expect you might be needing eyebolts as well as the pin - unless the big nut comes off ok.
That will leave a sleeve on the eyebolt shank (formally part of the chassis leg) which can often be "well stuck" but as it's no longer inside the chassis leg it'll easier to get the 2 seperated.

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:44 pm

I've just got back from an 8 hour round trip to Summerset to see Big Ginger again, this time for the chassis triangles, sadly none to be had, but he did make sure I didn't go home empty handed, for no extra cost he threw in a load of goodies for my project starting with... replacement tailgate, shown with its rusty predecesor.

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:46 pm

Gear box cover plate, again with its incomplete hole filled original I can now chuck...

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:48 pm

cab lower rear panel

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:49 pm

and the bits I'm really chuffed about, the rear floors

Post by **jaekl** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:04 pm

In case you haven't noticed, your new gearbox cover is the early Series III style. Totally interchangeable but the later one will give you a bit more room for the driver's left foot. The drivers with LHD cars enjoy a bit wider foot well due to the right bias of the remote gear selector.

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:14 pm

Cor! well spotted Jaekl, I only noticed the difference after you mentioned it, and even then I had to compare them side by side.
Well done, we should call you hawkeye.

Post by **bigginger** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:33 pm

Will VERY happily exchange for a seies V one - didn't know there was a difference

Post by **aupickup** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:41 pm

the triangulat bits for the chasis can be fabricated, but need to be the correct angle, and also have the spacings for the captive nuts for the tunnel in the right place, also the corrrect width

good luck with that
ask les for some measurements of these

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:50 pm

rayofleamington wrote:I'd expect you might be needing eyebolts as well as the pin - unless the big nut comes off ok.
That will leave a sleeve on the eyebolt shank (formally part of the chassis leg) which can often be "well stuck" but as it's no longer inside the chassis leg it'll easier to get the 2 seperated.

To look at them Ray, you wouldn't think I have a hope of saving them, but lets see, Ive been surprised before with thread surviving under rust.
I'll clean them up tommorow and post a picture here.

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:57 pm

bigginger wrote:Will VERY happily exchange for a seies V one - didn't know there was a difference

Don't you worry Andrew, you've done me proud today, many thanks, I'm going to use the gearbox cover you supplied, its only got surface rust, I'm very well used to that. wire brush and its as good as new.

Post by **davidmiles** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:04 pm

Les, do you have a tech drawing with measurments of a chassis triangle, couldn't print it on here by any chance? I'll pp you...