1971 HLS30-14938 "Lily" build

[Captain Obvious]

Yup. The BFI method still works. Glad you got those rear bushings done. Not sure I would have posted pics of those "welds" though... I think I would have kept them to myself.  Are you sure you had the gas turned on? 

I know exactly what you mean about going to the home improvement stores on the weekends... I try to avoid them too!

[Mark Maras]

 Welds look like the wire speed was too fast and or the tip was too far from the weld. I have to get really close to the weld with the gun on my Eastwood 135.

[Patcon]

The welds are ugly, but they really didn't matter. I know the gas was on but might not have had enough flow. The tank is getting low on pressure. I still lean towards the metal still having some impurities from the quick prep I gave it. Wire speed might have been a little high too. I didn't really fuss with it; just burnt it up...

[Patcon]

Worked on the front suspension some more. Tried to assemble the Tension Rods. There must be a trick to it. I searched through some old threads but couldn't find anything. How do you compress the new rubber to get the nut started? Also which side of the bushing faces which way. there is a flat side and a rounded side. I have the flat sides in right now.

Trying to find some knuckle bolts right now. I think I have some in my parts car stash.

I also worked on the front fender today. Welded in the patch panel and use the shrinking disc to try to make it right. It's not perfect but it will work...

[Captain Obvious]

Haha! Yeah, I know the welds didn't have to look pretty. I was just busting your chops. I got no room to talk! 

So, about the tension rod bushings... Here is the correct orientation for the washers and the bushings:

Or, if using poly, the poly goes on the front and rubber on the back:

I didn't have any troubles getting the nuts started... Are you doing this with the suspension loaded, or the suspension hanging?

[Patcon]

No worries on the ugly welding commentary. I'm a function over form guy on most things...

So the large washers go with the dome side in???? That seems counter intuitive but it would probably give me the room I need to get the nut started. The car is upside down on the rotisserie so no loading and very easy to manipulate...

Is there a smaller washer on both ends? I thought there was only a washer on the bar end not the nut end?

[Captain Obvious]

Yup. Domes in, and small washers on both ends.

[Patcon]

I got one side assembled about 11:00 last night. Domes in gives enough room with a little effort to get the nut started. I will have to add another washer but I bet one they are initially compressed it will be easier to add the washer...

[jfa.series1]

I got one side assembled about 11:00 last night. Domes in gives enough room with a little effort to get the nut started. I will have to add another washer but I bet one they are initially compressed it will be easier to add the washer...

Yup. Domes in, and small washers on both ends.

I used a big C clamp to compress the assembly to get the nut on the rod.

[disepyon]

In regards to your welds on the insert you made, looks like the material was well cleaned. As others said, probably just a combination of your settings when you welded it. Only thing I can say is just practice practice practice.  I myself should be out more practicing but I tend to get lazy. If I were welding on someone else car parts, then I would spend some time practicing before. But if its just for me, I dont care, like you said, more of a function guy than looks (to a certain extent). Looks like it worked out well in the end for you. Now I know what to look for if I have to do this, thanks.

[Careless]

On 8/12/2017 at 0:44 PM, Patcon said:

The welds are ugly, but they really didn't matter. I know the gas was on but might not have had enough flow. The tank is getting low on pressure. I still lean towards the metal still having some impurities from the quick prep I gave it. Wire speed might have been a little high too. I didn't really fuss with it; just burnt it up...

definitely looks like low gas output welds. perhaps you have some particulate and metal build up from previous welds stuck in the mig nozzle gas ports. you can tell there is some gas flow, because the surface of each weld "bulb" does not have cratering or pitting from being completely unshielded. If you had no gas whatsoever, it would look like burnt popcorn as zinc and rubber make their way to the surface and pop out of the molten metal.

I wouldn't chalk it up to skill at all going by what I see. I've made similar welds on non structural items only to realize during cleanup time that the MIG cart's wheel was sitting on the gas hose.

fun day, that was.

[Patcon]

So in the last week or so I have made some more progress

Skimmed out the fender with some fiberglass to deal with any pinholes. I may actually fill that section of the fender with fiberglass instead of plastic filler because it will be harder and may hold up better so close to the ground behind the wheel, but it is more difficult to work and finish properly

 

 

Started figuring out bolt locations...

This is the bolt from the lower front link to the crossmember

These are the bolts for the tension rod and ball joint

These are the bolts for the steering knuckles to strut tower. I couldn't find all of these so I pirated some from the parts pile in the yard. They are evidently NLA and hard to source. I replated these two which were not stellar, the heads look good so the rest really won't show. I will update the caswell thread after a little more experimentation.

Also these bolts are evidently different lengths. I thought it was an anomaly but this car was this way and the other series 1 in the driveway had the same setup as well as the spare rack in the parts pile. The longer bolt was in the front bolt hole on the knuckle...

I also bought these O rings for the steering knuckles. Evidently these are still being produced but they were like $12 each through Courtesy

 

It is challenging to get the ball joints torqued with no steering installed on the car. I used a strap and tied it to the steering mounts to help keep them from twisting while I torqued them. I have also found it difficult to locate the correct torque values for the suspension. I have a copy of the FSM and a Haynes manual, but I tend to know the parts by other names...

 

I also reworked the washer arrangement like CO explained. That was doable but still a challenge to get the tension rod nut started.

 

I have these on the car at this point too but I had to order some lock nuts (NLA). They are an odd thread pitch and not commonly stocked. I haven't figured out a way to torque them other than to put a wrench on one end and assume both ends torque the same. I haven't come up with a way to hold them with out marking them up...

 

I have most of the front suspension on except the front struts.

I have a Tokico setup I bought about 7 years ago...

It has the red springs which I will run to start with. I would have gone with the Eibachs if I had known better at the time and I may go with those later if these are too harsh. The directions call for light oil in the shock tube for heat transfer. Do any of you guys add oil when installing the struts? I like the idea if for no other reason than being able to remove them later. I have seen struts corrode into the strut so badly I couldn't remove them...

I thought about using a synthetic 0w-30 oil for the tubes but have no idea how much to add, although it might say in the FSM. It wants them filled to like a 1/4" down from the top of the strut but I am not sure you can see that with the strut in the tube...

 

 

I have also started redoing the upper steering column. I ordered the Kawasaki u joint (Amazon - Motor Master Universal Joint ATV700)  to replace the joint in the shaft so I can bead blast and paint it. I have the clips off the old joint but it hasn't wanted to move yet so I have it soaking with some PB blaster

There are a number of needle bearings inside the shaft but I am not planning on trying to remove them. I don't really have the right tools to remove them and don't want to risk damaging them with out knowing a suitable replacement is available. I plan on cleaning them well and regreasing the shaft on reassembly. Also I removed the cap off the bottom of the shaft so I could blast and plate it. I removed it so I wouldn't have to worry about beads getting up in the shaft and not being able to get it clean. If you decide to remove this cap there are two spots on the side where it has been staked, I didn't realize it but they are staked into a corresponding hole. They really need to be unstaked if possible. I just drove mine off but it folded the staked areas back. When I went to repair them, they broke off...tuition

Edited August 28, 2017 by Patcon