1971 HLS30-14938 "Lily" build

[Patcon]

I found a new seal for the steering input shaft for the steering rack. It was the last one shown at Rockauto but should give you a good part number to locate one if needed

So I was very fortunate to locate a source for the steering rack bushings. They came from a batch of bushings that had been previously fabbed up for the steering rack application. They looked great but lacked the groove that the stock bushing has. So I took a stab at that

I mic'd them to make sure he groove was about the same depth as the original. The bushings are a press fit into the rack housing and then need final ID sizing to accept the rack bar. Once I had them shaped to my satisfaction, they gotten frozen over night

Wiped the frost off and tapped them in with a bushing driver and a small hammer. They went in really easy

Now it was time to size the ID. They actually got a little tighter after driving them in, so they would always needed sizing post placement.

I bought a brake hone the other day. The one I bought will go down to like 3/4" dia so it is perfect for this situation. It took a lot more honing then I thought it would, but after a while I got the clearance right. I also polished the rack rod to smooth some spots where corrosion had started. I hope to paint the housing this coming weekend and get the rack going back together

 

 

 

[Captain Obvious]

Nice freehand work on that lube groove!

Make triple sure you get all the burrs rounded off and get all the swarf out.

[Patcon]

12 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Nice freehand work on that lube groove!

Make triple sure you get all the burrs rounded off and get all the swarf out.

Yeah I need to double check them for being clean, although I would think the brass would yield to the hard steel rack pretty easily

[Captain Obvious]

It's bearing bronze, not brass. Still not as hard as steel, but you just don't want dust or grit in there mixing with the grease becoming a lapping paste.

Who knows... All that steering on the twisty roads in the mountains of SC? Couple years and you'll have no rack left.    

[grannyknot]

2 hours ago, Patcon said:

So I was very fortunate to locate a source for the steering rack bushings. They came from a batch of bushings that had been previously fabbed up for the steering rack application. They looked great but lacked the groove that the stock bushing has. So I took a stab at that

Is that a source you can let us in on or just a one time thing?

[Patcon]

8 hours ago, grannyknot said:

Is that a source you can let us in on or just a one time thing?

It is a very limited thing and I don't want to advertise for the source...

[Patcon]

Worked on the quarter some more. Welded it up, then knocked it down some...

Only to realize, I'm an idiot and I have to cut it again, because the door gap is uneven...

Worked on the air dam up front and made some progress on that

@grannyknot

That was a good tip!

Took one of the door handles apart. they have some sort of rivet in them. Ground it back and separated them

Gonna look around and see if I can find a substitute (4.953 dia and roughly 25mm long). Might use a roll pin. Also I was looking at the door handles. There is a small rubber seal on both ends of the handles where they go into the doors. Are those seals available anywhere? How would you install them? Cut them or re-pin the door hinges?

[grannyknot]

1 hour ago, Patcon said:

Only to realize, I'm an idiot and I have to cut it again, because the door gap is uneven..

I seen guys weld a 1/8" welding rod on to the edge of the B pillar then just shape it until the gap is perfect then blend in the new edge with some filler.

[Patcon]

1 hour ago, grannyknot said:

I seen guys weld a 1/8" welding rod on to the edge of the B pillar then just shape it until the gap is perfect then blend in the new edge with some filler.

I thought about doing that, but didn't really want to build up the door edge right there with filler. I was afraid it might chip in the future as the door jamb could easily get struck getting in and out of the car.

I will probably cut it again tomorrow and at least tack it up. Might get it fully seamed tomorrow. I won't have double seams like I did today. I added slivers of metal in the other cut and that required double seams.

[Patcon]

Started on the front turn signals

 The plastic is quite soft on these. We bead blasted them to get over spray off of them. It fuzzed them a little. Knocked them down with 400

a little semi gloss white

Looks pretty good. I need to source the little screws that hold the lens on. There are two sizes and look like they might be stainless. they are really fine!

Also I had this one that is cracked. I am going to try to plastic weld this one, but have to get the welder back from a friend

We'll see. I have no idea what type of plastic this is...

[Patcon]

I also recut the quarter. I mic'd a shim until I found one the right size to make an even door seam

You can see how much extra there is. Close to an 1/8"

This is 4 or 5 passes. I would tack then go do something else for 30 minutes or so

Some more, then knocked down. I have some pin holes to tack up. I ordered a flexible file to finish fairing it...

 

[Patcon]

I worked on the pedal box some today too. The backside of the pedal box has what looks like weatherstrip adhesive on it.

Does it just glue to the firewall? Is it supposed to have a gasket?

This seal is for the steering shaft. I plan on gluing both sides of this too on re-installation.

Is this seal available anywhere?