On 11/10/2023 at 9:19 AM, CanTechZ said:

I had a look at the bolts for my transmission crossmember, and they do have the 7 on the head but they are only 25mm long. Definitely original as they have the yellow paint mark on them. Looks like there was some switching happening on the factory floor. Did you find any that are 25mm long?

Oh, interesting!  I believe I have many that have a 7 on the head and are only 25mm long.

49 minutes ago, emccallum said:

I got 4 of these. Threads don't look great but may be able to chase them. There yours if you want them 

Thanks for the offer!  I will take a look again at what I have on hand today, and let you know.

16 minutes ago, inline6 said:

 

Oh, interesting!  I believe I have many that have a 7 on the head and are only 25mm long.

Just had a look at the 1973 JDM parts book and it shows both 30mm and 25mm long depending on model/engine spec. Part number for 25mm long is 08124-02510.

The 25 mm ones are challenging to use for the differential front mount cross member if installing new control arm bushings.  I couldn't get the bushings to compress enough by pushing the arm into them to get the 25 mm bolts to start threading properly.  I'll be able to use the two 30's I've got to get it started.  Once it is close enough, I will use two of the 25 mm for the other two holes.  I'll probably swap out the longer ones after the cross member is in place and move those two to the transmission crossmember.  Then, it looks like I will have the right fasteners in the right locations.

Working on the putting things on the car yesterday was very pleasurable.  Not a lot of effort required, and was able to take my time and install parts that needed nothing other than taking them out of boxes and bags.  

I cleaned and installed front wheel studs into the hubs.  I believe the front face of the hub came from the factory with a machined surface.  I elected not to remove the paint on that surface.  If I had a lathe, I may have dress it and clear coated.  Oh well.  

The brake discs that came with the car are interesting.  I note that the hat part is tapered - in the picture I have the camera resting on the disc surface.  You can see the side of the hat has an angle to it.  The quality seems higher than many I have seen.  I believe these may be OEM, but there are no markings which confirm.  

  

  

 

I glass bead blasted the minor surface rust from the rotors and applied clear coat (spray can) to the front and back of the hat areas.

I worked a little more on the rear brakes, installing the left wheel cylinder (anyone know why both left and right hand brake levers have a big "R" on them?), hand brake brackets, and the small sections of rear brake hard lines.  I also tossed one of the drums on and a wheel, just to have a look see.  Still waiting on brake shoes to arrive.

    

    

 

I am also still waiting on the gland nut from Motorsport Auto.  That is holding me up from putting together the front suspension.

Next, I moved to the steering rack installation:

    

 

For whatever reason, the steering rack clamp brackets were semi-gloss instead of gloss.  Original finish pics - anyone know the correct orientation of the paint dots?  Front/back, left or right?

    

 

    

    

 

Steering rack brace.  If you look closely at the U bolt, you will see that one side has more threads than the other.  That longer side goes towards the front of the car.  The brace is not clamped down yet in this third pic.

    

 

Don't think it matters, but used an old rack to determine the location of this brace.  

    

 

Today, I will be adding items to the engine compartment.

 

Edited November 13, 20231 yr by inline6

I put various parts on the car today.  

 

    

 

    

 

    

 

      

 

      

 

      

 

      

 

    

  

    

 

I am uncertain which of these tow hooks (third pic) is the right front.  I think it is the one on the left out of the three:

    

 

    

 

I was able to find a rubber grommet that resembled the original well.  The fit with the plastic bushing was crazy tight.  However, using some dishsoap made assembly possible.  

  

Edited November 22, 20231 yr by inline6

10 hours ago, inline6 said:

anyone know the correct orientation of the paint dots?  Front/back, left or right?

    

If you look closely, you can see that the steering rack retainer straps are not quite symmetric. I'm not sure we ever reached positive consensus about the correct orientation, but here's a couple threads that talk about it:

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/48621-steering-rack-disassembly-and-refurb/?page=15

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/65616-putting-in-a-replacement-l-28/?page=11

I don't think there is a left vs. right, but I do think there is a front vs. back.

10 hours ago, inline6 said:

 (anyone know why both left and right hand brake levers have a big "R" on them?)

Duh. It stands for "Rear"?     

11 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Duh. It stands for "Rear"?     

Ha ha ha!.  I thought it would be something more... obvious, like Right.  But both the left and the Right have the "R".

Do you have NOS wheel cylinders for both sides? If not, I recall the only aftermarket ones have the inlet in a different place and you have to use another brake line. I "think" the wheel cylinders are the same but the hardware is L & R to allow the pads to adjust with the parking brake. I had to mix and match some old hardware with a new cylinder to get them right. It was a head scratcher at first because I didnt know, what I didnt know! Pretty sure the arms were labeled L&R.

" I thought it would be something more... obvious, like Right."

Haha!!   

Edited November 13, 20231 yr by Captain Obvious

4 minutes ago, emccallum said:

Do you have NOS wheel cylinders for both sides? If not, I recall the only aftermarket ones have the inlet in a different place and you have to use another brake line. I "think" the wheel cylinders are the same but the hardware is L & R to allow the pads to adjust with the parking brake. I had to mix and match some old hardware with a new cylinder to get them right. It was a head scratcher at first because I didnt know, what I didnt know! Pretty sure the arms were labeled L&R.

The ones I have appear to be NOS Tokico units.  I was able to use the existing hard brake lines.  Those levers can't be flipped and used on either side - they are side specific.  I am stumped.  I seem to recall seeing "L" on some of them before.  It was only when I was taking pics before installation that I noticed, both of mine had an "R"s on them.

I may have run into that as well, adding to my confusion. I just remember taking them apart a couple of times before I got it right....I mean correct 🙂

15 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

If you look closely, you can see that the steering rack retainer straps are not quite symmetric. I'm not sure we ever reached positive consensus about the correct orientation, but here's a couple threads that talk about it:

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/48621-steering-rack-disassembly-and-refurb/?page=15

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/65616-putting-in-a-replacement-l-28/?page=11

I don't think there is a left vs. right, but I do think there is a front vs. back.

Interesting.  I did not look at mine closely before installing them.  I don't recall the bushings on the rack being asymmetrical.  So, it didn't even occur to me that the clamps would be.