wheee!

Any reason that they cut the rears at 4" above the rear strut tube? Mine were cut and welded 2" above the stock tube. But then again, my rear coilovers were significantly taller than the the fronts. Were yours the same height front and rear and the stock tube is needed for the height offset?

I was cruising through the second joint, no issues, when "SNAP".... sad face No big deal in the long run. I'll git'er done!

I think it will be fine in the end. The new caps seat further into the U Joint flange than the old staked bearing cap and the fit is extremely tight. I couldn't press the caps in on the bench vise without a snipe on the handle so I had to use the hydraulic press. In the end, I snapped a bearing cap on the second joint while I was pressing it in. I will need a new joint... Once the caps are in tight, the clips are a secondary safety to the already super tight bearing caps. I doubt that there would ever be enough rotational force to dislodge them from the flange.

The u joint looked very clean and no indication of machining burrs etc. The internals were packed with grease already. The bearing caps were very nice and I noticed the needle bearings themselves were longer and more robust than stock needle bearings. Overall I am happy. The tight fitting of the joint is good because there is NO room for joint play at all. Everything swings freely but there is no room for centre adjustment.

They went together pretty smooth. The circlips are very tight to the flanges. I still have to clip one in.

Heading to the shop now. Yeah, I know the China parts issues but I have had good luck with SKF in the past.

These just in!

...sublime...!

I was looking a while back and found nothing available used in good shape.... Good Luck!

Sigh.... such beautiful weather!

I agree. After building two of these tools of increasingly stronger stock and failing, I realized that nothing short of heat, anger and a 60 tone press was going to move these suckers. This tool is only good for marginally stuck pins and not for seized pins. The problem is, you don’t know until the tool snaps.... twice....!

Correct. The more you can see of the hose path, the easier it will be to get some slack.

Tried something new with the heater lights. Set them up in one position then slowly lowered the engine hoist past the lights. This allowed the shorter prop shaft to be easily adjusted for optimal heating/curing. Wouldn’t have worked as well with the longer front cross member.

I assume you meant Ichiba parts. Have you read the reviews on Ichiba parts? I have a healthy fear of their manufacturing quality control. Many people in the 370 and 350 world have had issues with their parts.

Got around to finishing the drive shaft cleaning and powder coating. Now just waiting for the u joints!

Very nice!

User Taka had one for sale here locally just a while ago...!

I reconnected the hoses with the tank partially installed. They were disconnected from the vapour tank first to give some extra reach down to the tank. Then with them properly attached, I mounted the tank complete. I also had the car on the rotisserie to do this so that made a huge difference too.

Posting pics will help

Not a bad idea Zed

I too have an epoxy primer base, followed by the body filler, then a sealing coat of epoxy on top of that. The body shop recommended this as a way to prevent any off-gassing of the fillers through the top coat. I also am using the water based paints for top coat and so far I like them a lot! Very consistent and easy to work with.

Sorry to hear of your issues with the coilovers. My CX racing set were super quick and no issues. Interesting that the dampener adjustment is below the strut on yours....

That seems very reasonable.

Agreed. I know some people expect miracles from a car that is fully assembled and covered in dirt, and all at a bargain price. Your best price depends on how much you are willing to do yourself versus paying a shop to do.