Last week started with fetching our freshly-cut aluminium panels. The problem of how to fit several square meters of aluminium sheeting was solved by the folks very generously letting me borrow their Syncro (Kombi). What a cool car – big and homely, but so manoeuvrable. Oh, and we met the chap behind the annoyed emails. He’s a good guy, but he does need a holiday.

Once the panels were safely back at the build, we decided to double-check the cuts. We were told that the actual cut would consume just 0.5mm of metal, so we did the layout quite precisely. We found that while it may be true that the actual metal loss is just 0.5mm, some of the cuts were over 10mm off. Some weren’t even straight. Fortunately it doesn’t look like any of the bits are unsalvageable, but it was a lesson.

Front calipers arrived, very cool. We had a lot of help with these, in particular from A.T.E. – great people. We also got the front disks (vented) and have ordered the rear disks and calipers.

The exceedingly messy job of packing the Lobro’s with CV grease has also been done. While it is probably less messy than the initial clean was, it’s still messier than a two-year old at a syrup festival. And with the grease being bright blue and staining everything, it’s even less tidy. Required items include a syringe and rubber gloves (read out of context, that sentence may get me into trouble).

We’ve now started cutting the panels to fit the chassis. While there are clearly a number of ways to do this, an absolutely awesome solution is to use a jigsaw with an HSS aluminium blade (Bosch). It neatly zips through the panels, is easy to control, and fast enough to get the job done. It also happily cuts off the thinnest strips (if the sizing is a little bit out). It isn’t quiet, so not good for late nights if you don’t want neighbours who hate you.

We started out using clamp-on guides to keep the lines straight, but it’s easy enough to get it right freehand. Hopefully the cutting will be complete by the end of the week.

It really feels like we’re building a car now.

B

Merry Christmas, I hope you’ve had a great day with family and friends. I did all the work described below yesterday, today I’m just catching up on the documentation.

As mentioned in the previous post, the hub nut of the left upright came away easily enough. The hub was then easily removed by gently tapping it out with a hammer and a piece of wood to prevent damage. Both wheel bearings were left behind, and the back one was removed from the hub carrier. The other one was trapped in place by the oil seal. The seal is an old plastic variety, and will need to be replaced. Over the next few days I’ll pick it out bit by bit and thus be able to remove the second bearing.

The other upright was much less cooperative (naturally). The workbench to which the vice is attached cracked – and had to be reinforced with long coach-bolts. The nut then came loose. However, the hub was also more firmly affixed and a lot of whacking was need to get it out. Finally it separated from the hub carrier, but pulled the second bearing through the oil seal. It’s going to be fun and games trying to get that off the hub.

This oil seal has a metal rim which, according to the Sierra manual, means it is a newer seal. Now you know.

It was then time to start cleaning the diff. This is really a simple job, and can be done in your bathroom sink, or a small bowl while watching TV. Not.

These things are unbelievably messy. There is so much grease it defies comprehension.

To make sure I put it all back together correctly, I gently engraved markers into the various spacers, shafts etc. I’m not sure this is strictly necessary, but I don’t think it will hurt.

The Torx bolts were removed without hassle, although it is quite tedious cleaning each head. It is very important to make sure the Torx socket seats correctly – if it slips under pressure you might seriously damage the bolt and then you will struggle to get it out. They make a very satisfying “crack” as they break loose.

Then as much grease as possible was removed using tissue paper. This revealed the circlips described in the Locost forum. These are nasty little blighters to remove if you don’t have the right tools – I tried using long-nosed pliers. I gave up, and went and bought a handy Stanley Circlip remover. This is a nicely made tool, as gripping the handles opens the circlip (there are a number of brands that open by separating the handles, much harder to do with one hand). Circlip removal is truly a breeze with this tool, although one did spring loose and fly into my stomach – stings.

There were no spacers and the joint slipped off the shaft with no effort. Well, one was a bit sticky and as it slid off it flew out of my hands into the air. Fortunately my innate Bafana-Bafana skills came into play, and I managed to slow its descent with my shin. I’ll heal.

Cleaning then proceeded, once again using tissues and brushes to take off as much visible grease as possible. Then paraffin was used to dissolve the rest. Make sure you wear gloves for this – it is not a subtle process. Finally, once they were mostly clean, a high-pressure hose was used to get rid of any remnants. I think a final clean will be necessary, but to prevent rusting the joints and shaft were sprayed with Q20. This will have to come off if they are painted in the future.

The gaitors are in excellent condition, although they contain tons of grease. Tissue got rid of most of it, paraffin the rest, and engine degreaser finally made them sparkle.

I only managed one side, the Lobros from the other side are soaking in paraffin.

My recommendations for this job – set aside a work area that can get messy. You WILL spray filthy paraffin everywhere; a grease-coated circlip WILL ricochet off your forehead into something valuable. Wear gloves – those yellow kitchen gloves are fine. They won’t keep you completely clean, but they will help. Have everything you need handy – prevents having to take gloves off unnecessarily. If your significant other loves you enough, or you have friends you can bribe with beer, it really helps to have a clean set of hands ready to apply pliers, open gates and taps, take photos etc. I didn’t, so there are only going to be pics of the clean items. Have lots of available rags, or a Kim roll. Don’t throw grease and paraffin down the drain – I don’t actually know how to dispose of it, but I’m finding out.

B