Just been out in the snow ...








...fool

Nice pics Moler, looks lovely out there! No snow here so no picturesque photos for me. Did take my MG out for a spin earlier though, needed to de-ice and warm it up to take some pics as trying to sell it and thought id go for a drive too, nice to get out again, shame it wasnt in the van though but it does drift nicely in the wet

Cool pics, looks like you got a lot more snow than we did!

~Lee

Ill take back my last comment, 2/3 inches plus down here now!

I think that's what we had yesterday, 2-3 inches...and the builders have just started digging foundations for the new extension they're a hardy bunch

it varies now, when we eventually got into Newport to grit there was about 4-6 inches but here at home probably 3-4 on the drive now

ttt

could be a contender for restoration of the year??

anybody agree?

i say yes

shaggy66bus wrote:i say yes

Yep . A big yes from me too ...

wow, truly awesome work dude!

being a joiner i can appreciate your routering skills etc, luv the way you measured out the top ply section!

gutted for you losin the wheel at 70 tho, bet you got a wee fright!

top top work.

Great pictures fella wish i could of gone for a little spin in the snow with my bus maybe next time

Sean

paneldave wrote:ttt

could be a contender for restoration of the year??

anybody agree?

shaggy66bus wrote:i say yes

acmecustom wrote:

shaggy66bus wrote:i say yes

Yep . A big yes from me too ...

Wow , thanks guys ...is there such a thing?

richierich37 wrote:wow, truly awesome work dude!

being a joiner i can appreciate your routering skills etc, luv the way you measured out the top ply section!

gutted for you losin the wheel at 70 tho, bet you got a wee fright!

top top work.

Thanks dude, much appreciated

berpsta wrote:Great pictures fella wish i could of gone for a little spin in the snow with my bus maybe next time

Sean

Was great, but I wonder how much damage the salts doing?

WOW quality thread dude thats some work you did too

just goes to show what time and patients can achieve, i showed some of this thread to some of the lads in school to show them what hard work can get you

Well, after my steering box went into full melt down, I decided to bring the planned steering rack conversion forward. It’s of the home brew style using a MKIII VX Astra manual rack (with the intent to upgrade to a power rack later), T25 Bevel Box, and various other VW parts (and one other VX part!) …


…I started by stripping everything out, the steering wheel came off much easier than last time…


…one of the issues faced when doing this, is the possible relocation of the master cylinder, one thing I hadn’t considered was the reservoir filling hole?? …


…up in the air then, and this is the first proper look I’ve had at what’s been going on underneath through the winter salt…


…one things for sure, the Rustoleum isn’t up to the job, some remedial work will done in the spring, but I plan to have it blasted and coated in something more appropriate at some point, over coated in white of course .

Most other things have stood up well…


…but this is annoying, all the ball joints where brand new when installed, and this one already has a knackered boot.


On with the conversion then. Most conversions I’ve seen use 3 UJ’s, but usually between the bevel box and the rack requiring the use of a block bearing. After I’d offered up the bevel box I found I could clear the brake master cylinder by using one between the steering column and bevel box, that way negating the need for the block bearing. These UJ’s are from a 1303 and are usully in one piece, I’ve cut it in half so I could use one either side of the bevel box…


…this was the position I wanted to achieve…




…and it should clear the master cylinder nicely…




…I saw no reason not to use the things I already had, so the old steering box gave up it’s bracket to the cause. Here it’s already trimmed and a new piece added…




…bevel box mounted…


…not as high as I would have liked, but then I’m no scraper…


…this is the position of the shaft off of the UJ as it comes through the floor. It looks off centre, and is to the hole, but not to the original column position which wasn’t central…




…as I’m using the donut from the T25 column, the hole needs to be bigger for clearance…






…plenty of room for the column flange…




…staying inside, I needed to able to cover the donut with something and mount the column sleeve to it, I’d hoped a Bay window column sleeve bottom would work, and it nearly did, it needed some modification to add some clearance. This is the top of one having some extra height added to it (there’s a whole one in the background)…






…trimmed to the floor shape, and a flange added, sorted…




…painted and installed that’s the inside done.




With the need to mount over to one side to clear the master cylinder, the nearside mount was very easy to do. The rack rotates in this mount so orientation was also easy…


…working out the orientation with the VX Vectra UJ mounted to check for clearance…


…in this position, it clears the master cylinder, cross plate, handbrake cable, clutch cable, and gear shift rod…


…one convoluted bracket later.


It was at this point I discovered the possible reason for the steering boxes untimely demise, the spindles where seized almost solid!! The steering had creaked a few times, but I thought this was the s/box. Anyway, the spindles went back to my mate Matty to be sorted, having both top bushes replaced. After a discussion about how it may have happened, and possible precautions against it happening again (I’ve never read about it before!) I decided a moisture cap was required, the result being this…




I finished it today, and after a test drive will NOT be upgrading to the power rack, I simply don’t see the need. The steering is light and very responsive, with non of the oversteer I got before. I still need to get the tracking done too.



I didn’t take any pics of the bracket that gets you from the rack to the steering arms, not sure why, but will next time it’s in the air, what I did do though was use Bay window ball joints.

I’ve lost the horn push from the centre of steering wheel.

nice work fella!