Lets ave' em' !!

Comments please. Just to let me know someones reading and god forbid, enjoying.

Additional hints and tips would be nice too...................hard cash even better !

spring lowering conundrum

Springs fitted and lowering block/bushes fitted without too many problems.

Except !

Fitting according to common wisdom saw the lower most plate which holds the bottom of the damper link arm far too low. That is the link arm was fully down and the lever arm damper was fully down. What alerted me was the fact that the top attachment of link arm was butting up to the anti roll bar.
See below

So as you see ( the RH side) the end of the drop link is miles away from the mounting hole and out of shot the lever arm it is attached to is fully  (almost) down.

So what to do ?

At this point I thought I'd been sent the wrong link arms, so a quick tinterweb surf showed that the CB links are shorter than the RB links. Puzzling ? You bet. I'd still got the original arms ( which had to be ground off ) and these looked like they would do the job a treat. That is, fit in the hole and keep the lever arm almost parallel with the floor and not foul the anti-roll bar.

So whats wrong then ?

I solved it this way.....................................see below

The plate that is normally on the very bottom of the stack of stuff was moved up on top of the spring.

It mounts good, locates well and does not foul on anything plus the lever arm is almost parallel.

Everything else is connected up except the handbrake/drum levers ( waiting for spilt pins to arrive, ditto brake lines/connectors)

I'll tell yer what though. Its definitely lower. It was a real scramble on my back fastening up all the other stuff.

I've now removed the wheels and got the car on the axle stands since this weekend I'll be fitting the brake pipes, fuel pump/hoses and fuel tank. That should see the rear end just about complete.

I've even been tinkering with leaving the front end suspension alone ( except for the fitting of a shorter pair of springs [ bought 18 months ago from E-Bay very locally])

If that's the case the time to start on the electrics..................ooooh errrr !!!!

Maybe I'll finish the odd jobs like door internals/seam sealing/ additional welding/ surface de-rusting/ tidying up shed/ polishing up chrome/ trial fitting chrome bumpers/ staring engine/ replacing engine oil pipe union ( again).

oh descisions descisions.

Is that a leaf spring in your eye 2.........No its on my head !

After a lot of huffing and puffing, cursing, sweating blood and almost tears I've had enough of the MG, well for a few days at least.
Getting the rear axle on was a struggle of mammoth proportions. But that's not all !
My wonderful son was enlisted to help move axle onto trolley jack. This took 15 minutes just to get him of his beloved X-box and outside. Then grumbled and whinged at the weight. Typical teenager, Hrrphh, ooohh, mmmmh, why, why. Wot yer want me for. Wifey shouts time for tea young son.............great.
Problem 1.
He was worse than useless.
How I wished in an ideal world he would show some real interest in my project instead of complete indifference.
So I managed ( with his help to get it as far as the back of the car ) before he departed.
That's when the struggled started.
Problem 2.
The axle would not sit nicely on the trolley jack. It kept sliding backwards/sideways/forward/off/down/up.
Then after a brainwave I fitted the rear wheels to aid with movement.
A Master stroke..
.
.
.
.
.Not !
It was easy to push/pull but the diff was heavy (very heavy) and wanted to stay flange down.
Moved TJ to support diff flange..................better.
I needed to align a mark on the diff flange with corresponding mark on flange of propshaft.
Problem  3.
Every time I moved wheels/axle forward/back the flange on diff turned away from said mark on propshaft.
Brainwave 2.
Get scissor jack from wifeys car to support diff flange.
Problem 4
The scissor jack don't slide with the diff.
Brainwave 3
Use TJ to support diff and take weight off wheels.
Problem 5
Where the **** are the diff nuts and bolts ( I'd  ground through 2 to get them off )
Eventually found and fitted without too much drama.
Moved on to fitting rear springs.
Done without too much drama.
Fit Poly bushes to rear mount and shackles.
Problem 6.
Very difficult. They kept popping out when the shackle went in.
Solved by fitting all bushes except one to shackle and ( after lots of puffing and swearing fitted it)
That was the LH side. The RH side was a different matter.
No matter what I did the poly bushes were not having any of it.
At this point I tried the same tactic as the LH side.
Still a struggle.
Finally, as I was flat on my back directly under the end of the spring hammering furiously to remove one bush.
BANG.
It dropped down on cracked me directly between the eyes.
To say It hurt a bit was an understatement !
So I rapidly packed the attempt in an went for my tea ( it was 8 p.m by this time)
A facial inspection saw a nice horizontal cut across the top of my nose, huge bruise where it initially impacted on my glabella ( lower forehead for non medical people) and a huge lump on my temple where it grazed on the way down.
So my head and face hurt a bit.
My ego is bruised since I could not wait for the brake pipes to arrive and the weekend, so I'd  done the normal Fufferfour trick and rushed it a bit instead of waiting for a more appropriate time ( the weekend).
Still, I've got a FULL set of brake pipes coming ( with flared ends and unions) + diff bolts/nuts+lost nut+ rubber gaiters for brake hubs.
I'm having some time off to concentrate on getting a better class of headache by studying for Uni..

All dresed up

OOOOOhh I say.

To be honest the picture doesn't do it justice. Its matt black and smooth as a babys bottom thanks to a few hours with the grinder/wire brush cup thingy.

Now for the exciting bit.....fitting it all.