Magnum Coupe 2300 Restoration

[terencegurry]

Hey paul!

Yep the front end is top notch! well done. At some point it looks like one end was sitting in water as on one of the track rod ends one of the rubber bushes has disintegrated, along with some rust building up on the caliper and the shock on that side, so I think it will have to either be replaced or have a new coat of "bright yellow" paint on it. Apart from that it looks much better than the one I've taken off where most of the rubber bits have cracked or broken off completely! Ive given it a wash down and its in great condition minus that side, the steering rack looked so pristine that it looked like plastic in the middle! not a scratch! Hopefully that will go on pretty soon. You are welcome to come by any time to look at the car. And no the engine still needs turning over

[terencegurry]

An update to the work side of things, Got a lot done, under the car is done (99%), engine bay is going to be wetsand tommorow then topcoat that then wetsand and laquer. Have also been fixing up the front end, also found a new steering coupling balljoints ect, but they shouldnt have to be replaced as they are allready new

[terencegurry]

Slow progress. Engine bay done, Rear shoes changed, self adjuster is a right sod. Have new drums to go on and will probably paint them soon. Will start on front end, already got calipers stripped and down to bare metal, with new pistons, seals nipples to go on.


http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6660/i ... 171819.jpg


http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/3923 ... 171819.jpg


http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/9615 ... 171820.jpg
Spax probably won't go on. Have some other new ones which will though. The car isn't going to be raced....


http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3142 ... 171821.jpg

[terencegurry]

Font end is nearly done.

[viva2300]

Looks a nice machine Terrence....wish i had that garage to sort mine out.

paul

[terencegurry]

Believe it or not it was clean when I started Now the odd car bits and covers have built up pretty much where ever you can see and there is hardly any room to move any more

[terencegurry]

Lot's of odd bits done, finished this axle just having a bit of a problem lining up the rear mounting bolts, so i'm leaving it tonight only half on.



Rear brake lines, fuel lines and sender, handbrake then will drop car back on wheels.

[hbpeter]

Wow thats clean!!!

Peter

[terencegurry]

Ok so the front axle still won't line up, and now I know why.

Back in the 70s my father slid on ice with the car and one wheel clipped the curb. This put the steering out of alignment and he had to get it fixed. Well the car was fine after that, the steering worked well ect. Now that it has come to putting on a new front axle things just don't line up. The chassis rail on the nearside was buckled and so was the actual axle, both being about 2-3mm out on the hole on that side. This has amounted to the new axle being about 5mm out on the hole, this might not sound a lot but when you try and bend an axle or chassis rail back into position it doesn't matter if it's 2mm or 50mm, you wont be able to get it to budge.

There is filler all around this hole and, the hole itself seems to also be wrong, with the sleeving inside being diagonal so that the bolt doesnt run straight through but at an angle. This might be hard to visualize so I have taken some pictures. You will also be able to see some "rippling" from the hole up the chassis rail.

How it should be




Bolt quite clearly going up at an angle




So as you see, I have quite a dilemma here, I cant afford for the chassis to be straightened, and don't have the facilities to rebuild the old chassis, plus I'm not sure that it would even fit (or if it would be right to put back a slightly bent axle).

So I need ideas, ways or someone to help! Please how do I do this, i've tried brute force to get the new axle to line up, ive put the top mounts in first, but the back dont line up, ive put the back first but the top dont line up, ive taken the top out to try and bring the axle up to the mounts but nothing....

The only thing we've thought of is to move the position of the hole on the buckled side by welding a new hole and sleeve in. or to maybe even do the top mounts in a new position (GOODBYE PAINT...)

[Paul]

Hello Terry, what a struggle eh! So near, yet so far, only about 5mm out but there is no way the axle will line up. It appears that the chassis, and original axle are both bent slightly.

I think the easiest way to sort out the problem is to call in a decent mobile welder/fabricator and get him to make a new bit of chassis rail including the inner sleeve. Moving the crossmember top holes is not a good idea as it's a bodge to make the axle fit to the damaged mount - It's best to fix the original problem! Also you might find that moving the axle top mount hole will cause serious problem with the tracking, the car will never drive straight! To keep the costs down you need to do as much preparation work as possible, so by the time the welder arrives, all he is doing is making up a new bit of chassis rail and sleeve to your specification.

Remove all the underseal and filler right down to the bare metal on both sides so see exactly whats underneath.
Make up a cardboard template that matches the shape of the inside of the chassis rail, and stick it to the inside of the chassis rail. Position the good axle in place so that both top mounts are bolted up and you have a bolt through the drivers side chassis mount. This way the axle will be sitting in it's correct position. Then use a marker pen through the passenger side mount to mark the template with the required position of the hole. Drop the axle down and then you will be able see where the new hole needs to be. Show this to the welder and he should then have an idea of what needs doing.

As to the repair itself triangular plates could be welded over the existing chassis rail on both sides but then you are going to have problems getting a hole through the chassis rail and fitting the inner sleeve, plus the chassis rail might then be too wide for the axle mount to slot in so this method is a no-no. I think the only way to do it properly is to cut away the lower part of the chassis rail and have a new bit fabricated with the hole and sleeve in the right position

If you do as much preparation as possible before hand (get all your tools sorted out, get the template thing done, have a set of jacks ready ) may be the actual repair wont take that long (a couple of hours??) therefore shouldn't be that expensive, compared to getting the car taken to a body shop / chassis jig.