LJK 982L 1972 2 Door Saloon Restoration

[HC Fairley]

Got some more of the beloved milkstone remover to coat over the rear trailing arms as the weather is on the turn and it's hard to know when we will next get a dry enough day to blast them. Before photos with results pending

[droopsnoot]

These uppers were relatively handy to get the old ones out and new ones in but a word of warning regarding the lower wishbone bushes. They were a nightmare, we were using a 15ton press and they wouldn't let go.

I've got a distorted lower arm in my shed that was a result of trying to press the bush out. Next time I do them I won't even try - I'll drill out and/or burn out the rubber and then cut through the outer sleeve.

[HC Fairley]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one Mike. I started with the lower arms and was dreading the rest of the suspension but all the other parts were fine. The only trouble lay with those bottom arms. Rebushing them is even easier a lot of them can be pushed in with your hand. The only challenging one to get the new polybushes into was the subframe to body mounts. This section required a threaded bar, a few nuts and washers and the big socket again but we persisted and got there in the end.

[HC Fairley]

The milkstone remover did its job and ate all the rust off the trailing arms over the weekend. A rub with thinners and a quick wire brush will have them sorted out and ready to paint. Also got the bushes into the lower arms. Nice and handy just went it by hand.

[HC Fairley]

Steering rack and calipers dug out and cleaned down ready for paint.

[HC Fairley]

Progress bit by bit.

Also discovered the previous owner has done a little bit of bodgery on the castor rod bushes. 1972Nail pointed out to me that they were not standard bushes. This was discovered when I went to fit the new polybushes and was perplexed as to how I would make the metal washer that sat in between these 2 bushes fit. The new polybushes fit into each other like they are interlocked. Obviously the old non standard ones didn't which would explain why the metal washer with a protruding sleeve was fitted. My best guess is the washer was originally sealed to the left hand bush and the right hand one slipped over the sleeve.

Polybushes again fitted easily requiring hand pressure only

[HC Fairley]

Then I just stood and looked at the Gold Goodness for a while making a mental list of jobs to do. I have to say I am a big fan of the individual "VAUXHALL" lettering along the back between the tail lights. I much prefer it over the singular Griffin badge on my 75

[gurrier]

Nice to follow the progress Ethan.
I originally thought that one could judge the age of the car from the presence or lack of the full Vauxhall name. It is confusing as it appears to have changed from initially Vauxhall lettering to Griffin Badge and back again as mine is late in production and has the full Vauxhall lettering.

[HC Fairley]

I believe the lettering went as follows Bill.
70 to 73 = Individual V A U X H A L L Lettering
73 = One piece VAUXHALL Badge
74 to 76 = Griffin Badge
76 to 79 = Individual V A U X H A L L Lettering

Therefore you should be able to tell the age by the griffin badge or single piece Vauxhall badge straight away. The individual lettering on the other hand requires a little more investigation to truly work out what age of a car you're looking at.

[HC Fairley]

Photos of the 3 types of badge attached