Did you have to file the radius where the brake shoes fit into the adjusters and cylinder .I have found that most aftermarket shoes need altering for early cars as they dont sit correctly .I use an old shoe to match this part.
I have never seen the upper springs mounted diagonally either .I know its right for your car but it looks like the shoes are being pulled upwards which is what made me ask about the radiused ends of the shoes .

Anyway, all this brake suspension stuff is boring ,when are you getting the engine in?:d

https://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j301/last_triumph/Oval/DSC05955.jpg 

To be honest, I just fitted them without looking. They went in no problem and the drums turn so didn't come accross a need to check anything like that.


I can always pull them off and have a look - if they are much different, I'll matcth them to the originals - 15 min job - easy peezy!

Don't knwo what year the diagonal upper springs came in, but they're not under much tension, where the bottom one is under much more tension.

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You want photos? I got photo's for ya, so buckle up for a treat of a trip into automotive astonishment.... in the mean time, here's an update!

I noticed the other day a nice a damp patch of oil on the floor under the steering box and thought it might be a good idea to fix this before everything goes back on the car.

The Bentley manual says it is wise to bolt the steering box to a tube similar in diameter to the front beam to allow it to be worked on easily.

This sounded like a great idea, so in the absence of a tube of the correct diameter, I tried to 'think outside the box' for a moment and came up with this idea....





This next picture shows where the oil was seeping from. You'll notice a damp and shiny patch under where the steering column input shaft sticks out.





First up is to remove the top cover. I removed the 19mm drain plug. For reference, when bolted in the car and on level ground, the level should be filled to the bottom of the threads with EP90 transmission oil only.








Followed by the four 14mm bolts that hold the top cover in place.... The gasket is in perfect condition which was a nice surprise.





I was delighted with how clean and un-worn everything looked in there!







I then removed the pre load spring and pin from the main shaft....





Which leaves a nice hole at the top of the shaft...





I then released the pinch bolt that secures the adjustable input shaft and seal carrier - 17mm for the record.





To release and remove the main shaft, you must first release the pitman arm from the bottom. It won't come off due to the lower beam tube being in the way, but is released when you pull the shaft up from above. Slackening the box clamps to the top tube and rotating it on the tube would allow it to come off, but as the shaft is coming out anyway, I decided to leave the box in it's pre-aligned position.







Lifting the shaft up releases the ball jointed upper part of the worm drive which is an interesting piece of kit....





The arm just pulls out at this point.





Note the recessed section half way down it's length? This is to allow oil to surround the shaft which drains to the shaft via a hole in the lower side wall of the main reservoir. You can see this hole half way down the tube on second and third pic in this sequence...









At this point I wanted to be 100% sure of exactly where the leak was coming from, so I tilted the axle back to level the steering box and force the now low oil level up the input shaft to the seal and see what happened.







After a few turns lock to lock, it was pretty clear that the input seal was the culprit...







The seal is housed in an intermediate housing with a helically machined groove that the pinch bolt sits in. By turning this shaft with a large 27mm spanner, you actually push it in or out of the box to keep it firmly against the bearing which sits within the box.





Waggling it back and forth also helps to release it and pull it clear. These next two pictures are of it sitting on the end of the shaft as if I'd just removed it, but you'll notice that it's clean as I'd already cleaned it up to inspect it and the bearing before I'd remembered to take these two shots.







Here, you can just make out the position of the bearing at the end of the main housing.





And here it is....





The seal in the end is a very disappointing affair being a basic pressed tin cup with a felt 'bush' in to act as a seal. No wonder they are prone to leaking. I guess they didn't make lip seals that small back in the day? It is pressed into the end of the shaft and just pops out with a drift.







Having phoned all the specialists I could think of and being told that the seal is no longer available and that I should 'upgrade' to the later '61> steering box, I decided that I'd accept the challenge and find one.

A morning spent on the phone to all my old engineering contacts plus a few new ones seemed like it was going nowhere - maybe they were right - maybe you just can't get this seal any more? After a bit of a wild goose chase I eventually found a supplier who, after checking in their stores came up with the perfect sized nitrile NBR lip seal!!!

Result!!!

And yes - I bought them all!

Early steering boxes are safe now boys and girls!

As soon as they arrive in the post, I'll put it all back together and report my findings.

That is all.

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Blimey. You'll be able to open up a little shop soon, with all these bits and bobs...

By the way, did you hear about an Oval that got sold by the uncle of some lad who works in Halfrauds over the road a few weeks ago? By the time I managed to get hold of him it'd gone, as I expected, but to whom and where I know not. Perhaps I don't want to, actually.

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Bugger, I've been rumbled..... (that's the plan when the stock range is sufficient to bother)

Didn't know about the Oval... interesting.

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Mmm. RHD UK car, complete, and apparently up for £1,000. Dagnabbit.

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Cool!

Sounds like a good project for someone!

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The bag of seals arrived and I was duly impressed with them so headed on out to the garage with success on my mind...





It was a nice but not overly tight press fit in the shaft and only needed a drift for the final stage of insertion. I used some Curil K2 engine sealant as a belt and braces approach.

18mm Socket was a perfect diameter 'press' to get it in.

There is a perfect 'shelf' for the seal to sit against a little further in than the original seal which makes sure that it is sitting square.

You can see the sealant squishing out from the rear view picture.









After giving the input shaft a good polish to help the seal do it;s job, I greased everything up and slid the adjustment sleeve into position.







I then drained the remaining fluid out of the box, remounted the top cover with sealant and added exactly 125ml as per the manual which amazingly filled it to precisely the bottom of the filler plug threads.





And there it is, all done....





Once I'd adjusted the shaft clearance I turned it lock to lock many times and waited to see what happened. two hours later and it was still bone dry...





Result 😃

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Oh, before I forget.... my replacement ignition switch turned up and is luuuuurvely, but it needs the 4 screw terminal screws.

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that the original brass pan head screws are M3.5 x 0.6mm???

Anyone got any old switches lying around I could scrounge the screws from in exchange for a seal or belt etc?? 😛

Cheers

Andy

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Whilst Alex has been beavering away on the king and link pins, I've been busy myself....

Today I decided to get the rear end finished off....

First up was another NOS treasure of goodness - some ATE hoses.







A good while ago I ordered as a matter of course, a set of new stainless brake hose clips which look nice and shiny...





Especially next to my crusty originals...





Want to guess what happened next?

Did I use the new ones?

Nope - cleaned up the originals..... it's the only way!





It was then just a case of fitting the fexi's and the original solids I'd cleaned up...







And then came a job I'd been looking forward to for a long time - fitting the NOS rear shocks! Cleaned the mounting bolts and washers first...





The fitted them up and coated them in the wax sealer, hence they look shiny as it's still wet in the picture.





I reckon they look fantastic!

And finally..... as some of you who've been following all this from day one will know, I've saved and collected absolutely every single item I've removed from the car, catalogued and stored safely.

And if you want to know just how serious I am, here's all the dirt I've removed and collected from day one!





The men in white coats are coming, I can feel it...!

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looking good!

where did you get these from?

VW heritage - £3.08 each.... x 6 =£18.48 + p&p

I have no use for mine now - full set for the car - paypal me £10 and I'll post them to you.... :thumbup:

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sounds good whats your paypal?

thanks

Rob

PM Sent...



EDIT:

Rob, your pm box is full buddy....

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Hi
it goes almost without saying that you jacked the rear trailing arm into its loaded position before you tightened the bolts up to prevent the bushes being damaged by "wind up" once the car is back on its wheels, I know, you know some might not and are you serious about the bucket of filth, I do have fears for your safety washing everything in Jet fuel and often in your garage, you scrubbing fiend.

Ok pm box is now empty. Thanks.

Thanks for the heads up on the shock bolts - I noticed how the suspension angle would cause them them to bind if I tightened them up like that.

I'll make sure they are in the correct working height before I tighten them and drop onto the wheels.

I wear gloves for all cleaning and the jet fuel is pretty inert. It's a refined form of kerosene and not very flammable - certainly not like thinners, alcohol, petrol etc.

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Ok, sent now...

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Whilst having the king pins replaced, I need to find the correct thrust washers... as per below -

3.83mm 111 405 491A or 3.88mm 111 405 492A
4.03mm 111 405 495A or 4.08mm 111 405 496A

Any clues where I might find these thrust washers as progress has come to a halt until I find them...

They're not normal washers and have lowel location pins etc so can't just 'fake it'.



EDIT:- Not to worry - found a stash of original VW items! :drool:

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You reckon...go tell the hangar manager that here :rofl:

If may not be that flammable but it soon becomes an irritant if you get it on your skin, or worse, in your eyes.