Make the most of this one boys and girls, as this will be the last update for a while as I'm away with work for a couple of weeks from Monday...
Tried to get as much done today as possible, so we'll carry on from where we left off yesterday...
The original horn came up nice, and went back on with the original rubber boots for the cables still in good condition.
It was now finally time to put the front beam back on, which complete with spindles, is a fairly heavy and off balance object. I must admit, I did struggle getting it back in place all by myself, but with the help of a jack and some fruity language, I got it back safe where it belongs using some new locking tab straps on the four front bolts.
Which then allowed me to refit the steering arms using the original rubber tie rod end cups which amazingly were still in perfect condition.
Remember the cracked steering coupling? A kind fellow Samba member got in touch, and with the purchase of some of his other parts, he threw in with the deal a perfect NOS item!
Which allowed me to reconnect the column and earth strap.
And there it is - safe and sound.
Next up was the bump stops. The original's had perished and cracked, so I located a set of genuine items.
To move the upper trailing arm off the bump stop mount, I jacked up the suspension, then fitted the bump stop which is just a firm press fit.
I was now able to turn my attention to the front brake assemblies which had been previously built up and were waiting patiently on the shelf.
I bought a new set of taper roller bearings and took the drums into work to press the outer races of the bearings into place.
With the inner bearing fully packed with grease, I popped it into position.
I also bought a set of genuine front hub seals which are then pressed into place over the inner bearing.
Turning the drum over, it's the same with the outer bearing...
At this point, you need to keep the drum this way up, as if you turn the drum over, the inner race will just fall out.
With the bare spindle on standby, the assembly can be built up. Similar to when I did the rear brakes, I put the camera on a tripod in front of the drum and just took a picture of every step, so forgive these pics all looking similar.
The brake backing plate is held on with three 17mm 8G bolts which are secured at 32 ft/lbs and use a locking wire. I had to search around quite a bit to find wire of the correct gauge, but it eventually turned up in a florists....
With the backing plate mounted, the drum can be slid onto the spindle. The inner bearing race should be a snug fit on the spindle and will need a little force to get them on, but nothing drastic.
Followed by the locking thrust washer...
Then the first 27mm nut...
This first nut should be tightened until you start to feel a little resistance when turning the drum and it no longer spins freely. It's then backed off a little. A good measure of the correct torque is where there is no play in the bearings at all, yet the thrust washer can be just about moved a little with a screw driver yet the drum turns smoothly without excessive dragging.
Then the new locking tab washer goes on...
Then the second lock nut goes on to nip them together, followed by folding the arms of the tab washer in opposite directions to secure both nuts at the same time.
Finally, the bearing cap is pressed into place.
The only points to note on the other side are that the speedo cable goes through the spindle and is secured with a little circlip to the bearing cover, and also that the left had side has left handed threads.
And that's all I had time for....
I can supply...
25/36hp Crank-Flywheel shims - 3 sizes
NOS king pin thrust & fibre washers - all sizes
Cloth braided nitrile fuel hose safe for modern fuels
PM me for details...