SJ413 Driveway Rebuild

[lundigee]

Phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal!!!!! In just 5 days you have achieved all that!!!!! Incredible, and so organised. Thanks an inspiration to us all.

[bmonut]

Thanks lundigee - I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading this!

I don't usually like working on cars: too many rusty cavities, too much "stuff", and so big you need a dedicated workspace which I don't have. Bikes are more my thing, I am rebuilding an XT600 Tenere in my living room, in the warm and dry.

However, I used to have a Porsche 928 that I did some work on (poor man's porsche - it made me poor), which I did enjoy as it was so well put together and so simple: everything unbolted. The SJ is like that.

To anyone else contemplating this: time needed to get the body off is about 28 hours if working on your own - starting with a complete vehicle.

The dash took a full 6 hours so if you get that and the interior out first, it's feasible to get the body off in a weekend if the days are long enough where you live and at the time of year (it's winter now and it's dark at 4pm which makes for very short days).

A jack, axle stands and some 2x4 wood is all you need in addition to usual tools (sockets, angle grinder & propane/MAPP gas torch for stuck bolts, 'DIY-grade' impact driver). I'm going to put together a YouTube video of progress to date.

It's also helpful I think to do it all in one hit: you get into the flow and also it doesn't seem like such a big task as it isn't on your mind on the days when you aren't working on it.

Waiting for some dryer weather and then will strip the chassis of engine and drivetrain.

B

[SherwoodNash]

Wow! totally in awe mate.

[donkeychomp]

Really fast tear down, nice work there. I do mainly bikes too but these old zooks are so easy to pull apart. And I have some mint Vitara front seats if you get stuck.

[bmonut]

I have some mint Vitara front seats if you get stuck.

Cheers donkeychomp, will let you know.

I've sorted all the parts and put them in storage in my spare room. They take up surprisingly little space, which is nice. Also I've disassembled one of the doors, and stripped the tailgate of all its parts. Going to keep going stripping stuff down for now. Not much more to do.

When it finally stops frigging raining I will get to stripping the remainder of the chassis. Then can get to rebuilding.

A noteworthy achievement I think is disassembly of the front section (front wings and the 'H'-shaped cross-piece that holds the front grill). LOTS of rusted in bolts in difficult to reach places. Also the four corners of the 'H' were all brazed in place. As this was done consistently I suspect this was how they were built.

To remove the braze, I heated to red hot and then (while red hot) hit it with a wire wheel. Wear face protection unless being sprayed with red-hot metal is part of your beauty regime.

While there are some rust holes in the lower part of the windscreen frame, overall the panels are in very good condition. The doors in particular have just some light surface rust on a few spots, but are otherwise perfect. This is remarkable for a 30-year-old British car, however given the amount of hay embedded in the interior I guess my little beastie spent most of its life on a farm.

B

[bmonut]

Nearly there.

Could do more today but my back is complaining. That front axle is bloody heavy. Just T-case, rear axle and springs... oh and the engine.

May have to weld up a little steel cradle for it, and screw to a wood frame with wheels. I don't have any lifting tackle so I am planning on lowering the chassis rather than lifting the engine.

Can I rest the engine on the front section of the sump?

I do mean rest, as I would support it there and then lower the chassis, and then slip in the steel cradle to bolt onto the engine mounts. Whatchareckon?

B

[donkeychomp]

Personally I wouldn't rest it on the sump. Maybe arrange some wood offcuts so you can wedge the engine secure on the floor without putting too much weight on the sump itself. They are pretty thin those things!

[bmonut]

Hmmm, like around the perimeter of the sump? That could work.

What kind of gasket do they have - is it cork like the rocker cover? And, where do you get sump gaskets from as I can't seem to find one.

I believe I spied two M8 tapped holes on the crankcase on the other side to the alternator, maybe for PAS pump or summat. Could use one of those plus alternator lower mount just to hold it while I attach the cradle. More work tho. Will look tomorrow.

B

[Jordi]

Just get a mate and lift it out. I can lift a g13 and carry, not the biggest, heaviest engines in the world.

[bmonut]

Got no mates and a bad back, FML.