S3 109 Safari project......

The bushes were completely shot, so I pressed in a new set while the spring was still disassembled as it was a bit easier to hold in the press..

After coating the leafs with a healthy coating of grease on the faces of the sliding surfaces, I reassembled it back together and temporarily fitted it to the chassis to allow for painting.

After a couple of coats of zinc rich primer, it’s starting to look a bit healthier now. Once it’s dried, I will give it a couple of coats of black . Hopefully they will last a few years longer…

Well, I thought that I would give the other side a go today and basically repeated the same process as the near side.

Had a bit of a hiccup with one of the spring retainers - when I knocked it over to release the spring, a stress crack appeared….. anyway a bit of weld sorted it

So, that’s all new bushes fitted on both springs, a couple of coats of primer and two coats of satin black. Next step is to fit the rear axle…..at last!. I have left the spring hanging as I intend to connect it once the axle is located on the near side.

Ok, so it’s on now, which will allow me to get it to rolling chassis stage… Just need to get the shockers fully fitted, axle straps installed and brake pipes on next.

Managed to get the holes for the lower shock mounts drilled out to accept the lower shock rubber washers. Had to buy a 19mm drill from Toolstation as I didn’t have a drill big enough. Touched up the paint in the holes then fitted both shocks with all new hardware which I think makes a big difference.
After this I fitted both axle limit straps with new nots, bolts and washers. Again, very satisfying to get this finally done.

Started on the brake pipes for the rear axle. I made up replacement pipes after cleaning up the’t’ connector and flushing it through to remove any contaminants. Fitted it with some new, nuts, bolts and washers. I didn’t realise that there were 2 clips per side required and only bought 2. The pipe looks wrong with only one clip. Will purchase some more to finish it properly.

Sorted out the missing brake pipe bracket as it was really bugging me!

Going to finish piping up the rear axle and the front, then fire the wheels on to get it to rolling chassis stage. Talking about wheels, bought some new boots. I think they will keep that classic look and give reasonable performance. After the wheels are on, I will bolt the tdi engine and box in to finish of the front crossmember. I want it to fit neatly around the steering box and still look as standard as possible

Finished off the rear axle ridgid brake pipes and brackets. Moved to the front axle and made the two short ones to the flexible hoses. That’s that job done for now….

Moved onto the engine assembly as I wanted to put the engine and box together to do a trial fit……..Manky engine… meet manky gearbox

Engine mounts next ……. Out with the old and in with the older….

Hopefully I have them on the right way round … Next time I will get the mounts installed on the chassis and hopefully install the engine to get the front crossmember finished…
I know all parts are filthy but this is only the mock up stage, so they will be cleaned later

Cleaned up the the gearbox and engine brackets ready for new rubber mounts…

Modified the rubber mounts as I have used the defender type rather than the original. Got the engine and box in, but the battery in my phone went flat so unfortunately I didn’t get any pics

Here’s it in in all its mucky glory

Next, I thought I would beef up the crossmember, using the same 5mm plate steel to mimic a stronger version of the original. The front piece I cut to produce the front panel mounts, but I think I will rethink this….

I fitted the ‘replica’ crossmember in its original position and tacked in position.