1968 series 2a restoration

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I used some graphite dry spray , if you used grease then they can be wrapped in denso tape to keep the grit out

the clamps look different on the image above but each of the clamps is riveted to a couple of springs
 
IMHO, both the chassis and those springs look shot from the pictures.

Problem with the springs is that there is probably not enough material to hold the respective spring rate - plus the leaves being that distorted indicates they have lost their temper ..... Sorry :(

In terms of the chassis - the rot eats from the inside out, and I would be very very careful about trying to join new to old thin flaky stuff - it won't work.

Hopefully, you can now upload pictures of the front half of the chassis showing it in far better condition than it appears - genuinely - I'm all for originality, where possible, ...... safety however, has to come first, and I'd hate for you do all that work, and then have it fall in half down the line :eek: ... :)
 
Thanks for your input, to be honest the front half of chassis really isn't that bad apart from one dumb iron that needs a small repair, rest sounds really solid when I've given it the old hammer test. I understand your concern going by the photos of the rear! What a mess. I have time and steel to hand so don't mind repairing any other areas and replacing the rear half chassis. Thanks
 
Thanks for your input, to be honest the front half of chassis really isn't that bad apart from one dumb iron that needs a small repair, rest sounds really solid when I've given it the old hammer test. I understand your concern going by the photos of the rear! What a mess. I have time and steel to hand so don't mind repairing any other areas and replacing the rear half chassis. Thanks

Cool. If I were closer ( and we weren't in the middle of CV19 ), I'd cheerfully come and have a look and help ... I have a IIA in poor condition, which will be getting a new chassis ( etc :rolleyes: ) at some point ....

I hope you can get "her" back up on her "feet" ASAP, and look forward to seeing progress .... I love a project thread - 'specially a "saved from the grave" type thread like this one :)

Watched. :)
 
Cheers for that!! Would have been a good help. Can't wait to have her going again! It won't be a quick project as I only can get a couple of hours here and there although that gives me plenty of time In between to look up how to go about different aspects etc. First time doing any mechanical project so I'm learning as I go. Appreciate everyone's help. Good luck with your project, a new chassis would be a nice starting point to any rebuild!
 
Started repairing the chassis this evening, there was a slight area of corrosion where the new half
Chassis I've got is going to over lap and be welded to, so I cut out this this eve and made a start on patching back in with 3mm steel. I ra put of time but will grind it back tomorrow and finish welding the I can do the other chassis leg before joining the new half chassis in place. I'm going to get the loom that runs inside the chassis out and run it out with chassis (planning on replacing back half of loom anyway) so that I can access it in future. I won't be doing any major off roading etc to risk damaging loom on outside. Once I join new rear half chassis in and weld in place, I was going to go over the seams with fish plates to strengthen these areas further. Would I just weld these on surface or do I need to treat behind for future rust proofing ? Ps. Starting to realise why everywhere I read said a mig welder was a better option, forgot got hard going stick welding was when doing jobs in situ! Cheers again, mark
 
Started repairing the chassis this evening, there was a slight area of corrosion where the new half
Chassis I've got is going to over lap and be welded to, so I cut out this this eve and made a start on patching back in with 3mm steel. I ra put of time but will grind it back tomorrow and finish welding the I can do the other chassis leg before joining the new half chassis in place. I'm going to get the loom that runs inside the chassis out and run it out with chassis (planning on replacing back half of loom anyway) so that I can access it in future. I won't be doing any major off roading etc to risk damaging loom on outside. Once I join new rear half chassis in and weld in place, I was going to go over the seams with fish plates to strengthen these areas further. Would I just weld these on surface or do I need to treat behind for future rust proofing ? Ps. Starting to realise why everywhere I read said a mig welder was a better option, forgot got hard going stick welding was when doing jobs in situ! Cheers again, mark

Piccies, or it didn't happen ;)

One technique I have used for joining boxes together, is to slit the sides, and weld a horizontal member into the joined area .... better than fishplating, as it doesn't create a corrosion trap ....

If you're out of practice with MMA, plenty of vids on the tube to "remind" you of your angles for the different positions :confused: ( welding positions, that is :D :rolleyes: )

TBF, MMA should be fine on 3mm - what set have you got ? a buzz box, or a nice DC set .... DC is waaaayyyyy nicer ..... :)
 
Il get some photos when I'm out later today. It's just a buzz box im using. Something a bit better would be a nice luxury but Il make do with this for just now. I'm using 2.5mm rods and sitting at about 85amps, sound about right? seem to be getting decent enough welds, not that neat but solid enough. Even have a couple of bits a good hammer and bash and not a bit of movement where they were welded.
I like the plate idea instead of fish plating but due to the location, right at a cross member intersection, I don't think I'd get access on both sides to weld in a horizontal plate, that's why I thought the fishplates would be stronger and easier to install. If I constant seam welded it all the way around would it still be a moisture trap? Cheers
 
How bad does this look? Really struggled down the leftmost side where the old chassis was trying to blow through in a few places. Tested it all afterwards with a hammer and it seems absolutely solid!
 

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I understand it's probably stronger not ground off but I had to in this case as my new half chassis slips over the first 5/6 inches and then gets welded to existing, then I plan on surface fish plating over next half chassis onto existing and leaving welds as they are.
 
Got the other chassis leg repaired and offered up the rear half chassis this afternoon. Next time I'm out il tac it in place, then check all the dimensions again then fully weld it in place.
 

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Cheers will do, il do that before I fully weld it in place. Going to give it all two coats of red oxide before a black topcoat. Any recommendations for topcoat? I've red chassis black and por15 on the forum? What's the most popular and best for the job?
 
I’ve used POR 15 system from Frosts on front axle and part of chassis and happy with it
Needs the marine clean and metal prep supposed to work better on rusty areas
 
I guess I would be doing a whole bunch of test pieces to get my technique and settings sorted, you would probably also be better off if the material thickness match the chassis. Can't really help anymore as I wouldn't be stick welding it.
 
Ok cheers, to be honest I was doing well with decent beads on the new steel when I was setting up and having a few practice runs. It was just the new steel to old chassis that was proving more difficult. If you think the strength would be compromised il grind out the two sides and redo tomorrow. Thanks
 
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