Thread: The restoration of Wombat

If you have another look the 2nd image posted, you can just see the mangled top edge of the 'tube' that supported the relay in the chassis, my effort ripped the whole unit out complete with the tube still firmly rusted in place, hence the gaping hole in the 3rd image, I can assure you it was not the outcome I wanted, but I had to deal with the consequences of my actions

this image shows the tube being cut away from the relay body, cheers Dennis
ps the chassis mount was made from scrap that I had stashed behind the shed, it was used on several Land Rovers that I have restored over the years, but it has now been returned to scrap and gone forever,,.

Is now a good time to scream, run away and see if I can buy a Mini instead?

Yeah, re-reading your post makes that clear. By cripes you had a problem there. Just goes to show that no matter what we're dealing with, you have to be careful... and now just how big a hammer to use. I think that subtlety is one of the things that makes this hobby so satisfying.

Originally Posted by crackers

Dinty, am I right in seeing that chassis as just a hole in the top and at the bottom? I was imagining a tube running through the thing. If it's just holes, I'll need to be squirting WD40 on the bottom as well.
There is a tube.
Is it worth trying to get that plate off the bottom? I've removed the bolts but it's firmly fixed in place.

........

The plate at the bottom is only held by rust after you have removed the bolts. It is supposed to be a tight fit on the bottom plate of the relay, to stop it moving side to side as you steer. It should just come off with a chisel under it (but try not to damage the relay), and it does not matter if you do damage it as it is easily replaceable. (I think you can get them, but is a simple turning job anyway.) It will be part of the grip the chassis has on the relay, so better off removed.

In the absence of a hide hammer, a bit of hardwood will protect the shaft, but for serious work a suitable section of pipe against the body of the relay rather than hammering on the shaft would perhaps be a good idea.

Of course, the relay has to come out upwards, and you won't get a good hit underneath, but it should be free to move down at least a millimetre or two, so you may be able to get it moving by hitting down first.

John

The steering relay was the last thing I removed. At this stage I turned the chassis upside down, allowing me to belt down on it. not upwards.






I broke the casting trying to remove the bolt from the relay







Erich

Thanks Erich,

I'd seen your thread where you broke the casing, that must've felt really rotten when it happened.

Good thought to turn it over before driving out the relay. I'll bear that in mind if this proves too stubborn.

Continuing to soak with WD40... and wallop the shaft with my rubber mallet. At this stage, I don't have anything to go over the shaft except my larger sockets which aren't long enough. However, I reckon a 1" water pipe joiner should do the job and will get one saturday morning. That'll allow me to whack it harder.

As it is, just looking at the mounting holes at the top, I've obviously moved it upwards a little (maybe a short mm, enough to prevent the bolts from going back in). Once I get that joiner (or whatever), I'll start to tap it up and down, the idea being to both soften the grease holding it in place but also to work the WD40 down along the relay.

All in all though, I'm not too fussed if it doesn't come out at this stage. I think Erich's idea of turning the chassis over to get a better swing at it is brilliant. Until then, I'll keep soaking and removing stuff.

You need to get (or borrow) a dead blow hammer, or a brass faced hammer. Dead blow hammers pack a punch, and the brass faced hammers won't mar the surface you are hitting as much as a hardened steel face hammer.

My understanding of percussive tools is that bigger is better, but also, all the energy youn put into it (swinging it at the target) needs to find its way into the target. A rubber mallet will absorb most of the energy and bounce back at you, and you are not getting the best bang for your buck.

I've also found that if you are working on something that you want to remove, soak it up before hand. If you have things you know you'll need to remove in the future, soak them now, and give it another shot of WD every few days. But admittedly, I've never worked on a car of Wombat's vintage.

Yeah. I'm using the rubber mallet because my only alternative at the moment is a steel hammer which, as you say, is not the right thing. Once I get something to slip over the shaft, I'll lay a but of wood over that something and welt it with a steel mallet, using the wood to soften the blow without the rebound.

On the welding front, NONE of the shops around here sell arc welder parts (I'm after the earth clip and the handpiece for the welding rod) Looking at the handpiece I've got, the brass fitting that takes the cable at one end and clamps the rod at the other, was simply pushed into the plastic handle and held in place by plastic clips shaped into the handle. Those clips have broken off so I've glued it back in with my hot glue gun. No, I don't consider that a long term or satisfactory solution but hopefully will do me until I get new bits. Now I have to find a metal worker near work to get some off cuts from - the place I was going to is nowhere near work and isn't open on saturdays. Of course, I can always buy some from the hardware.