Moved my storage stuff

Just a note to say that I didn't work on the E9 today because I moved all the bits and pieces to a different storage shed. The old shed is next to a structure that is being torn down before the wind carries it off to Kauai.

I had a few minutes after the move, but the Honolulu Century Ride is tomorrow so I decided to take it easy. Had more time to eat lunch before gamelan.

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Lotus RH suspension mostly done

Last week was the UH Manoa Gamelan concert so no time to work on cars. On balance, Dave Bean shipped my shock and anti-roll bar bushings, so today I had all the big stuff. I still only had three hours today, so if I want the car on the ground in time for All British Car Day I need to take a few days off from work.

Recently I bought new grease to pack the hub bearings, but I still needed gear oil for the trunnions and new zerk fittings, so I stopped at Redline. They had the oil, but no zerk fittings. Why is it always little things are what hold you up?

The guys on the Europa mailing list recommended liquid dish detergent to lube the bushings, so I brought along some. Hard to find plain dish soap! I expected a battle but they went together easily. I gently clamped the bar in the vise and used the jaws to backup the bushing.

While working on the bushings I noticed the angle of the bend at each end was different. Not the little bend, the big one. Probably a side effect of the crash impact. I won't be able to set it straight until the shocks are in place, because I need to know the distance between the bottoms of the shocks where the bar attaches.

I finished assembling the RH upright -- the steering link and backing plate. Greased up the hub bearings and added the hub. Couldn't do the tie-rod because I still don't have the steering rack bellows.

Since I got the new shock I thought I'd spend what little time remained getting out my home-made spring compressor. Made an interesting discovery. I have to compress the spring to even get the top mount point even with the top of the spring, but the nylon strap will not fit between the spring and the mount. Catch-22. That will take some thought.

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At last, back to patch making

After weeks of distraction I finally got to work on the E9 today. I did get a late start because I had to help my wife with her bike, and I am still constrained by short hours, but I did get something done. Even a little progress is better than no progress. What I need is more "visual progress," something dramatic. Like painting that car ... imagine that!

In the last E9 session I had started working on the next patch, on the lower edge of the LH grill opening. It was rough cut outline, still flat. Today was all about bending and trimming. Along the way I had to determine how much warp was in the body and work that out with a hammer and dolly. I got to where I was ready to weld, but experience has taught me two things: 1) do not weld at the end of a session when you are tired and rushed, and 2) with fresh eyes I will spot more places where the fit is off and needs a tweak. So, next time will begin with touch-up fitting and shaping, then move into welding.

As an aside, the places where I left steel naked along the top edge have still not started to rust. Naked, but treated with POR-15 prep. I see where they changed the name to Prep and Ready. Whatever they call it, it's great stuff.

Back to the E9 at last

One of the labels I created for these posts is "distractions." I never thought that working on cars would be much of a distraction, but in getting ready for today's session I realized that I have not touched the E9 since May and the major distraction has been cars. The same exercise reminded be of the value of this blog; I was able to go back and review the last work done so I could pick up where I left off.

After a bit of head scratching I decided the best way to finish closing the hole above the RH rear tail light would be to make a one-piece patch with a fold to match the shape of the trunk sill. I began by using a die grinder to clean up the shape of the opening and to cut back any thin metal around the edge. I already had a scrap piece which eliminated the cutting out step. I did the fold in the vise, whacking the piece with a hammer, simple but effective.

It just so happened that the rear edge ran along the downward break for the rear panel, so that while the patch sits inside the front, LH and RH sides, it sits on top of the rear edge. I actually had to lower the rear edge a bit. This made positioning the patch much easier, but it was still a problem. I ended up making a brace out of scrap that created a shelf for the patch to sit on, which pulled out after the patch was tacked in.

My welding has not improved, but I did manage to get the patch secured without burning too many holes. After grinding away most of the rubble I applied some POR-15 Epoxy Putty to blend in the seams. Next time I will begin with grinding.

Lotus rear hub bearings, pt. 5

It's been awhile since I wrote anything. Mostly this is a result of a crazy busy schedule, but health issues have played a part, too. This week, both are back to almost normal. Another reason is that I have been working on the Europa's left rear wheel bearing, which is a repeat of what I just did on the right side. On top of that I am busy re-learning the Smalltalk language and a new version, called Squeak, my goal being to teach a class of high schoolers. This is in conjunction with the Open Slate Project.

Something not a distraction but noteworthy is news that my eldest son has flown the coop. Gone away to California to make his fortune. He got a job a bazillion kids want, to be a game designer at Upper Deck. That business segment has seen some rough water this past year, so I gave him a pep talk about being on the team that turns things around. I wish him and the company all the best. He currently has a blog up about his adventures; don't know how long it will stay up.

Last week I got the trailing arm off the car. A bit of a snag getting the forward brake line off, I ended up disconnecting the top. For some reason, corrosion most likely, the long bolt that secures the lower link to the hub carrier was hard to remove.

Today began with pressing the drive shaft out of the bearings. It provided a first-hand example of the value of this blog -- I could go back and review the press setup I used on the other side. I tried to do it myself, but juggling the part and four long sockets was too much, so Carl gave me a hand.

I was going to jump right in on the universal joints until I realized that paint was on the critical path. I set aside the drive shaft and instead knocked the bearings and seal out of the hub carrier, cleaned it in the solvent wash, then did the whole long clean and prep drill on it and the trailing arm in preparation for paint. As I recall, last time I painted the inside and outside of the trailing arm on different days. Today I did both, inside first. Once again my solution was to pour Rustoleum straight from the can into the trailing arm, then turning and twisting to coat the inside. Messy but effective. After hanging up like a smoked ham for an hour the paint stop dripping out the end, and I sprayed it and the hub carrier. They will be ready to assemble next week.

Even if I get everything put together next Sunday I will not be able to drive the car, because the Loctite has to set overnight before putting a load on it. Maybe I can take a day off this week and at least get the hub on. Too bad that step happens so near the end.

Lotus rear hub bearings, pt. 2

Happy Father's Day!

When I got home from the shop today I was treated to the most fantastic dinner, made all the better by having both my sons there. There was Kirin beer, steak, pepper cured bacon, two kinds of sausage, tomato and artichoke salad, summer squash, and rice pilaf. Dessert was a mocha chocolate pie. There are very few restaurants in Honolulu that could match that meal, at any cost. Pattie really outdid herself.

If there is one thing you can count on when working on old cars, it is that everything takes much longer than it should. By the start of today I had

• Removed the entire trailing arm


• Pressed out the drive shaft


• Removed the hub carrier


• Removed the bearings and seal


• Painted the trailing arm and hub carrier with Rustoleum


• Replaced the brake hose


• Pressed in the new bearings and seal


• Mounted the hub carrier


• Installed the driveshaft into the bearings

Last Week I was ready to install the trailing arm when I decided to grease the u-joint. Simple. Only I could not get the grease gun fitting off of the nipple. The effort ended badly, as it so often does with old cars, when the nipple broke off. Up to that point I had decided against replacing the u-joints, but they are twenty years old and rather stiff, so that was the last straw. I ordered new bears from Dave Bean.

Today I figured I would spend an hour replacing the bearings, then continue putting things together, and at the end of the day I would face the problem of having two cars to drive home. Not a chance. By the end of the day I had one u-joint installed. Getting it apart was such an ordeal that I am glade I did not attempt it on the car, as I had planned. The big time killers were broken snap rings, cracked outer races, and filing the gouges created while taking it apart.

Mostly Lotus

The Honolulu All British Car Day is coming up at the end of this month. If I am to have any hope of showing my Lotus I have to fix the big scratch some griefer thought would make a statement. Last week I bought the paint, spray gun, and associated stuff, but Sunday was the Haleiwa Century Ride so no car work got done. Today was the day to get to it.

The first thing to do was to sand out the scratch. For that I used #180 wet/dry, wet. (Make a note: next time bring a bigger bucket.) This revealed four areas where the scratch was especially deep. To fill those areas I used my POR-15 Epoxy Filler. After sanding down the first application, still using #180 but in my short sanding block, I could see where I needed to extend the filler a little further, so I applied a little more and when that was hard I finished bringing it down the level of the paint surface. The next phase will be to use high-build primer to level out the whole thing. I'm thinking about working on that at home. We'll see.





While I was working on the scratch I also worked on the E9. First I ground down the welds I finished with last time, then when I applied to filler on the Lotus I also used some to fill in the gaps around the E9 tail light patches. After grinding that down, first with my grinder, then with #50 paper in my long sanding block, I had a few more low spots, so when I applied the second round of filler to the Lotus I also applied some to the E9. I did not have time to grind that down.



I'll close with a note about how busy a week it has been. Saturday night was our gamelan concert, so we had a rehearsal Wednesday night, dress rehearsal Friday night, and a two o'clock call on Saturday to get everything ready. Friday after was the monthly after work party at Asian Studies, which we might have skipped if it were not also a first birthday party for a friend's baby boy. Can't miss that. Then on Saturday morning there was a brunch to honor Ric Trilillos, who received a best student mentor award. Working at the shop today I felt like I was in a fog.

Here's a pic of the gamelan, minus players. I don't have any pictures of us playing, because I am always on stage. For this concert I mostly sang, but I did drum one piece.

Back to the Rear End

Last week I never got around to posting because I was busy finishing up the photos I took during our annual New Year's celebration. Our activities are typical for Hawaii, a mix of American and Japanese customs including a seemingly endless stream of parties with family and friends. It's all on my Flickr account in a collection named New Year 2009.

What I did last week was review the patch design that I have been working on, apply a second coat of POR-15 to the fiberglass, and apply POR-15 to the outside areas concentrating on the places that the hole I am trying to cover provides access to. When I applied the glass I decided to use my tube of POR Patch because it really is POR-15 in a tube and I was worried it might dry up. This time I was going to be covering a lot more area so I opened my can. Surprise! It had set up solid. But wait. When I shook it I felt sloshing. Sure enough, after a bit of work with a screw driver and hammer I broke through the rock-hard skin and found plenty of liquid underneath. When I was done I re-sealed the can with plastic wrap, but I really should buy a new, smaller can the next time I paint.





Today began with grinding away the drips and runs from where the patch will go and cleaning the entire opening down to bare metal with my trusty wire brush in the die grinder. I really did plan on welding today. I guess I underestimated how much I had to grind the bottom edge to get the fit right, because that ended up consuming most of my time today. Grind and fit, grind and fit. I found myself wishing the car was on a lift, but this way I get more exercise.

When the perimeter was finally the shape I wanted, I realized it wasn't. All along the top edge is where the trunk floor is welded to the rear panel. The hole I am repairing was caused my moisture collecting in the area, exacerbated by previous collision damage which must have compromised the paint. Over at the top right corner a significant piece of the original rear panel extends down and is securely attached to to the floor piece. This sheet metal is at the same height as the patch I am making. If I left it the way it was the patch would stick out noticeably. Even though this area is obscured by the bumper, the lump would be as obvious as a day one pimple. I could grind away the old metal, but that would weaken the joint. I decided to cut away that corner of the new patch. I know this will make the joint messy, but that is easy to fix with Epoxy Putty. I ended up drawing the cut lines but not cutting, in case I get a better idea during the week.





Before leaving I shot the opening with Weld-Thru primer. I just don't like leaving metal bare in Hawaii, even for a week.

Marathon Sunday

Today was Honolulu Marathon. Once again my wife and I got up at 2:30 A.M. to help. We are members of the clock team. Our job is to start all of the clocks along the route. I manned the one mile clock, partnered with a newbie named Nick, and my wife had the two kilometer clock. About a dozen team members meet at Fort DeRussey in Waikiki at 3:30 for a final time check and last minute instructions, then we all ride our bikes to our station and wait for the 5:00 start. My wife and I ride all the way from home, and after watching the first few hundred runners go by head off in search of breakfast. Well, today it rained. Hard. By the time we got to Big City Diner in Kaimuki we were soaked to the bone, so we road on home, got cleaned up, and went back. After a leisurely breakfast we went home, and on the way we could still see runners headed out. The magnitude of these events never fails to amaze me.

A lack of sleep was not the only thing that interfered with working on the E9 today. Since Friday I have been struggling with a bout of vertigo. On Saturday I doubted I could ride a bike Sunday, but with the help of Dramamine I managed. I had Nick go up the ladder to start the clock, while I called out the time. The two things that trigger a dizzy spell are looking up and, even more so, looking down. Needless to say, working on the E9 was a challenge.

The first thing to do was to smooth out the putty I applied at the end of last week's session. I started with my pneumatic grinder, then switched to a sanding block. The tricky part was to sculpt the indentation where the panel changes height. I ended up with one low spot. After the next patch is welded in place I can add enough filler to even out the surface. I think I have reached the point where I need to sand down more of the rear end, so see why there is so much bondo.

When I got the sculpting as far as I wanted to take it I still had enough time to cut out the next patch. Next week will begin with grinding it down to fit, and preparing the opening.