The work continues.

I now have no excuse to work on my car, so the first job was to replace the front anti roll bar. It came out with the minimum of fuss. As can be seen in the photo's, one job leads to another. The front under tray was full of dirt, and reminded me of that very wet Friday at Goodwood. The next job was to clean up the two diagonal struts, mine were very rusty, but after a good rotary brush in an angle grinder made easy work cleaning them up. I also cleaned up the two " boomerang" shaped plates that also needed a good clean up whilst they were accsessable. The reason the anti roll bar bushes were highlighted in its last visit to have an oil change was because the roll bar had rusted where the bushes wrap around it, this had worn them, so when I had removed it, the anti roll bar was cleaned up and new bushes ordered. Over the next week all the parts cleaned up and chemically treated will be given 6 coats of paint to protect them.

Two other jobs for today, was to remove the guard shield under the front wing and observe my findings. I was satisfied with what I saw beneath it, with very little in the way of rust, which was the reason for removing it. I had every intention of getting my indy to do a complete suspension replacement as the rubber bushes are showing signs of deterioration. I have seen and heard many people remark that the bolts have a tendancy to seize in the bushes. But every bolt moved within their bushes on both sides of the front suspension, so I will be changing the front..................so far !

Today I removed both "coffin" and its tie rod from the drivers side without any seized bolts to contend with. When I look at the condition of the bolts I have the feeling they may have been changed in the cars past. They had a little copper ease on the nut end but not the section that goes through the bush its self. The next job was to remove the inner shield to the front wing, the front section was damaged so will be replaced when I go to my supplier and get the parts to rebuild the car. As per the other side, the is very little wrong, just a couple of surface rust areas, which I will clean up and protect the car for many years to come. I was at our local indy last Sunday for a cars and coffee. Whilst at these events you get the chance to look at cars on ramps. There was a car 1 year younger than mine, same model, but in a very rusty state, maybe it was used all year round but it had suffered from very little attention to rust proofing or just a good clean to lower the chance of rust that was present.

I removed the front bumper to inspect the radiators which have a habit of collecting all sorts of items, leaves flys etc. Now I did look at a subject discussing grills, and most owners were not happy with them , mainly the fit. My indy fitted mine, and as you can see in the photo's they fit good. On inspection the radiators were 99 % clear of debris, just the odd very small pieces which I blew out with an airline. Whilst cleaning and checking for rust I noticed the horn bracket was looking very rough, so I removed it, cleaned it up, chemically treated it, and it now will go through the same 6 coats of paint that all parts get that need painting

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Great work, this is a job I’m going to do shortly, how did you access? Ramps or lift? How long did it take to get all the parts off ready for cleaning?

I bought the ramps last month, with the intention of doing this work over the winter. Each entry is a days work, and depending on how long it has been since the work was last carried out depends on how easy the parts come apart. I just started at the front end and will work backwards to the back of the car covering all aspects of the work. This is my first time working on the car, so I just take my time and complete each bit.

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Thanks for sharing! I look forward to the next updates I'm drawing up my winter maintenance list, I might add reconditioning the struts to the list - it looks like a satisfying job!

Is that the Sealey lift that you have?

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I am not sure of the make, but its not sealey.

Thats great progress, i intend to do something similar over the winter! What sort of products are you using for the various cleaning/ treating stages?

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I hand wash everything, its slow, precise, and allows me to look thoroughly at everything. I do not use jet cleaners as they force water into everything that might not do well to have water in them. Go onto the por15 web site, that will give you some idea of the chemical cleaning and treating process.

More progress was made in putting back the newly painted horn bracket.The other parts that were cleaned up a d painted were placed in the garage for fitting later in the job. The next job was to clean up any areas that had rust, and then using currust given a liberal coat, before painting. When I looked underneath the front of the car, the section beyond the front sub frame was rusty, and required the sub frame to be removed, so out it came, followed closely by the front diff. Why remove the diff, well, I have a sound like a wheel bearing failing, and as the seals are both leaking, it might be that the bearings are at fault and causing the seals to fail. Time will tell. Anyone who has removed the item in the last photo will know where this part fits.

Great work. I love threads like this

Can you repair the diff yourself or will you have someone do it?

Nice work! Last photo is the cover underneath the petrol tank if I remember correctly.