The Chassis

April 23rd 2014   ** starting next weekend

I have fitted the steering rack in place (using new high tensile bolts, wirelocked to each other) .
Bolts from Namrick. Suspension arms to go on this weekend, 17/May/2014.

Bank holiday Week end 25/May/2014

Using my homemade tool ( cut down castellated nut, welded to a bar) i tightened up the 2 front Arm nuts to an estimated 36 ft.pounds. All bearings where re used, but first checked, cleaned with solvent, then thoroughly re greased with LM grease. 

It did take a fair while (all day) ! to get it right, gently tapping the bearing cups into each arm .
I'm not happy with the paint finish though, so i will rub it down and repaint later.

Next job, Swivel hubs/kingpins. I used the bolt & nut draw through method to insert the new kingpin bushes into the hubs. - Care needed here, take your time, or risk damaging the bushes.  ( I practiced with the old bushes first).

The new kingpin fits perfectly into two of the bushes, but is tight on the other two, so i'll ream them out.
You should aim the have no more than 0.001" play between pin & bush, too much more is no good.
( my old set had a gap of 3 to 4 thou).

Saturday 31 May 2014

I have assembled all 3 suspension arms onto the chassis. All the bearings well greased.

I need new rear bump stops & cups, so they are on order. The  new Monroe shock is fitted to the rear arm, but the opposite way compared to the 2CV. (This is because that this type of damper requires that the oil reservoir, at the thin end of the damper, is at the LOWEST point, and, on the Pembleton, this is the suspension arm, not the chassis, as on the 2CV).     2Cv Damper replacement - Video

Also, the Monroe shock needs to be fitted the right way up

The 2 front arms. All 3 need re painting due to being placed in my vice to insert the bearing shells.

Weekend 19th July 2014

After Our Hols in the Lake District.. i'm back!

I Have had a real struggle with the Kingpins. I have ruined one set of bushes by making the mistake of inserting each bush individually. Of course, then they will not align, so the pin wont go in. After help from the PMC forum (again), i bought a new kingpin set & alignment tools from 2CV city.

Then it was easy to drive both bushes in with the tools and a hammer. I also used bearing lock to make sure the bushes won't move. As mentioned earlier in the blog, one hub & pin is fine. but in  the other (again) the bushes need reaming. This time, i went down to my local Engineering workshop & had the bushes reamed expertly for only a fiver!  - thanks to Tony at AB Plus Engineering, Dawley.

I  then fitted the offside hub, but wasn't happy with the vertical play (book says between .01 to .04 mm) i had around .03mm of play using the original washers. The new washer set supplied with the new kingpin wouldn't fit - too thick. So i mixed and matched washers to obtain a decent play of around 0.15mm.

I thought i was good to go, but when trying to fit the bottom pin screw cap, i realised the thread in the hub was damaged.. Good grief!   So i have ordered a 22mm x1mm Tap from Ecas.

  In the meantime i have finished fitting the shocks & springs, and fitted the wheel brake  cylinder & brake shoes to the rear hub.

Close up of the shoes ( i had to wire the retaining springs tight before putting cap on, then cut the wire - I was sweating)! Brake shoes were quality new old stock.

Rear hub bearing cleaned and checked, then re greased for service

Front arm plate which the shock absorber bolts to.

All springs & shocks fitted

I used non hardening butyl to seal the front arm plates

As soon as the Tap arrives, ill clean up the threads, then fit both swivel hubs, ready then for wheels to go on and start on the floorplan. TTFN.


23/July/2014


I have cleaned out the threads in the swivel hubs successfully, the tap does have a taper, so wouldn't go all the way through, as i have the bushes in. The end caps now screw in perfectly - at last!

Fitted the offside hub this morning, vertical play as before 0.15mm

Saturuday 26th  Driving in the nearside kingpin. Crikey, a doodle now i've mastered the art of it! But it does help to have the right tools, as ever.

17/8/2014     I have gone back to the rear hub & disassembled it, due to one of the rear adjusters being seized solid. I have made it workable now (days of applying penetrating fluid) but the adjusting nut is slightly mangled! From the PMC forum, a good fix is either welding a good larger nut to the old one, or  you can buy a new "easy fit" adjuster (the original requires riveting together with a special tool).

I have bought a new adjuster kit, but the original seems fine now.

Centring the brake shoes is essential for the rear brake to work well. This is easy with a wire temporarily soldered to the hub nut. when you move the nut around, make sure that the wire contacts the shoe at the same distance around its circumference - full instructions in the Haynes manual.

7 June 2015

Back on it ! Refinishing the front suspension, as  not happy with the finish (or colour)

25 July 2015

Replaced the original 2CV steering arm track rod adjusters with Stainless items from Burton.

A job i had been putting off for some time was the fitting of the top & bottom seals for the king pins. the bottom screw plug was no problem (after tapping the thread). The top "welch" plug did not fit, it was slightly too big in diameter. the idea is that it fits in the recess, then you flatten it to expand it, which seals the top. My mate Tim  Hall came up with a great idea to place the plug on the end of the ball peen hammer, and then in the vice., thus creating a larger dome, which in turn, shrinks the plugs diameter. It worked a treat.

Once in position  and flattened, it formed a perfect seal.

Use two hammers, one on the plug and one to hit with. Starting in the centre, work your way to the edges in a spiral pattern. You don't need to hit hard, just firm taps will do fine. You might need to repeat this two or three times, focussing on any high points.

With the bearings in the hubs,  made this simple tool to turn the retaining ring.

Then made this better one, as the mild steel bent on the other !