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The Odyssey

AngusSaunders

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In Homers epic poem Odysseus took ten years to return from the Trojan war. My BJ 8 may take longer. Without a new frame this BJ 8 would be parted out. So a year ago I went to Canada and brought back a Martin Jansen frame. After a year of cutting, welding and shaping tin I attached the rear inner body. The rear inner quarter panels I got from Moss seemed two inches too long but they say that so they can be trimed to fit so they are just tacked in place.
Now my plan is to mount the front inner body to the frame after repair and sand blasting. Frist though I need to strip all the stuff off the inner body. So now I need to draw from the well of knowledge. I have the BMC shop manual and in it they say to remove the steering shaft and gear assembly, remove three grub screws and pull the steering wheel and short tube from the long tube. I removed the three grub screws and pulled and tapped and nothing. Do I need to get more physical or perhaps a "special tool"? I could use some advice from someone who may have done this.
 

HealeyRick

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Assuming you have an adjustable steering column, go to the bottom of the steering box and disconnect the horn and directional wires and tape them tightly together at the bullet connector ends. Undo the "olive nut" from the bottom of the steering box. Go up to the steering wheel and withdraw the trafficator control head along with the the tubes as a unit. After that's removed, you will see a circlip holding the steering wheel to the shaft that you remove to take off the steering wheel.
 

Michael Oritt

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Angus--

Odysseus also had a very patient and supportive wife, Penelope who resisted the advances of others and stayed true to him during his travels.
I hope you have that kind of support at home for your project but if not you will certainly get it here.
 
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AngusSaunders

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HealeyRick, thanks for the help. I have a fair handle on the English language but my British is a little rusty, like the car I'm working on. It has been 40 or so years since working on a British car. With your explanation I see the procedure in the manual was correct but written in a language that I am not used to reading. So the steering assembly is out and on to the rest of it. Thanks again for the help.
Michael, my boss won't help with the restoration but she hasn't complained about the money spent so far, she probably likes the idea of me being out of the house and not under foot. Getting cold up here, so will soon have to light the wood stove in the shop.
Thanks all, Angus
 
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AngusSaunders

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Hi All
Before the snow hits the ground I've turned the frame around in the shop so better to work the front. I have removed almost all of the parts and pieces attached to the front inner body and all that remains are the door hinges. Mostly because the philips flat head screws are apparently rusted in place, save one. Any suggestions on removing these other than drilling them out, I'm not concerned with saving them. I have broken all my impact philips bits but I am going to order some better bits and soak the screws with more PB blaster for now. The good thing is that every time I use the impact it shakes a few pounds of rust off the body.
 

gonzo

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Aren't those door hinge screws POZIDRIVE heads which on first glance looks like a phillips head? You're doing all the correct steps with PB Blaster but try a POZIDRIVE to remove the screws. Or you could drill them out as planned. But source a POZIDRIVE screw driver set for future work. GONZO
 

John Turney

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I found a 50/50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid (ATF) worked better than PB Blaster on mine. I did, however have to drill several out. Key to drilling out is making sure the drill is centered by using the center of the screw head to center the drill bit. Once you've drilled enough to get centered, use a bit large enough to drill off the head, then use an I size bit or slightly smaller. I found that the remaining screw threads would unscrew out the back.
 

MarkP

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The bolts are pozi-drive but I suspect even a proper tool will not work. Considering that you are not going to reuse the bolts I would center drill a hole for an ez-out and retap. If even an ez-out doesn't work then use a drill size slightly smaller than correct body screw size and then retap.

....... Ah, the joys of living in a high desert environment ........
 
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AngusSaunders

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Thank you all for the great suggestions. I have done mechanical work since I was 16 and have made a living at it for 51 years. When I was 18 I was convinced I knew everything, but alas youth is wasted on the young. In all those years I had never heard of pozi-drive, so I looked it up and learned something new, the day was not wasted. I'm going to try the 50/50 mixture, at the rate I go thru the PB cans I'll save a fortune. Heating the bolts is also a great idea, sometimes it works miracles. These bolts seem to be made of soft steel so if all else fails they drill quite easy. I have a new tool coming so I'll wait until it comes and go from there. Thank you all again, Angus
 

Bob_Spidell

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They weren't particularly rusted, but I had trouble getting hinge bolts out on my BJ8. I had a cheap HF 'impact screwdriver' set--the kind you hit with a hammer--and it broke the first time I tried it, but I saved the bits. Got one chucked-up--Philips, but close enough--in an air impact wrench and at 90psi the wrench spun them right out.
 

twas_brillig

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Owning the 'impact screwdriver' per Bob Spidell is a Good Idea. I only use mine every ice age or so, but the combination of getting the best possible fitting screw driver bit and the action of the ball pein hammer driving the bit into the screw as it provides the torque to turn it is as good as it can possibly get. Doug
 
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AngusSaunders

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Not to drag this minor roadblock out but does anyone know for sure what size pozidriv bit fits these screws. I found that I could order a #4 socket from Snap-On, but I see that the range of sizes is 0 to 5 but 5/16 to 1/2 usually take a #4. I have a manual hammer operated impact but need a socket to fit it. I did order a blue point #4 phillips from eBay but it sounds like a pozidriv would be the best for a chance at success. I'll just keep soaking the threads in the 50/50 solution mentioned above.
Hope all of you have a great weekend, Angus
 
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AngusSaunders

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I got the #4 phillips socket and it turned out to be a pozidriv socket. Anyway removing the drivers side 3 out of 8 screws impacted out and the others required the drill. I stripped off the hinge pillar and the brace. Now it looks like its time to make some patch panels. I haven't found anyone that sells patch panels for scuttle side panels.

DSC_0046.JPGDSC_0047.JPG More fodder for the rust pile and more to come, Angus
 
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AngusSaunders

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Its morning, elections are over and we can get on with life. I appreciate the replies and checked out the suggested sources. They all sell the entire foot well outer panel but not a patch panel for the rusted out bottom portion. In the video that Martin provided with the frame a patch was welded on to the car they were working on. I emailed him and he didn't know of a source and suggested I make my own. So I'll cut some tin and take the hammer to it. Martin is going in for an operation today but hopes to be back in the shop in a few weeks. Good news I hope.
Angus
 
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Filed in my "learned too late" category:

Replacement panels don't have to be used in their entirety, and can be sectioned into excellent "patch" panels. Given what I saw as the panel's cost, and putting at least some value on my own time, it would be an easy decision...

I could've saved a tremendous amount of work__and years later, many Paul Tsikuris' billed hours__if I'd have only replaced the minimally rusted areas on my own car, rather than go in and wholesale replace everything (as a California car, it wasn't that bad, just a few trouble-spots; lived and learned...).
 
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AngusSaunders

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Randy, that's a good point. I didn't want to replace the entire panel, it would require a lot of removal and install effort and only the bottom was rusted out. So yesterday I banged out a patch and tacked it into place. In the future though considering using a portion of a panel is definitely a good idea. There is some satisfaction in fabricating your own parts but there has to be a limit. I find these British Cars and Motorcycles soak up a lot of time and money so you do it cause you love it. Though I cursed every one I owned and I fondly remember each.
 
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