Must vent

[Legal Bill]

So I'm under the back of the Healey tonight, doing some touch up paint on the frame rails. The paint on the ridges of the rails was chipped off because the guy who did the restoration would rest the chassis on wheeled pallets and slide them around.

Anyway, I use this opportunity to carefully look at all the panels for any chips or scratches that need to be touched up. I was looking around the forward mounts for the rear springs, and what do I see? Instead of the correct pins, the restorer had installed course thread bolts. And what was on the ends of those bolts? Nothing! That's right, no nuts, no washers, nothing. The wrong bolts were just slid into place and no fastener on the end. I could have been killed! At the very least, my car could have suffered some severe damage.

I found similar problems when I inspected the front end, but I really did think I had gone over the rear end already. I guess it will get a second look now.

 

[GregW]

That's got to have boiled your blood. I'm glad you found that mistake before anything catastrophic happened. Nut & bolt the car. Even if the fastener is there, make sure it is tight and torqued to spec if needed.

 

[Legal Bill]

^ Good advice. I already did this up front, Now I need to go over the rear. I guess I have another hardware order to place.

 

[Johnny]

I'm glad you posted this Bill because you point out the importance of checking others work. This is a very necessary step that others fail to do. I'm not defending the restorer but I personally no the importance of having someone else check even your own work.

He probably used those bolts temporarily until he located the correct double ended bolts, then forgot about it.

 

[Legal Bill]

I'm glad you posted this Bill because you point out the importance of checking others work. This is a very necessary step that others fail to do. I'm not defending the restorer but I personally no the importance of having someone else check even your own work.

He probably used those bolts temporarily until he located the correct double ended bolts, then forgot about it.

Johnny, that is exactly what I told my wife last night. Leo would put things in place and, in his words, leave them loose until he had all the right parts and peices for it. He pointed this out to me on the steering box when he delivered the car, but he said everthing else on the suspension was fine.

I'm guessing Moss is the best place to get the correct pins. Does anyone have any suggestions for a better source of correct hardware? I have a small collection of british marked hardware left in my hardware draw, but I sure don't have these pins or the nuts and flat washers to go with them

 

[Johnny]

I'm sure Moss has the correct parts. Make sure you also order the correct nuts and washers as well from whom ever you order from. Use anti-seize on the pins, don't over tighten the nuts their only used to prevent the pins from falling out. Mine were original and a very fine thread for their size.

 

[Legal Bill]

Thanks. I just placed the order. I also ordered the dome nuts and some clips for the door panels and window trim.

 

[Cutlass]

For hard to find parts, you can try British Car Specialists in Stockton, CA. I've had very good luck with them, and they are quite nice.

 

[Legal Bill]

The pins came in and I spent the morning installing them. Passengers side went in with minimal hassle. The driver's side seemed a little difficult to remove the pin. Rather than force it, I went down the line and looked at the other fasteners. It seems the spring was not correctly aligned with the spring perch. I had to disasseble the whole side, work on the alignment of the inner perch (read: extensive use of vice, hammer and files) and then reassemble. Now it all lines up nice. I'm glad I caught this little "oversight" too.

 

[GregW]

Couldn't hurt to cross measure your wheels to make sure your axle is square to the frame.

 

[Legal Bill]

Couldn't hurt to cross measure your wheels to make sure your axle is square to the frame.

Good idea! Any tips on how to do that?

 

[Randy Forbes]

You can put the car on four (4) jackstands, preferably sitting at "ride-height" (stands under the suspension, not the chassis). Use a plumb bob from the center of each K/O and mark the ground. Now take a tape-measure and compare the distance between the marks; LF to RR, RF to LR, etc.

 

[GregW]

The only thing I'd add to that is to make sure the front wheels are facing straight forward (minus the toe-in of course). :wink: