Europa TCST

[TurboFource]

Welded a couple of NPT bungs on....ran out of argon...

All the old coolant/heater tubing weighed 9.1lbs...the new aluminum ones weigh only 3.8lbs

[BDA]

You are good with a welder, Turbo! 

[TurboFource]

Welded tabs on heater lines so I could rivet them in place.

Installed all the coolant lines (thankfully my welds went through the frame grommets)

[BDA]

Great stuff, Turbo! Now it's time to 

[TurboFource]

Been cleaning parts....much fun.

Added mountings tabs to lower control arms as the lightest option I could think of as I plan
to move the front sway bar higher on the chassis. (I end up repositioning these mounting tabs...)

Modified the emergency brake arm to provide more travel....will it work 

[TurboFource]

 Still cleaning parts and been trying to get my front Koni's apart for 2 weeks so I can at least change the oil in them. A week of PB Blaster didn't work, a week of tranny fluid/acetone mix didn't work. They laughed at my spanner wrench

So I decided that a controlled application of heat with my jeweler's torch, a wet rag, and a hammer and punch were now the last resort. It worked  (I know there are better shocks these days ....but the Twin Cam rebuild comes before $1300 shocks).

Oil definitely needed changed!

[TurboFource]

One year and counting......

I brought TCST home a year ago today

I still enjoy, and look forward to working on it! I thought I would be a little further along but most things have been
difficult to extremely challenging to get apart! I did lots of research and asked lots of questions prior to purchase so
none of this has been a complete surprise.

Thanks to all for their advice and encouragement to date!! Please continue to do both!!!!

Looking at it on a regular basis it is hard for me to see the progress until I look back at pictures...

[BDA]

  to your project!!

One of my favorite parts about the board is people documenting their restorations. Yours is certainly not an exception. I love seeing how people put their own stamp on their car and it can be a big help to others who come behind you. I’m ecstatic if I can be of any help and I know I’m not alone in that.

I’m looking forward to following your progress.

[cwtech]

Wow, Kraig, it's hard to believe it's been 1 year already !!

Progress may not be as quick as you hoped but you'll get there.

Keep up the good work!

~~~Bruce

[dakazman]

 
  Just keep doing what you’re doing. Post often, you’ll enjoy the read when your finished.
Dave.

[TurboFource]

If you ever wonder if the 40-50 year old oil in your shocks can deteriorate over time and clog things up, the answer is yes! While my Koni's seemed to stroke in and out smoothly the damping passages were quite clogged up! Glad I took them apart, they would have been awful on the car! I think I will add a drain port at the bottom and a bleed screw at the top so I can drain the oil at the bottom and then force more oil back in, bleed to screw to make this easier.

I also cleaned some more parts.....


Cheap baking sheets from the dollar store are great to use to disassemble parts on, things don't roll away and it contains residual oil that always seems to run out of things.

[BDA]

Don't know much about what's inside a shock but those look like they're hurting!

I've been inside almost every component of my car but I'm not qualified, or adventurous enough to take shocks apart! Good luck! I hope you end up with great shocks!

[dakazman]

   Same here 
  I just found my rear shock leaking fluid out of some set screw. good thing it wasn't my brake cylinder.
 I just hate to spend money on shocks and purchased them used 
  dakazman

[TurboFource]

The wear surfaces etc look good, just the passages were clogged up, the ultrasonic cleaner and a dental style tool seem to be working well to clean things. It was amazing how dirty the solution was after the first shock going through the cycle several times. The cleaner heats the solution which helps ( I use a few ounces of Pine Sol in the water which is cheap and works well).

[TurboFource]

This week's Lotus fun...

Wire brushed outer cable housings for emergency brake cable and then sprayed with Rustoleum 2 in 1 Rust Reformer & Seal, then hung them and oiled the inner cables at the top until it ran out the bottom, they move like new now!

Added drains to front Koni's.

Repaired lower control arms on drivers side as trunnion bolt must have been loose and elongated the holes.