The original TRW tie rods do have this feature. I tried Moog this time and they don't have those ends - they don't have much grease in the boots either!

Well that was a struggle!
 

I think I might just buy a new one next time

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400009266 http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400009266

I'm not mega happy with the end product. I'll be sanding some parts to try and improve the finish but I'm waiting for a day or so until the paint has really dried before I do that. Luckily some of the grotty parts will be hidden under the air filter!

Before rain stopped play (alternatively a copper ease day)
 

Today I noticed I'd put the flex disc on the gearbox the wrong way round. Letters facing the propshaft is the way it should be...

...flex disc fitted with copper ease at yoke mounting joints!

...got the five speed gearbox cross member fitted after messing about with the new captive nuts

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...sion-mount.jpg

The five speed transmission has a cross member that has four mounting points instead of two (for the four speed). This is probably because the gearbox is slightly longer and so a more stable fixing for the "third engine mount" is needed; even though the gearbox mount for four and five speeds seems to be same.

Next I finally got the gearbox shifter rods fitted and adjusted. Dissimilar metal corrosion was evident on the second hand shafts (that I had painted ages ago). Heat and penetrating oil was needed =>

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400066256

All went back together with copper ease

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400066370

I found a short parallel pin punch to locate the shifter mechanism in the correct position before adjusting the lengths of the shifter rods.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400066467

It all moves quite nicely - and I now know for sure that I was sold a second hand 5 speed shifter and not a 4 speed one - so that's nice!

I also got the steering box refitted (was removed for a second time for the fuel line refurbishment) and that bloody starter - what a nightmare that would be to try and get off in a hurry...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400066625

I have a feeling that there has been progress today - albeit not as much as I'd like.

Looks great!

X2, that's more than I usually get done!

BTW, I'm totally losing track... how much more do you have to go before the car is back together?

Now THAT is a sexy looking car! You are lucky to have that Bruno Sacco styled little diamond!

Good point!

At the moment I'm welding - when I'm done I'll post up pictures that were the REAL emotional DISASTER => broken camshaft pales into insignificance

So the approximate list is

Finish off welding on back end of the car

Fit refurbished sub frame, differential, and new rear suspension

Fit refurbished brakes and get the clutch and brake system bled

Put wheels on the car!

Push it into the road - turn it round and then back up onto the driveway to tackle some more rust found on the other side of the car (limited space on narrow European drive way)

Fill every cavity with DINITROL!

Paint the scratched plastic side panels and trim and refit

Fit propshaft - see if the exhaust is still serviceable

DIY 4 wheel alignment to be attempted

Finish off the engine

Make up new fuel lines for pump at back of the car

Re-grease mono wiper gearbox and fit heater return line


That's about it.

I might take the bumpers off and check for rust there too of course...

Oh Jim! Just you wait and see what I found lurking underneath - Lucky isn't a word I would have used...

Oh yeah and add a new set of wheels to the list. I was thinking along the lines of these

http://mbworld.org/forums/attachment...rlsson1152.jpg

Your audience awaits the news!
:dj:

Great thread, and great quality of work.

...OK, now I'm scared...

False bulkhead going in
 

OK this false bulkhead arrangement is tight - really tight. I have the smallest capacity engine ever factory fitted to a W201 and there is bugger all space behind the engine and the chassis to get your nicely decorated false bulkhead into position with out scratching it!

Instead of bothering the dealer for foam buffering I went off to the local DIY shop and bought some EPDM draft excluder that looked like it had a close cell structure - this part of the car is just a big gutter so it will get wet. I don't want foam to trap water between this false bulkhead and the chassis.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400256182

I'm hoping the EPDM won't melt of burn. I'll let you all know how it does.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400256182

Fitting is a pain in the bum if you don't want to scratch it. Accelerator cable, heater matrix supply, heater matrix return and speedometer cable all need to be threaded through and fitted. The heater return pipe is being stubborn so I'll remove the grill under the wiper to get at that bit when I re-grease the mono wiper gearbox (add to job list above!)...

...still after a bit of touch up paint it'll look gucci

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400256182

OK here it is then folks.

This is what I found. When I bought the car there was a small amount of surface rust on the rear door jamb next to a corner bit of trim. This was less than 1cm square. A tiny bit. I removed the trim to treat this small bit of surface rust and I found more - much more than I expected.

This was what it looked like after 1 second of angle grinder and wire brush treatment

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400346921

The 1cm square bit of rust was about where the red arrow is pointing.

Because I found this bit up high I removed the whole sill trim so I could check a bit more and then I found this

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400346921

And I also the inner wheel arch had a hole going into this box section so I removed metal from the outside so I could get to repair that bit too...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400346921

...the hole got bigger and bigger.

Teddy got chucked out the cot. This was the point where I realised it was time to really learn how to weld. This was the main reason for removing the rear suspension / sub frame etc. A learning welder needs space - lots of it!

This is an expression I'm not familiar with. What does it mean?

Welding has been a struggle
 

I haven't been welding for long. I got to a stage where practicing on a bench in good weather wasn't a problem - I could get it to stick and make some nice looking welds (on a good day!).

Welding whilst lying on my back in the dirt - welding in the cold - welding on rust - welding in the wind (this is Holland there is always wind!) is a different story. A totally different story. It has been a struggle.

With every gust of wind the shielding gas (argon) buggers off and the welding process goes off on some sort of manic spitting spree. TIG welding outside isn't the smartest thing you can do - but I guess a MIG welder would be just as temperamental.

So the welding isn't as good as I would like it to have been - I've had to grind and grind and grind!

Anyway here's making the patch

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400348078

Don't try and cut too much at once with aviation snips they are not designed to function like a guillotine

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400348129

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1400348204

Luckily this will be covered over by those plastic sills!