So I got some Fertan and found it takes a long time to dry. As everything under my car is 22yrs old I have a lot of work getting down to bare metal where there is rust. If only British roads weren’t so salty!

One problem I have is removing the driveshafts. They are stuck solid in the hubs. My three leg puller isn’t beefy enough to do it. So I’m soaking the spline in penetrating fluid overnight.

 

How long is "long time to dry", and what is your ave temp, about 12-16c? thanks, I want to do the same to my car.

 

Ambient temperature was about 6-16*C (car was outside). It took about 48hrs before it was all touch dry. Tomorrow I am looking forward with trepidation to doing the other side of the car with Fertan.

Once the Fertan is dried, I will spray on 95% zinc galvanising paint, followed by 2k black, then waxoil. That should cover all bases.

 

Update:
New polyurethane bushes now fitted to upper and lower wishbones. WARNING: Do not attempt this without a proper press. I used a large bench vice and greatly struggled.
Balljoints on uppers wishbones re-greased and new seals fitted.

I test fitted the wishbones, anti-roll bar, link rods and tie bars.




Everything from the 2000 model appears to fit the 2008 subframe with two exceptions. The left exhaust hanger is different and so are the subframe mounting bushes.








You can see quite a lot of differences from old to new. It appears the new one has been engineered to be stronger, with extra gussets and larger box-sections.

The early diff fits the later frame but I forgot to take a picture of it.

I drilled the hole in the upper section of the subframe mounting bushes larger to fit the threaded protruding locating nuts fitted to the early body.

Then got to work removing the different exhaust hanger from the old frame and welded it to the new frame.



Next job will be to treat and paint the new frame.

 

WOW

 

One other thing I forgot to mention. The handbrake cables go through two holes in the old subframe. The new frame has no holes but that part has a different shape from the old one. I have yet to test fit it to the body to check if the cables can be routed in an acceptable manner, or if I have to drill holes in the new one.

Oh and the rear diff is quite heavy, be careful how you lift it or you could hurt your back.😕

 

Note that the part that broke on my old one was where the upper wishbone is connected. Check the harder to reach and see areas on yours.


Spot the missing part!


See the top right corner.

 

Looks can be deceiving! I finally got around to test fitting the new frame. It doesn’t fit the rear mounting points. 🤦‍♂️
My absent-minded head thought I had already measured the distance between them. Obviously, I hadn’t or I would have spotted the 110mm difference!

The solution is to drill out the spot welds to the captive nut and spacer and move each one 55mm outwards. Sounds easy enough but it is going to be a huge engineering problem. I’m currently mulling over all options before I attack anything with a grinder and drill.

 

i forgot to mention if you were going to order from the US you might as well have got one out of a ls or tbird…

 

Hmm. A bit late for that now.😂

 

oh boy, good luck

 

I finally finished her. What a lot of work that was!
Q: Is it possible to fit the later subframe to an early body?
A: Yes, insofar as it is possible to go swimming in a pair of curtains if you are willing to turn them into trunks.
Q: Would I recommend it?
A: Absolutely not! It’s way too much effort trying to make everything fit in a safe and fully functional manner.

She now has a new MOT, four new Falken tyres, new rear shocks, new rear bushes, fresh diff oil, and two patches on the rusty sills (I think these are called rockers in the USA. Although, I have no idea why; they don’t rock at all). She is now back in use as my favourite drive.

 

She looks well worth the effort, Sporton. Gorgeous. And you washed her, but with the car and the dog blocking her, how do you get her out?

 

Levitation and a flux capacitor 😉

 

Of course, you need those to dodge the drunks and riff-raffs on the roads of Scotland

 

What? You’re supposed to dodge them?! I thought they were fair game.😐