Adoom

Just now, AllTorque said:

Anyone have suggestions on where to get cold roll sheet metal in Welly by the part sheet?

@Nominal ?

I got some from Steel and Tube seaview. They only do full sheets and don't have the facilities to cut it, so you need a trailer. It was inexpensive.

So my 80's Rong Fu RF30 mill has a bunch of backlash in the Y axis. So much that you cannot mill in that direction.

Today I finally got around to lifting the heavy thing off its table so it was high enough to reach under and tighten up the adjusting screw on the feed nut.

But no luck, it was at the end of its adjustment. So I took it off to have a better look. And it's REALLY worn.

Surely they are available, you can still buy clones of the RF30.

Yes, but OUCH! $143!

https://www.chevpac.co.nz/catalogue/page/rf-20-30-spares_SPA_S140_C541/rf-30-633-sm6215s-table-base-nut_SPR303320?p=1

I also found a bearing thrust race was missing, so one bearing wasn't doing anything. That was introducing <0.5mm backlash.

They are cheap.

https://www.bearingandengineering.co.nz/shop/BEARINGS/Bearings/Thrust+Ball/THRUST+BEARING+51103.html

Big lathe that takes big tools asks big money.

Do I really need to pay $50 + freight for a 3/4" HSS parting blade?

https://tradetools.co.nz/products/solar-3-4-parting-blade

The holder will take a smaller 5/8" blade, but it's only $10 cheaper.

Any better place I can buy it from?

show us your diagram

Have you made a drawing of your wiring diagram? I found it helped when I did my Starlet.

AFAIK, yes Diode works just the same in a ground wire. 

39 minutes ago, Bling said:

For example, my certifier has mentioned extra threads in areas you can't even get a single one with your brake setup. Another certifier has said it's not required. 

Do you mean having the bolt threads protruding through the other side of the caliper mounting lugs? In my case(from memory, I could be wrong), the threaded hole is tighter at one end so the bolt will jamb and not protrude. I'm gonna assume it's to stop you from using a too long bolt and running it into the face of the disc and damaging it. 

5 minutes ago, Bling said:

Have you talked to a certifier about any of your stuff? Not being a dick, but that is the sort of question they would appreciate being asked, as there isn't a one size fits all answer to many questions. For example, my certifier has mentioned extra threads in areas you can't even get a single one with your brake setup. So probably a good idea to get a certifier onboard, if you want to save redoing stuff later.

Yeh. I know I really should. I've been putting it off, I don't really have a good reason why. On previous certs(my Starlet has had 3) I've done all the work and only taken it to see the man at the end.

But this project has the added complication of steering geometry from moving the rack and chopping up the rear floor to fit in an also chopped up narrowed subframe.   

Can I make a brake calliper bracket from aluminium? How thick does it need to be? 

1 hour ago, SOHC said:

Anyone use glyptal paint? I am thinking of painting the inside of the V8 when it gets rebuilt, I hear its good for engines that sit around alot.

You been watching Jafromobile on Yootuub or something?

Just C-Notch your shins at towbar height.

9 minutes ago, UTERUS said:

Anyone got experience with a really nice tap and die set?

 

Links to what you're using plz.

 

I bought a "frost" brand set from Mitre10. It was rubbish. It wasn't even a set, some dies were duplicated. The smaller sizes were so bad, I have several times contemplated putting them in the bin.

I needed a good M12 tap to cut a thread in a reasonably hard steel and found CarbideNZ. They have "Volkel" taps, made in Germany. I thought they were pretty affordable and really good quality, you can order them online.

They don't appear to have any sets, but I've been slowly building up a collection of the sizes I use.

https://www.carbidenz.co.nz/metric-hand-taps.html

46 minutes ago, Bling said:

What is actually hitting? If you can't machine the hub, can you machine what is hitting it? 

The hub is already machined, so everything fits and nothing hits. But the machining has weakened the hub.

With an unmachined hub, the disc sit's 4.5mm further inboard.

The subaru caliper bracket(red) is underneath the mounting lugs(blue) on the upright. There is only half a gnats nut gap between them. My adapter plate ties them together.

For the caliper to line up with the disc 4.5mm further inboard, the blue and red have to merge inside each other.

The green line, AFAIK, is how the 4 pot WRX caliper would fit, the red bracket is no longer needed(I still have to get a hold of one to measure). But it might be the solution to my problem because there is nothing in the way of moving it inboard. But "WRX" = $$$$.

EDIT: This fopar happened because when I was mocking up and measuring, the upright I used had a small ridge on the spindle and the bearing wasn't properly seated. 

So it turns out machining down the mounting face has weakened the hubs.... Cletus said he'd fail it. Waaah

I cut a spare/scrap one in half to check.

So the options I see so far are.

Make new hubs from scratch. Which will be a lot of machining with plenty of chances to turn my part to scrap if I make a mistake.

Or, get some WRX 4 pot calipers. Because they don't have a mounting bracket that interferes with the mounting lugs on the upright and that would allow me to move the caliper inboard to line up with the disc in its previous location(before I machined the hub). AFAIK the mounting hole spacing will be the same as the current calipers, so I can modify my existing adapter brackets.

The WRX ones look like this.

1 hour ago, Nominal said:

Why not just skim some off the brake caliper adapter bracket to move the caliper back? Seems that it would be easier.

I can't, the caliper mounting lu gs on the upright would occupy the same space as the caliper frame thing. It looks like you could move it in the photo, but there are raised ribs in the way.

One possible option could be to use Subaru 4 pot calipers(only from WRX??), if I can find any for not stupid money. AFAIK the mounting bolt distance is the same on all calipers, but since the 4 pots don't have that bracket, they only have mounting lugs, I should be able to move the caliper back. This option might possibly cost less than the materials and time to make custom hubs.

8 hours ago, cletus said:

If that came to me as a job, I wouldn't pass it. 

 

you could run it past LVVTA  and see what they say, they might approve it if you can prove its strong enough somehow

But

You have an engine which makes a lot more power, a decent brake upgrade, I assume better suspension and tyres than original... so the load on that part is increased over what it was originally designed for, and now it's nearly half as thick in a critical area. I dont think it would go through  

Dang it. If i were to machine some hubs from solid. Do i need to get design approval first? Do i make them from cast iron, or steel, or could i even use aluminium?

Cert/brake modification question. 

So maybe you have been following my triumph project thread... For my front brake conversion I machined down the back of the hubs where the discs bolt on, by 4.5mm, to get the disc in the right place in relation to the caliper.

Some times after doing that I realised that the interior diameter of the hub is larger in the middle.

I was slightly concerned that machining the disc mounting face might be close to breaking through to the interior.

I had a spare hub, it was scrap because I machined the disc location diameter undersize..... Soooooo I cut it in half with the band saw.

I've drawn in the 4.5mm that has been removed. The thickness has gone from 6mm to 3.5mm.

How thin is too thin? 

The disc is bolted to the wheel side of the hub so I don't think that area is loaded during braking.

Is this going to be okay/safe? What would @cletus  say?

And I got the rubbers on my way to work. Thanks Greg at MPAutoparts. It wasn't cheaper, but I get instant gratification, and I'd rather give Greg money than 'Murica.

I rebuilt the calipers after work. I dunno, but with the rubber gloves and the lube and the rubber parts and trying to fit things where they just don't seem to want to go, but then they do and it feels good, rebuilding calipers just seems slightly lewd.

Here's the left one, I'll let you imagine the right one, or you can just look at your screen in a mirror.

I've also cleaned and painted the calipers. The pistons can be reused, but the rubbers are knackered, so I've got to get a rebuild kit before I can assemble them. They are 2003 Subaru Impreza 2 pot calipers. The rebuild kit from rock auto is really cheap, ~$17 with all the springy plates too, but freight is about $40.  Surely I can get a rebuild kit for less than that locally?    

I did actually do stuff to this over the xmas break. But I didn't take many photos.

I finished modifying the front cross member and permanently mounted the rack. The easiest option ended up being to replicate the factory brackets. With the sump modified, I could lift the rack back up(still lower than factory) 16mm which meant I could remove the spacer between the rod end and the steering arm. This also gave me loads of clearance between the rod end and the wheel rim.

When I finished the cross member I thought, well, I guess it's time to take the suspension off the yellow car(where I was mocking up) and put it on this car.

I looked at the suspension and thought, I don't want to put those dirty, rusty parts on.... I guess I'll clean and paint them first. 

Cleaning and painting took ages. I used it to justify, to myself, buying a blasting cabinet.

I got new bearings. And ball joints for the lower arms.

I had a bit of a WTF moment when I tried to dry assemble the hubs with the discs and calipers.... And the calliper brackets didn't fit, like not by miles.

After being confused and sad, and sleeping on it. What I think happened was that the hub I used to make the caliper brackets had some ridges worn on the stud axle that caused the bearing to sit 4.5mm proud.

I decided that to only way to fix it was to machine 4.5mm off the back of the hub to move the disc.

Now it all bolts together.  

I