Popular Post chasinthemirage Posted April 7, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted April 7, 2017 So I did something dumb, I bought another Zephyr. I bought a VL churbo wagon that turned out to be a turd so I flicked it after a few weeks and was looking for a tidy 5L VL and then this turned up on the tard. I had a couple of goes at organising to have a look at and got mucked around so I gave up and forgot about it. Came back from a holiday with no reception and discovered that the seller had dropped the asking price significantly. Finally managed to have a look at it and ended up buying it. Its running a 302 Windsor with a C4 and an 8" diff. Modified in 1992 and on declaration form not cert. I've had it for nearly two months now and so far I've had the left hand rear sill section replaced, made and installed a speedo cable, recored the heater, replaced the brake booster, rebuilt the carby and reset the massively retarded timing as well as a bunch of other fiddly little things. Doesn't sound like that much when I write it down but everything's been one step forward and two steps back so far, if I'd had any idea how much I was going to have to do to it I never would have bought it but them's the breaks I guess. I haven't taken many photos so far as it's gotten to the stage where I just want to get the thing going but I think I'm on the home stretch now, have new springs to go in it this weekend and then touchwood I'll be able to take it for a decent drive and take a few photos. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gt Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Looks pretty nice! Will be a great cruiser once you sorted all the mechanical gremlins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post chasinthemirage Posted April 11, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 11, 2017 Spent a few hours this weekend sorting out the suspension. When I bought the car it was pretty low and as it turned out the front springs weren't captive. They may well have been "V8 Falcon coils" as per the declaration paper but whatever they were they'd certainly been cut. I ordered a set of Cobra lows, P/N CFFL23 which are 40mm lower than standard. The lowering springs are about 10cm longer than the cut springs which makes the cut springs close to half the length of a factory spring. Took the struts to work and had the springs swapped pretty quickly. Struts went back in without too much drama and I removed the 2" blocks from the rear to even the ride height out. I trimmed the U bolts as they hung lower than I was comfortable with so they'll need to be replaced if I have to put the blocks back in to get a wof but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Haven't measured the front ride height yet but I suspect it's come down more than 40mm due to the extra weight of the engine. Pretty stoked with how it sits now, nice wee bit of rake and it rides a hell of a lot nicer now that it's not hitting the bump stops over every bump. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasinthemirage Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 I haven't done too well at photographing progress on this thing as it's my daily and I'm usually just trying to get the job done with as little fuss as possible but I made sure I got photos of the panel repairs. When I bought the car it had a big square dent with a tear below it in the sill. I don't know for sure but I suspect that it fell off a jack at some point and punched in the sill. Initially the panel beater thought the dent could be pulled out and a small patch welded in but unfortunately there was some rust on either side of the dent so we bit the bullet and cut the lot out. I stupidly didn't take a before photo but I'm very pleased with the quality of the repair and it's nice to know there's steel there and not just bog! I still need to fit the chrome trim to the sill and then that's one more thing off the list. Discuss here: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasinthemirage Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Replaced the left hand control arm this weekend as the outer ball joint was absolutely rooted. As it turns out the control arm was a right hand arm fitted to the left hand side. The control arms on these things are handed which probably explains why the joint was so bad. At first glance the arms look the same but the ball joints are a few degrees off being parallel with the face of the inner bushes. I had trouble photographing it but if you look closely you can see where it looks like the stud has worn into the control arm. I pressed new bushes into both arms and fitted the new arm to the car. I thought the swaybar bushes were ok but on closer inspection they need to be replaced so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to grab a set from Enford. Still need to change the oil and wire up the horns and then I think I'll move this thing on as things haven't quite worked out the way I'd planned and I'd like to free some money up for other things. Yarns here: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasinthemirage Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 Nothing too exciting to report. Changed the oil this weekend and then got called out just as I'd removed the oil filter. Gave it a wash and took a few photos. Discuss here. Or don't. You're all adults, make your own choices. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postie Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 what size tridents? 14" and what size are your tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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