DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Well after an age, I am at the point where I feel I am ready to start putting all the new and refurbished parts back under the rear arches of the car.

I have done a number of posts relating to the removal and refurbishment of various of the components, and now is the time to get them out of the garage and on to the car.

First up are the 1974 alloy banana arms, complete with new bearings, Elephant Racing Monoballs and Wevo E-Z Pins, to be followed by the new bilstein shocks.

The final job on the banana arms was to fit the ER Monoball and Emergency Brake assembly. Very easy when you follow the instructions and use a home fabricated press







The car was raised up on the hydraulic lift, and the arm lifted in to place. I then rested it on axle stands whilst I fine tuned the position and pushed the Wevo E-Z Pin in from the torsion tube side. The are a really great fit.



I learned the long and hard way that the bolt needs to be put in using two hands, and with the pin slightly withdrawn on the torsion bar side. Once in, you can hand tighten pretty much all the way, the fit is that good.

It is important to keep the arm supported at all times, to avoid unnecessary strain / pressure on the mounts.



Ian

You have all seen them before, but I am fitting the yellow bilstein sprint shocks, as recommended by Tuthills to match the uprated 26mm torsion bars I have.

The come complete with new rubbers and washer / nut assembly. I also ordered new washers for the attachment to the banana arm.

Remember to separate the two rubber grommets and fit one under the car, and one on top - lesson learned

The shocks are in place to keep the banana arm from dropping fully down and straining the monoballs - or at least that is what I have done it for.









Ian

Although it is not yet correctly adjusted, I wanted to get the cables attached to the Emergency (Hand) Brake.

Remember to fit the washer between the cable cover (freshly plated here) and the rear hub assembly.

The nuts had to be freed up on both cables to allow the cables to feed in to the back of the hubs and through the separater.

Took a little battle to finish, but just needs adjusting.

























So that it is for now, the arms and shocks are in, and next it will be the driveshafts and spring plates.

Ian

Looking good I'll be fitting a set of '75 arms to mine this winter, although it's not going to be that clean under there!

Nice job Ian!
Are you going to ER polybronze bearings?
you should also go to Rebel Racing coil over kit
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=387735

Gary - I cleaned the engine etc. as much as is practical without actually removing it. I considered getting the engine and gearbox out, but thought better of it for now - perhaps a job for the winter. Having the lift was a real hekp though with the arm replacement.

oliveR - yes I have ER polybronze bearings for both front and rear, and their front monoballs as well as the strut brace.

The bilsteins were recommended by Tuthills to match the 26mm bars I have, coupled with the standard 19mm front and custom valved bilsteins - I also have standard 15mm ARBs. What benefit do the coilover kits give ?

Ian

Beautiful work mate, I am well overdue some pax laps

Hi John,

Ditto, I haven't blagged a ride in the Orange yet

Hopefully ready in time for the PCGB Track Day at Oulton in october, and the DDK 'Coast - to Coast' in September.

Needs to go to Tuthills for a corner weight and setup before then, as well as having John do a once over of the paintwork as I have a few ideas on that front - unless you have other recommendations for a local paint / body man.

Ian

Highfield wrote:unless you have other recommendations for a local paint / body man.

I use my mate's painter over in Bidford, did a good job on my two Landcruisers. His name is Derek, the company name will come to me!

Does Astons/Porsches etc all the time and all Rob's work on Allards, Bentleys etc. Worth talking to.

I decided to post a separate thread on the installation of the ER Polybronze Bushings.

It is located here :-

http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=25728

Normal service will be resumed next week subject to the weather being dry for me to work outside.

Ian

Amongst the rain showers this week, I have fitted the SAW Spring Plates, having already prepared the ER Polybronze Bushings - see separate post link above.

Having established that I would need 5 spacers under each torsion cover plate, in order for the plates to not bind, I then set about installing them with the 26mm upgraded Torsion Bars.



The T-Bar is greased and installed until it bites in the torsion tube.



NOTE - my bars are not exactly aligned to the center of the car, as I cannot get the RH torsion cover far enough over the T-Bar. Tuthills will look at this when the car goes there, but you should look to align the bars equally on each side.

Next on is the inner spring plate, followed by the outer plate.

I used Tom / Wil angle calculator based on 2300lbs and race height - this gave me circa 22 degrees. Note the car is at 0 degrees on the lift - remarkable and not by design





Next up is the torsion cover, complete with the 5 spacer washers under each bolt. Torque it up and stand back and admire



Next is the bolting to the aluminium arm.

Ian

I started out with the wrong length nuts and bolts - lesson learned - plan ahead and get everything together.

I also have what I believe is too short a 'large' eccentric bolt, so will need to change that before final completion.



I used the jack under the aluminium arm and raised it to align with the SAW spring plates. Next you bolt it all up and 'voila'.



Here it is with the correct length bolts, but still needing the longer eccentric - anyone have one or know the dimesnions I need ?



And here it is finished for tonight.





Ian

Having had the SAW Plates on and off more times than I care to remember, I decided to accomplish something a little more straight forward (I so I thought) - the rear ARB.

I have new Super Flex bushings for the drop links and bar plus new bushings that clip on to the aluminium arms.

Getting the bushings in requires soaking in boiling water, followed by some supplied lube, and then the use of my favourite B&Q Clamp and a socket to allow the bushing to be compressed in and then out the other side of the fitting.













These are then installed on to the powder coated 15mm bar and fitted with new washers and split pins.



It then took an age to support the bar on one side of the car (axle stand in the end) whilst fiddling to get the bolts aligned and in on the other side. But I got there in the end. Note the Tuthill installed metal spacer to stop the bar from hitting the gearbox.





The worst bit is this - I greased it and tried my clamp, but there is no way I can see of squashing it on.

Please help !!!!



Ian

Last job of the day to finish on a positive note was to prepare the driveshafts for re-installation.

These have remained wrapped to protect them, as the CV Joints were OK and just need packing with new grease - but the looked in need of a spruce up so received a coat of satin black hammerite to protect and enhance.



In order to be prepared for the install, I gather the correct 16 allen head bolts, lock washers and brackets, along with my super long extension that will be needed for the install.......more on this tomorrow.



Ian

Final final job of the day was to fit the re-coated brake backing plates.

Collect together the necessary nuts, bolts and lock washers and install.







Ian