Still working on the refurbishment of the front suspension. There will be a posting for that. But today I managed to pick up a taillight assembly. Now the taillights in the car are 'okay', but the places where the studs go into the lens are spider-cracked, and I don't want to touch them unless I have to. These are 45-year-old lenses now!
Taillight
This one is in really good shape.
Well, I could not leave it alone while I was waiting for the other parts in the sonic cleaner.
Off comes the lens, and the gasket is really showing its age. Like all other 45-year-old things, it has shrunk and cracked.
The back shows some overspray, but generally, the pot metal base is in good shape
After the media blaster was used to remove the old reflective material. About 10 minutes of work
Even the back was done, and the overspray is gone
Clean, clean, clean.
After two light coats of chrome paint. Easy peasy
From the side. Light coats get an even finish. On to the bulb sockets. They are not bad but worthy of a cleanup. A couple of connectors are corroded, and there was a moth cocoon in one.
After the media blast, at 10psi, then into the sonic tank, and these, like all the other I have done, are perfect again. Probably better than when it was originally built LOL
Dry reassembly of the lens without the gasket and hooked up to an external power supply. The lens has not gone into the sonic tank yet; it will, but other parts were in there at this time
The main ground connection was used to verify the connection
I used 1156 LED bulbs from Amazon
Anti-Roll Bar
One of the items I got to work on was the anti-roll bar. With the front suspension being refreshed, it only made sense to deal with that and upgrade it as well. The installation of new rubber and the addition of lower blocks. The old rubber was cut off, and then, after spraying silicon lubricant on the bar and the rubber parts, it went back together in about 45 minutes. Ready to be reinstalled
Transmission Mount
One item to check on was the gearbox mount. Everyone I have talked to about these cars says the rear mount will be like Jell-O. Well, I took a picture, and well, it wasn't jello. It wasn't even there. There is one on order
You're going to find that your new transmission mount will have "rubber" that's as hard as a bowling ball, literally. There have been articles about this in TR7 groups and publications. I've ordered one from every supplier and they're all like this. Being much harder (stiffer) than the originals, they do zilch as far as damping out vibrations. Instead, they just transmit those vibrations up into the car. People will tell you to use Volvo mounts (with modifications) but I've ordered those too, and they have the same problem. I wish I had my original "jelly" mount back, it was MUCH quieter inside the car with it.
ReplyDeleteGood to know. Right now with nothing there it wobbles like crazy. It sounds like it will as if a poly bushing was being installed.
ReplyDelete