Before I took it on it's maiden voyage today, I noticed the stack of hubcaps under the bench, and I suddenly remembered why I'd not yet fitted them - on one of the wheels, two of the hubcap retaining spring clips had broken off. I'd secured a set of nice original items a while back complete with original style steel rivets and thought I'd better get them fitted before I drove off.
These rivets need peening flat to make them work and the workshop manual shows a specific tool to support the domed part of the rivet whilst it is hammered from the rear... I didn't have one of these tools, so had to make a decision of whether to use standard pop rivets like a normal person, or go through all the hassle of making a tool and setting the wheel up in a jig just so I could say I used the correct bloody rivets..... you know what's coming next...
To make the correct tool, I took some hexagon brass stock and filed the clearance recess for the clip to sit in, them machined a dome shaped cup in the top to support the rivet.
To stop the spring clip rotating out of true with all the hammering, I taped it in the correct orientation first.
I then needed to find a way to hammer the rivet whilst holding the wheel over the tool in the vice. With no helpers on hand at this point of the day, I took a hobby bench and axle stands and arranged them in a fashin that securely supported the wheel whilst I hammered.
Then it was just a case of using a hardened steel drift and a hammer to flatten the rivet. Took some work I can tell you - soft ally they are not!
And there we go - all present and correct!
Took a long time, but at least I know it's right and not a cheap rush job with ally pop rivets.
Another job I've been meaning to do ever since I got my new ignition barrel was to have the door and deck lid lock re-coded to match so I could have one key that fits all.
I acquired two new sets of lock wafers and also a nice pair of NOS SG profile key blanks.... which was nice!
The process is the same for both locks, so here is how it is done on the door lock...
Firstly, the door handle is removed by undoing the two screws that are hidden behind the door seal - and yes, I've got a pair of NOS seals ready in the wings...
There's a hinge pin that holds the handle onto the housing which needs to be tapped out with a drift.
Which then allows the assembly to come apart along with the handle return spring.
Next up is to remove the actual lock barrel which is secured with a small grub screw...
The wafers are spring loaded so be careful not to lose the tiny springs. They pull out with tweezers from one side but might need a little effort as the edges of the slots they slide in can be slightly peened over to prevent them falling out. A sharp blade or jewellers screw driver is good for clearing the slots. Here are the 6 wafers laid out.
Here you can see the tiny springs sitting in their cylindrical holes.
And finally, the lock with all new wafers cut to match the ignition - one key now does them all. Assembly is the reverse of the above as they say in the manuals!
Edited by user
13 years ago
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Reason: Not specified
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