1967 S3 FHC rebuild

[pharriso]

Thanks for the comments. It seems a few people are interested in the tool.

Here is the STL file (3D part geometry, for anyone not familiar.)

Tooth clamp v4.pdf

Thanks for posting, I will have one made next week.

[512BB]

A little quote from the Bible for ya'll this morning.

'Give [special] tools to those who can use them. Give tyre irons to those who cannot'

Preacher L

[prezoom]

I learned about making special tools from an old friend. As a lad in England, he started working as an apprentice at Dehavilland back in the 1930's. First thing he was told to make was a tool box, similar to a Gerstner. It was to hold the tools he would later make. We shared a race shop as a place to work on our SCCA Production racecars, and as a place where we could share more expensive tools like drill presses, compressors, etc. Neither of us had enough space at our homes to accommodate the space needed to work on our hobbies/projects. Often times I would see him making things to make his tasks easier, or save money by making rather than purchasing. Took a while to rub off on me, but it has stuck to this day. His apprentice days paid off as he retired as the Chief Packaging Engineer for Solar Turbines in San Diego. A bezel nut fastening tool for the ignition switch was used to tighten the nut on my S2 was used about a month ago when the switch became loose. And another for the removal/installation of the ignition switch on my Ford Falcon was used just last week when replacing what was a worn out switch that was causing problems. Sometimes I will come across a tool that I had made years ago, and for the life of me, I can't remember what it was used for. Such as life, but special tool making will go on until I can no longer work on cars.

[JonB]

…and so…

Printed in PETG

(PETG is a type of plastic used for fizzy drinks bottles. It’s pretty tough and should be suitable for this application.)

As to making special tools… well, maintaining an old car is a hobby, right? So making tools (if you’re able to) is an extension of that hobby. Saves money, teaches you stuff, gives satisfaction, etc. What’s not to like?

But, each to his own. Tool making isn’t expedient and if you’re in a jam it’s only natural to reach for the tyre iron.

I’ve just realised we have hijacked the thread! Apologies ill_will and please tell us more about your build.

[ill_will]

JonB - no need to apologise. Comments always encouraged, and you sum it up very well (for me, satisfaction of doing the job however I consider "properly" to be at that moment; the journey rather than the destination, etc.) Usually expectation management as it all goes wrong.

And prezoom completely agree about certain tools provoking memories - I inherited some from my dad and grandpa (both enthusiastic but total bodgers) so some nice memories. And at the other end of the scale the guys who worked in the workshop at uni (Alistair and John "The Watch") who would roll their eyes as I lugged in another Alfa cylinder head and then tried to wreck their equipment.

[ill_will]

As promised a follow up on a 3D printed slide hammer adapter for getting the diff shafts out.

The design is very simple; a bit of alloy or steel plate would be equally easy to make. For me, printing is quicker.

I have the four bolt TTR output shafts (so this model is perhaps not useful for most people, but very easy to draw yourself if you have the standard three ear shafts.)

I tried two permutations: first, tapping the printed adapter and second, drilling it out and using a washer under the bolt head. Tapping the resin doesn't work particularly well as it fractures and chips, and whilst I used 7/16 UNF a coarser thread would probably work better. Despite a partial thread I gave it a few hard taps and the threaded section didnt fail, but I didn't want to risk it while everything was hot so went with the through drilling.

The "hammer" part was a long bolt (but shorter than ideal, maybe 10" long) and a mandrel from my press (a bit cumbersome) so not a great setup.

Getting one of the circlips out was tricky due to the orientation. I tried a couple of fairly hard taps with everything cold and there was no movement from the bearing, and no failure of the printed part.

I attached the adapter and used a blowtorch to heat the housing locally until well above 100 degrees and then with three or four taps the bearings came out no problem.

[ill_will]

I started stripping down the diff to fit the Quaife ATB unit but didn't get very far before realising that I need an 8mm pin spanner, so that is on its way.

I'll post some photos of the state of play of the main build but was a bit embarrassed by the state of my garage so spent the rest of my time clearing it up.

[JonB]

Another 3D printed tool, nice one.

I suppose the trusty tyre iron failed this time...

[The Veg]

Nifty and good to see that it worked. While it may have been un-necessary effort to make the tool that way, it's no more un-necessary than it is to do anything related to keeping old cars going. We do it for fun rather than any practical reason.

I made one the old-fashioned way:


I think my first exposure to making one's own special tools was way back in my adolescence in the early 1980s when my dad had a pair of Alfa Romeos. The bolt that had to be loosened to adjust the ignition-timing wasn't easy to reach, so Dad took the longest-handled 10mm spanner he had and heated it and strategically-bent the handle in two places. The result worked perfectly and he guarded that spanner with his life.

Years later in 2009 I'd moved into my dad's house as a recession-casualty after having lost my employment in another city hundreds of miles away. The alfas had been gone for many years by then, but shortly after my arrival I was clearing some space in the tool-shed to store my motorcycle when I found that bent spanner relegated to a box of miscellaneous junk where it had probably been since Dad moved into that house twenty years earlier. I set it aside and made a mental note to keep it and probably hang it on a wall in my living-room once I got back on my feet and into a place of my own. Unfortunately I forgot about it until after the house was sold when Dad had to start living in skilled-care facilities.