Differential top mounts and holes in the boot...

[Wedg1e]

Whilst I've been painting my chassis I took the top mount bolts out and pushed the mountings up so I could work around that complicated junction of tubes better:



To gain access to the area of the chassis that's underneath the boot floor (where the thick rubber packers sit) I removed the boot floor bolts, jacked up the spare wheel well so I could remove the packers and made up a trestle from axle stands and lengths of timber to keep the bodyshell supported (packers on the floor):



I was able to get the diff mounts a fair way out of position though not extracted completely; it occurred to me that if one were to lower the roof and open both doors there's probably enough flex in the bodyshell to allow you to jack the rear end high enough to get the mountings out... no need to chop the boot floor to bits

Once the paint's dried I may even try it...

[Wedg1e]

JumboBeef said:

......that bottom photo makes me nervous.......

It's fine The blue axle stands are holding the car up by the chassis rails, the 'trestle' is just keeping the rear end of the shell at about the height it'd normally be at if the rubber packers were in. With the doors closed it can't really go far It's only staying there until the paint dries, then I'll get some underseal on there and slip the rubbers back in.

[Wedg1e]

mrzigazaga said:

Its crying out to be chopped off and either used as a hat...Waterski or made into a TVR RC Speedboat!...Im sure it means the exhaust has to sit lower because of it...What it needs is a nice access panel..Not butchered but cut flush and done properly....

Not sure I follow any of that mate
The exhaust on my car is just the single centre silencer, it then exits as a single pipe over the left rear suspension, across the boot floor behind the spare wheel well and exits to the right, through the under-wing (removed in pic.).

The body doesn't need lifting that far in order to get the bushes out, they twist most of the way already... though of course other Wedges may differ

[Wedg1e]

bluepeter said:

Off topic but what are you using to paint and underseal the chassis out of interest?

Looking at starting this task after cleaning it all up and have read discussions about waxoyl v dinitrol etc

When I had the engine out in 2001 I cleaned up and repainted all the engine bay tubes as far back as the gearbox output flange, using satin black Smoothrite. It's mostly still there
This time I've been using satin black Fortress metal paint from B&Q. Now you may scoff, but I've used it on jobs at work and it actually goes on with a better finish than Smoothrite. I did paint some of the suspension parts with Smoothrite and despite sandblasting back to bare metal and degreasing with Isopropyl alcohol, the Smoothrite was going on very poorly; had to give most parts two coats just to get it covered. Odd, because I've been using Smoothrite since I painted bicycle frames with it in my teens (and that was decades ago!), maybe they've changed the formula.

We haven't noticed any issues with the Fortress stuff at work but whether it will stand the test of time and ravages of weather remains to be seen: my car doesn't do big miles or go out in the wet much so it'll probably outlast me either way
ETA: forgot to say, I used Tetrosyl underseal on the sills but haven't so far used it on the spine tubes; will be doing that rearmost section though now I know how bad it gets.


You'll probably find (if your car's a V8) that the gearbox permanently leaks oil over the chassis anyway so it may not be too bad, mine wasn't. The spine tubes, once degunked using paraffin, really only needed a few odd patches touching up (mostly around welds), but I painted them all anyway. Even the sill rails are original as far as I know (I've had it 14 years and it was 13 when I got it, there's nothing in the massive service history about the sills being repaired) although the sill plates have been replaced by me.
I found one crack in the chassis, next to one of the lower mounting points for the diff. cradle; some people have reported cracking all over the place.
The worst part for access has been the last bit: the most rearward section shown in the pics above. Otherwise it's just a bit tedious - and you bang your head a lot

Edited by Wedg1e on Monday 22 September 21:06

[Wedg1e]

wooly350i said:

HACK !
Must be a northern expression, try using a good holesaw Ian drilled in the correct place then in future there's no Faffing about underneath with wheels and the stands and the body bolts and the doors and roof
Just pull back the Velcro 'd carpet and use a flat scraper to unstick the plate and hey presto there's ya diff top mounts.
Nothing confusing about that, with love from the south, Over and out.

I think you misunderstand me old mucka: I had the car in bits anyway, I don't actually WANT to take the mountings out, bit IF you did I reckon it could be done without chopping Blackpool's finest GRP apart, contrary to popular opinion. There's usually more than one way to achieve a given result; I realise it can be done the way you describe.

In hindsight I should have just lifted my shell off, the amount of time I've spent lying under it I could have been more comfortably positioned... but anyway the job's almost done now. Luckily my diff mounts are fine

[Wedg1e]

wooly350i said:

Ian, we've not had an old fkers chin wag by phone lately,what's up, sounds like you've been as busy as I've been lazy for past few months.

Last time we spoke, as I recall you were tiling the bathroom from hell...