Outrigger Replacement
Discussion
I finally got the Griff back on the road last weekend
, having replaced the vast majority of the very rusty outriggers. This is the longest task that I’ve ever tackled – I took the car off the road in July hoping to have split the body from the chassis by the time I left for my jollies in August. But the bad weather (I was doing the work on my drive) and other commitments meant that I fell short of completing the task until my return from the sun and blue skies of the Med.
OK, OK, I’m waffling… the main reason for the posting is to share the piccies of the before and after, to tell anyone thinking about doing this that it is doable by a complete amateur, although I did pass on trying to do the welding – I had a local welder recommended to me and he turned out to be an absolute genius
. He performed all the welding and fabrication on site, did a fantastic job and all for a very reasonable cost.
Finally I’d like to say a big thank you to Richard Olsson, we’ve never met but I found his article and pictures on “body off” in the Griffith pages an absolute Godsend when it came to locating all the chassis bolts.
, having replaced the vast majority of the very rusty outriggers. This is the longest task that I’ve ever tackled – I took the car off the road in July hoping to have split the body from the chassis by the time I left for my jollies in August. But the bad weather (I was doing the work on my drive) and other commitments meant that I fell short of completing the task until my return from the sun and blue skies of the Med.OK, OK, I’m waffling… the main reason for the posting is to share the piccies of the before and after, to tell anyone thinking about doing this that it is doable by a complete amateur, although I did pass on trying to do the welding – I had a local welder recommended to me and he turned out to be an absolute genius
. He performed all the welding and fabrication on site, did a fantastic job and all for a very reasonable cost.Finally I’d like to say a big thank you to Richard Olsson, we’ve never met but I found his article and pictures on “body off” in the Griffith pages an absolute Godsend when it came to locating all the chassis bolts.
looks nice and tidy job too.Ray,most welders adopt the Tee shirt thing i have the scars to prove(lazy i guess
,dont do as much as i used to,cars are less rust prone now)those welds look Ok as long as there is plenty of penetration on the material you are welding,granted not the most tidy but......still looks like a good job from what i can see.
,dont do as much as i used to,cars are less rust prone now)those welds look Ok as long as there is plenty of penetration on the material you are welding,granted not the most tidy but......still looks like a good job from what i can see.ray_von said:
That Daddy said:
Ray,most welders adopt the Tee shirt thing
Strange, none of the welders I know do. Then again I've only worked with welders for 25 years 
don't know if Andy-w does but I'm not sure he is a proper welder
i would be bored shitlessi do it because its part of my trade.At first we were going to do the replacement with the body in place and maybe cutting away a bit of the floor but when we realised how bad the rot was we realised that the body was going to have to be raised. Dave, my welder, said that he only required a couple of inches (some people are easily pleased) to work with.
I undid all the retaining bolts (petrol tank and centre console out), disconnected the steering column and managed to raise the body the required amount. I didn't need to disconnect any clutch or brake piping (monitored as body was raised above the chassis) or remove the exhaust manifolds - a bitch of a job with the restricted access!
The chassis was supported on axle stands (to give access underneath) and the body was furhter raised one side at a time on two hydraulic jacks - with the stress distributed across the floor on the thickest widest wood that I could find.
The beauty of this approach is that you can easily lower the body to check the alignment of the replacement outrigger before completing the weld. Finally with the body lifted it's that satisfying and relaxing part of the job with the brush and paint.
I undid all the retaining bolts (petrol tank and centre console out), disconnected the steering column and managed to raise the body the required amount. I didn't need to disconnect any clutch or brake piping (monitored as body was raised above the chassis) or remove the exhaust manifolds - a bitch of a job with the restricted access!
The chassis was supported on axle stands (to give access underneath) and the body was furhter raised one side at a time on two hydraulic jacks - with the stress distributed across the floor on the thickest widest wood that I could find.
The beauty of this approach is that you can easily lower the body to check the alignment of the replacement outrigger before completing the weld. Finally with the body lifted it's that satisfying and relaxing part of the job with the brush and paint.
Griff4.0 said:
At first we were going to do the replacement with the body in place and maybe cutting away a bit of the floor but when we realised how bad the rot was we realised that the body was going to have to be raised. Dave, my welder, said that he only required a couple of inches (some people are easily pleased) to work with.
I undid all the retaining bolts (petrol tank and centre console out), disconnected the steering column and managed to raise the body the required amount. I didn't need to disconnect any clutch or brake piping (monitored as body was raised above the chassis) or remove the exhaust manifolds - a bitch of a job with the restricted access!
The chassis was supported on axle stands (to give access underneath) and the body was furhter raised one side at a time on two hydraulic jacks - with the stress distributed across the floor on the thickest widest wood that I could find.
The beauty of this approach is that you can easily lower the body to check the alignment of the replacement outrigger before completing the weld. Finally with the body lifted it's that satisfying and relaxing part of the job with the brush and paint.
Well done,seems like you have found an easier approach for those who dont want to go the whole hog,quite a bit easier by the sounds of itI undid all the retaining bolts (petrol tank and centre console out), disconnected the steering column and managed to raise the body the required amount. I didn't need to disconnect any clutch or brake piping (monitored as body was raised above the chassis) or remove the exhaust manifolds - a bitch of a job with the restricted access!
The chassis was supported on axle stands (to give access underneath) and the body was furhter raised one side at a time on two hydraulic jacks - with the stress distributed across the floor on the thickest widest wood that I could find.
The beauty of this approach is that you can easily lower the body to check the alignment of the replacement outrigger before completing the weld. Finally with the body lifted it's that satisfying and relaxing part of the job with the brush and paint.
.now you can get back to
what are your front top inner wishbone mountings like(rear)just out of curiosity,i only ask because those outriggers look so sore,or was your corrosion just on the outrigger sections?Edited by That Daddy on Thursday 13th September 21:05
Well done.
It's not an easy or pleasant task to do .. I've done it myself for a fellow wedge owner and it took a couple of weekends.
The wedge outriggers are a bit more complicated at the rear and like your Dad I managed with just a couple of inches. No need to lift the wedge body.
If you cannot see all the way round - you can always check with a small mirror !
I dont weld under cars in a tee shirt .. overalls - no matter how hot it is.
It's not an easy or pleasant task to do .. I've done it myself for a fellow wedge owner and it took a couple of weekends.
The wedge outriggers are a bit more complicated at the rear and like your Dad I managed with just a couple of inches. No need to lift the wedge body.
If you cannot see all the way round - you can always check with a small mirror !
I dont weld under cars in a tee shirt .. overalls - no matter how hot it is.
ray_von said:
Did you lift the body higher than in the pics? It's very close to the chassis can't see how he would have been able to weld all way round.
Also welding in a T shirt
:stirringmodeon:Wonder what the welders on here think of the welds shown:stirringmodeoff:
I'b be more worried that the paint appears to have been applied over whatever rust and much was already on there. Not exactly the smoothest finish, and wouldn;t inspire a lot of confidence in a job well done as far as I'm concerned. If you went to buy a car and you clocked a chassis that looked like that you'd run a mile, it looks like a pathetic attempt to hide a rusty chassis.Also welding in a T shirt
:stirringmodeon:Wonder what the welders on here think of the welds shown:stirringmodeoff:
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