Rotors, pads and steering on a 400SE

[TimboNZ]

I am in the unenviable position of trying to get my 1990 400SE certified for road use in New Zealand, it's a total nightmare believe me!

Can anyone supply the following info:

- What rotors does the car have? (Granada MkII front Jag XJS rear?)

- What pads does the car have (Austin Princess front Jag XJS rear?)

- Where can I find the min. rotor widths from?

- What steering column UJ does the car have? (Cortina?)

Thanks!

[Number 7]

TimboNZ said:

I am in the unenviable position of trying to get my 1990 400SE certified for road use in New Zealand, it's a total nightmare believe me!

Can anyone supply the following info:

- What rotors does the car have? (Granada MkII front Jag XJS rear?)

- What pads does the car have (Austin Princess front Jag XJS rear?)

- Where can I find the min. rotor widths from?

- What steering column UJ does the car have? (Cortina?)

Thanks!

Timbo, if it's a standard 400se it should have vented rotors on separate alloy bells, rather than the rotor and mounting as a single casting per the 350i model. These are TVR specials, not readily available, and fairy pricey to replace - around £250 + vat for a pair of rotors. Size is 270mm x 28mm. Minimum thickness is 26.8mm. Standard brakes are Austin Princess 4 piston calipers at the front - fairly widely available still. I use Ferodo - their ref. is FCP832. My preference is for the DS2500 compound. Rears are Jaguar (XJ6, XJ12, XJS) Ferodo ref. FCP815.

Not sure whether the column uj is common with Ford fitments - I think the column did change around a bit. I've always just sourced them from a TVR specialist.

Have you tried Jim Gamsby for assistance with the certification thing? He's the TVRCC organiser for NZ, although he's based around Auckland, so not very close. Plus he used to run a 420 SEAC over here, so knows the Wedges.
7.

Edited by Number 7 on Friday 1st October 10:09

[simonwedge]

Steering column UJ's are, I believe, a TVR special. I got mine from TVRCarParts - they're pretty pricey but a doddle to fit - just make sure you mark up the relationship between the UJ's and the steering column (top and bottom) before you start and then replicate these. Whilst you're at it, it makes sense to replace the steering column/bulkhead bearing at the same time. I used an uprated one from a TVR 'S' series - again from TVRCarParts and modified the bulkhead slightly to get it to fit (just making the main hole a bit bigger with a flapper wheel and drilling new mounting holes - all straighforward stuff) - it makes a big difference to the feel of the steering and stops the steering wheel shaking all over the place when you go over a bump.

[HOTTY]

hello timbo

thats were my old car went, its on holiday

fantasic, how did you view ? how long at sea ?
know the reason why you brought, as johntom had made a good car, great in the 12 months he had it.

cannot help the info you are looking for but it looks like you have the answers.

please keep us informed on how you get on, hopefully some pics of you out and about .

hotty

[mark387mw]

I didn't need my car certifying - just complying. Took it to On Road and all was well. Perhaps things have changed in the certifying world as my Beach Buggy that has been registered and always in the system since its build in 1974 now has failed due to no certifying! (Another story not for here )

[TimboNZ]

Thanks guys!

Have spoken to Jim in Auckland and done a bit more research........

Front rotors Ford Granada MkII, pads Austin Princess
Rear rotors Jag XJS etc., pads XJS etc.
Still working on the UJ, looks like Cortina/Escort but Jim reckons SD1!!

[TimboNZ]

Aha, so you know of John and the car!

I bought the car via Piston heads without viewing (brave I know!). Then I went and picked it up in June whist I was holidaying over there. Took 47 days to get here.

Unfortunately the car wasn't quite as 'good' as we both thought! John had started creating a good car but my God there have been a substantial number of issues that have been and that are currently being worked on, some fairly major. I hope John wasn't aware of them.

The outriggers were amazing! Never seen welding and/or bodging like it, scary!.........in fact an engineer friend of mine has taken some pictures as he's never seen anything like it and has taken one to put on his wall as a talking point. So needless to say they have been replaced...........professionally!

The throttle cable wasn't fitted correctly so it was only giving 3/4 throttle but the engine appears to be OK although it's running very rich.

Anyway, she'll definitely be a bloody good car once it's all done!!..........and I'll be broke!!

I'll post some pics when it eventually gets on the road!!

Best wishes from NZ!

Tim




hello timbo

thats were my old car went, its on holiday

fantasic, how did you view ? how long at sea ?
know the reason why you brought, as johntom had made a good car, great in the 12 months he had it.

cannot help the info you are looking for but it looks like you have the answers.

please keep us informed on how you get on, hopefully some pics of you out and about .

hotty
[/quote]

[Number 7]

TimboNZ said:

Thanks guys!

Have spoken to Jim in Auckland and done a bit more research........

Front rotors Ford Granada MkII, pads Austin Princess
Rear rotors Jag XJS etc., pads XJS etc.
Still working on the UJ, looks like Cortina/Escort but Jim reckons SD1!!

Timbo, unless someone has modified your car, the front brakes are not Granada. Easy to check if it has separate bells and rotors, and if so, these are TVR specials.

7.

[TimboNZ]

Yep, they are indeed separate 7! Took 'em off to find one of the bearings totally bu*gered so a new set each side. Got pads, pretty straight forward (not always the case in provincial NZ!!)

The steering UJ is a mystery though and I still haven't managed to identify it, it's not Cortina or SD1. The local shop did some research and found some joint shafts that will go in there so I'm just going to replace them.......easy........I hope!!!

We're getting there......

[Wedg1e]

TimboNZ said:

The steering UJ is a mystery though and I still haven't managed to identify it, it's not Cortina or SD1. The local shop did some research and found some joint shafts that will go in there so I'm just going to replace them.......easy........I hope!!!

We're getting there......

Most people don't realise that you can replace the cruciform joint in that UJ, it's the same as doing a driveshaft but on a smaller scale. The caps are usually staked rather than circlip'ed but it's a simple enough task and costs waaaaay less than buying a new UJ.

[Number 7]

Wedg1e said:

Most people don't realise that you can replace the cruciform joint in that UJ, it's the same as doing a driveshaft but on a smaller scale. The caps are usually staked rather than circlip'ed but it's a simple enough task and costs waaaaay less than buying a new UJ.

True enough. I actually bought one of the uj's to do this a few years back, but bottled out. I didn't feel confident that I would be able to stake it properly, and with a steering component, I decided not to chance it, and binned the joint.

7.

[TimboNZ]

Cruciform joint, is that what they're called??!! Yep, these are staked. Hopefully a lot faster that trying to establish and then finding a replacement fr the whole UJ!

[TimboNZ]

I'm guessing if the joints are welded in the risk of failure is very, very small.

[shpub]

TimboNZ said:

I'm guessing if the joints are welded in the risk of failure is very, very small.

Yes but the heat then wrecks the bearing....

[TimboNZ]

Got the new cruciform joint in today, 8 spot welds, re-fitted and all done! Highly recommended solution!

Have since found out that the existing UJ is almost definitely a Sierra/Escort combo!

Edited by TimboNZ on Tuesday 5th October 04:46

[blaineuk]

If you look on rimmer bros web site you will find the steering ujs they are a British leyland item.

[adam quantrill]

Presumably when staking the joint you weld the bearing carrier rather than the end-caps themselves?

So that the end caps can't move out of place, bacause you'd filled in and reduced the diameter of the yoke hole, and they can't come out?

[Wedg1e]

adam quantrill said:

Presumably when staking the joint you weld the bearing carrier rather than the end-caps themselves?

So that the end caps can't move out of place, bacause you'd filled in and reduced the diameter of the yoke hole, and they can't come out?

Aye, that's the principle. You often see staking where it looks as though they used a square-ended punch (about 2mm square) on the edge of the bore in half a dozen places, that's all it takes.
I've done it using a centre-punch, it just deforms the edge of the bore enough to retain the bearing cup; you can always grind the deformity out later to remove the cup and then re-stake elsewhere.

[Wedg1e]

Number 7 said:

I actually bought one of the uj's to do this a few years back, but bottled out. I didn't feel confident that I would be able to stake it properly, and with a steering component, I decided not to chance it, and binned the joint.

7.

It's a fair point, but I think that the joint would give plenty of indication that it was coming apart, in much the same way as a worn UJ does. You'd have to be pretty numb in the senses department to allow enough cups to work so loose that the cruciform itself fell out!
Ultimately, assemblies like these were (are) put together by other humans, why would you make any more mistakes than they would? I know a guy who spends his days doing hip joint replacements; he says that it's less of a precision job than you'd think, more hammer and chisel stuff... and if you saw his hands you'd think he was a farm labourer, not a surgeon...

[HOTTY]

TimboNZ said:

Aha, so you know of John and the car!

Unfortunately the car wasn't quite as 'good' as we both thought!

The outriggers were amazing! Never seen welding and/or bodging like it, scary!

Anyway, she'll definitely be a bloody good car once it's all done!!..........and I'll be broke!!

I'll post some pics when it eventually gets on the road!!

Best wishes from NZ!

Tim

hello tim

the short spaced i owned H 400 T i seviced it by changing all the fluids, cleaned it once or twiced and crashed it ( someone ran into me should i say) and sold it with very light damaged to the front corner, i still have the pics.

the work on the outriggers was already complete (some years before)and it had a full 12 month mot when i purchased it. (not nice to look at but believe complete by someone on PH, they didnt take the body off )

i know that john had spent a lot of cash and time on H 400 T and i looked very good at Chatsworth, which is were your pic on your profile is from.

i was very suprised to see it for sale so soon after chatsworth . i did email john to ask why but he didnt come back, presumed he wanted moved back to the curvy stuff.

hopefully everything goes a little smoother and H 400 T (H 4 OOT)gets back on the road very soon.

are you able to use the reg in NZ ?

regards
Stephen