skoda_cat

The vinyl was **** and didn't stick to the axle, I got it on there with frog tape but it wasn't TIGHT like we needed it to be. I threw some yellow at it because, well, we're here now. and tbh it'll be perfectly fine for what i need it to do, remind me not to break this beam, after i touch it up with a black paint stick.

Tried to get shocks from dingboro with no joy so ended up ordering some kyb bouncy guys, febi wheel bearings, and what MIGHT be the right rubbers for the strut top, we’ll see. I’ve also got a spot welder in the mail to make getting the bottom of the sill on more easily, I’ll just sell that on when I’m done. Tomorrow I plan to get the no jack warning painted on the axle, the hammerite has had plenty of time to settle.

My days, in 18 months this thing will be a historic vehicle of interest and will be LEZ exempt. The law is mad.

ah, seems these HEROs have the vague guide I need! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRWqAoYIfCI

Yeh, thanks. Having welded 'the rest' of this truck I'm fine about the actual welding; it's more that I don't know how the panels on this specific unit are layered up and so exactly where to cut eludes me.

Free the bottom edge of the sill, tec screw the new one over the top and cut through both layers? Scab the top edge back together with weld and then tack the bottom back in? I don't have a spot welder or access to one :/

Sills arrived and look like they'll fit well and maybe even have enough length to bend over into the returns on the rear end. I offered one up and i see how it has a lip at the top edge that goes in towards the center of the truck... Does anyone on here know how that bit of metal is on there from the factory? Should I be looking for spot welds along that top seam, or like... where do I cut?! I think I'm out of my depth here :D

Got the rest of the axle painted roughly in hammerite black. It still needs more time to set up, but in the meantime I squitted this out of my tiny cricut as a stencil for the yellow paint I got. It's sticky backed stuff, so i should be able to slap it on the axle, mash around it and go to town for a few coats of yellow. Hopefully that will produce sharp enough text to be readable after 50,000 miles. After it's coloured in, I'll shove some top clear coat over it to try and protect it a bit.

Sills ordered.

Yeh, that’s a combined bump stop/ dust cover thing, but I was really referring to the not-in-shot double wedge rubber guys that clamp the damper to the body and give the swivel compliance. I also need new boots to go on top but fear I’ll need to mould my own from silicone or something.

Got some hose retaining clip things: so they shouldn't fall out. Started some wire wheeling and pulled off that 'no jacking' label to find out what the original paint was like. Some reasonable performance weight savings have occurred. Wire wheeled it all back as best I could and gave it a bit of a wash and wipe down. and started colouring it in.

I know it's a bit of a postapalooza, sorry. My neighbour came round, muttered under his breath, whacked the nuts with a cold chisel and a 5lb hammer and it all came undone with a temu rattle gun. Now my axle is drooping in a sad way and my springs fell out. oops. I'm staring forlornly at my bank balance wondering how I'm going to get some new shocks and top mount doobies before next month. lol. Projects, what a waste of money. I'm so happy :P Actually whilst the axle is hanging, I can try and clean up some of the top and give it a squirt of hammerite. Sadly the rest of today is rain.

This has taken a LONG time to get out, the top of the strut being nicely rusted. but another round of heat, penetrant, and violence got the nut suddenly moving. That gets us this rotten old bouncy thingy out As soon as I get some more money I'm going to get new ones that aren't so rusty. I THINK I'm going gas, not oil as this isn't primarily going to be a load carrying vehicle. The important question is: What's that rubber stuff up at the top called because although I can get shocks from loads of places I'm struggling to locate the top hat bush thingy and that should be refreshed too I feel. Actually bad form but probably this?: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404677052614 Of course I can't get the other side out, but if time got this one moving I expect the same magic can happen on the other side.

Nipped up all the lines, lobbed some fluid in the top and gave it a squeeze. Pedal feels ****ty so more is needed, but if you press the pedal you can't move the drums and if you let off the pedal you can so that's SOME kind of win.

these things had BETTER work. This side was MUCH harder, left hand being weaker i needed help from my lovely neighbour to get the brake lever back on the cable, everything else went reasonably well. I don't look forward to EVER doing this job again, lol.