Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tires...

 I've bought the tires originaly for my '59 DS Administration. The car being a German car had the French comfiguration which is 155 on the rear and for spare, and 165 on the front. The '57 being a US Export, all tires are 165X400. So, my car will configured like a French DS.











Painting the rims...

 I've spent a long time prepping the rims. Soda blasting did not remove rust so I had some grinding, brushing and sanding to do.




I could not mask the washer; I will paint them with gun barrel gray at a later date.


Primed; waiting 1/2 hr before painting.


The color is "Terre Battue" (Talbot France/ Matra)



 Painted. The paint cures very quickly (Ken used a very fast hardener) but we will leave them alone over the weekend.


The photo with flash doesn't reflect the real color.


Thursday, January 19, 2012

Rack in place...

The rack is in... 



And she is running. The brakes work fine.


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Steering rack boots...

Since the rack was out, I took the opportunity to change the boots and clean it a bit. 


I've changed this boot long time ago but obviously the wrong material for it.


The original boots are cooked.



Found some nasty stuff inside.


The riveted tag.



To go over the big pin, I had to make a tool. I've started with a piece of aluminum (Fairly thick).


After bending, removing all sharp edges and a good polish job. I had to use a torch to form it due to the thickness; it has to be thick because a lot of resistance is required when the booth goes over it.


I've use a thin sheet of aluminum to go over the hump (Ram) at the end of the rack. Grease is needed to slide the boot over. 


These boots were used so there were not as flexible as new ones; pretty tough to stretch.


I've used some Ligarex to protect and preserve the tag.


The original plug did not survive so I've use a later model (2 slots instead of 4).


Done for now; I will rebuild this rack at a later date.



Monday, January 16, 2012

Calipers: Done!

In place now...


Next: Changing the rubber boots on the steering rack.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Left caliper done + piping...

To add to the challenge, I could not remove the screw which retains the index/spring assembly. Usually these parts comes after the block and ratchet installation.



Used the surgical pliers to hold the spring compressed and index back.



Lever and ratchet are in.


The block is in; I can release the spring.


I've modified a screw driver to back off the ratchet after testing it.



I've used aluminum tape to plug the holes where the original springs were (Deleted in February 1958). 


I have to redo the piping.


Prepared the part for silver brazing.


The straight lines are welded (Around 83cm each).


A Propane bottle worked great for the first loops.


An extinguisher did it for the half circle.


I've used brass fittings to prevent corrosion. The piping is done.


Thursday, January 12, 2012

Left caliper (Cont.)...

The "patin" is ready to be installed; here with the rods in place and the ratchet mechanism. Everything is greased up and ready to go.


I've used some mag wheel cleaner and multiple wire brushes to get the caliper in decent shape.





These will be painted gloss black.


The ratchet lock before cleaning. 


The ratchet self-adjusting mechanism. The part on the right has no notch, so it is a right-hand turn (Clockwise). On the other side there are two notches which are telling you that it is the left-hand turn (counterclockwise) parts.