chris.richard
December 16th, 2003, 09:03 AM
I was almost got by a gotcha that I didn't see coming, but should have.
I've got the car up on 2-foot (60cm) stands to make it easier to work on. I'm working on the front bulkhead at the moment, so i've taken off the front body, and today stripped out the steering rack and front suspension. As I dropped the last corner of the front suspension, it lightened the front of the car so that it was not balanced any longer, and the whole thing pivoted on the rear stand, the front went away up in the air, and the back went down until the exhausts hit the floor. I grabbed it just at that point, and pulled it back down again. Luckily it did not slide off the rear stand (which is on castors) otherwise the whole chassis would have been on the floor. I think that all that happened is two divots out of the concrete, and flattened off exhaust trumpets; I don't see anything wrong with the exhaust mountings, I think I caught it in time.
Moral of the story - think about what is happening to the centre of gravity when you remove all the weight off the front. I have the rear stand under the crossmember at the front of the engine bulkhead, this seems to be where the c of g is with the heavier 24v engine and a naked front end!
It's turning into much more of a restoration project than I'd hoped - there is a lot of rust on the front bulkhead, inside and out, and on all of the front chassis. It's all superficial as far as I can see. The powder coating is all stripping off in sheets. I wonder if it was prepared properly before coating? The problem is the bits of metal covered by the glassfibre. Without dismantling the whole tub, it can't be treated, so I.m trying to incarcerate it in Waxoyl at the joints so that no air can get in to these bits. I think this is largely the result of the carbeing stored under a tarpaulin outside for several years. That and being driven without any weatherproofing strips on the doors and windows; not to mention having needless large holes drilled in the front bulkhead and not blanked off or grommeted - the water has come in through these, hence the rust inside, I think. Keep your Stratos inside! As if you'd do anything else!
I've got the car up on 2-foot (60cm) stands to make it easier to work on. I'm working on the front bulkhead at the moment, so i've taken off the front body, and today stripped out the steering rack and front suspension. As I dropped the last corner of the front suspension, it lightened the front of the car so that it was not balanced any longer, and the whole thing pivoted on the rear stand, the front went away up in the air, and the back went down until the exhausts hit the floor. I grabbed it just at that point, and pulled it back down again. Luckily it did not slide off the rear stand (which is on castors) otherwise the whole chassis would have been on the floor. I think that all that happened is two divots out of the concrete, and flattened off exhaust trumpets; I don't see anything wrong with the exhaust mountings, I think I caught it in time.
Moral of the story - think about what is happening to the centre of gravity when you remove all the weight off the front. I have the rear stand under the crossmember at the front of the engine bulkhead, this seems to be where the c of g is with the heavier 24v engine and a naked front end!
It's turning into much more of a restoration project than I'd hoped - there is a lot of rust on the front bulkhead, inside and out, and on all of the front chassis. It's all superficial as far as I can see. The powder coating is all stripping off in sheets. I wonder if it was prepared properly before coating? The problem is the bits of metal covered by the glassfibre. Without dismantling the whole tub, it can't be treated, so I.m trying to incarcerate it in Waxoyl at the joints so that no air can get in to these bits. I think this is largely the result of the carbeing stored under a tarpaulin outside for several years. That and being driven without any weatherproofing strips on the doors and windows; not to mention having needless large holes drilled in the front bulkhead and not blanked off or grommeted - the water has come in through these, hence the rust inside, I think. Keep your Stratos inside! As if you'd do anything else!