1974 Daimler Double-Six VDP (higher axle stands)

Best way to check the bores is with a ring and piston, use the piston to push a ring squarely down the bore and measure the gap at various intervals, if the gap doesn't change much but is on the large side you can fit oversize rings, you might get a bit of piston slap when it's cold but it will run OK.

If the gap changes significantly as you go down the bore it really needs a re-bore or new liner.

Just looked back- you mention the stones wearing out. They looked pretty dry, did you oil them before honing the bores?

So I'm supposed to be working on the engine just now but as my plan is to refit it to the car from underneath on the front subframe I really need to sort that out so it's ready for the engine.

To sort it out I really just need to replace a few perished rubbers & any damaged or worn fittings/bolts/nuts/washers. But it would also be sensible to make it look nice which means a lot of time de-rusting and painting.

Last winter I started on this and seeing water coming out of the parts after they'd been painted nearly made me give up on life completely. I'm still not over it

Anyway, being a deluded clown (?), I am going to have another go at torturing myself. Plus the weather is nice just now so life seems a lot less ugly.

When I dismantled the car suspension the working-area was a filthy cold wet mess and my filing system was to place the multiple parts on each side of the car so I knew which was which (LHS/RHS). This isn't always vital as some parts aren't handed but being a bit of a weirdo I like to know what's what.

So this week I've been laying all the parts out, finishing dismantling a couple of things, establishing all the lefts and rights and assessing what needs replaced.

I actually bought the big bushes which mount the subframe to the front of the chassis-rails a couple of weeks ago without examining the old ones and I really don't think they need replaced. It was only £22 for the pair (posted) but that could've been spent on other bits.

I've also ordered the 'D' buses for the ARB and they come with the small doughnut ones for the ARB links. Total price £17.50 (£5 of which is P&P). The D bushes were totalled knackered and I don't really need to doughnut ones but they were like £1 each so why not?

My O/S N/S storage system wasn't 100% dependable so I've been double-checking by looking for witness-marks on the parts. It's surprising what you can establish by looking at rust/dirt marks on parts and matching them against the next component.

One of the parts I painted which really re-rusted quickly was a spring-pan. It has a metal ring spot-welded into the pan (extra strength?) and of course rust buckles it up between the parts. It will never be seen but yesterday I took the plunge and separated the ring from the pan by drilling out 4 welds (6mm drill ?) and I've now got them in the electrolysis tank.

I struggled to fully dismantle the links for the ARB in the winter and yesterday returned to this. Was just a case of undoing one rusty nut on each link which then allowed rubbers/washers and a cast bracket to come off each one. The brackets were clearly 'handed' and I could work out which way up they went due to witness-marks but not which side they belonged on. Later in the day I noticed that the shock absorbers mount on top of these brackets and the plates used are also handed so that was another little mystery solved.

I was very careful removing the nuts from the links (wire brush and release fluid) but one nut took the link's thread with it. I've cleaned the thread with a die but it also looks a bit bent and rusty and you can get a new one for £12+, or £19+ c/w washers and rubbers, so I don't think I'll re-use it.

Got a similar situation with the bottom ball-joints: there is no wear in mine but the boots etc are non-existent and you can still buy all the bits individually or a kit with all the wearing parts but you can actually buy full ball-joints for less money.

One thing I'm a bit puzzled by on these is the 'spigot' which the boot fits onto is damaged on both. It is metal and looks like part of the casting so the whole part would need replaced but the diagrams etc show it is a separate part. I'm not sure which side it drifts out from. Clunking it with a 32mm socket last night didn't seem to break the seal so I left it till I work it out.



piles forming for O/S and N/S


wishbones look the same but are handed. projection for bottom ball-joint is angled to direction of travel



brake shield comes in 3 parts on each side



de-rusting/painting of a spring pan last winter not a success



different approach on other pan. reinforcing-ring separated from pan prior to de-rusting



bottom balljoints can be fully dismantled



balljoint parts. not sure why they are shimmed (4 of)



nylon(?) cup in balljoint can be replaced



spigot for rubber boot can be replaced. not sure if it drifts out from top...


...or from underneath



ARB links have 4 rubbers, 2 washers and a bracket on them




washers have different size centres as one need to go over shaft and one needs to sit on top



this link is rusty & possibly bent on part which joins to ARB plus thread was damaged



new links are not expensive




witness marks show which face of ARB link-brackets sit on wishbone




but even with correct face upwards could be fitted with angled edge out or in



matching witness-marks on shock lower brackets gives a clue




shock brackets are also handed so can only be fitted to one wishbone



some pieces wired together for cleaning by electrolysis

"balljoint parts. not sure why they are shimmed (4 of)" - setting up / wear adjustment.

The Jaguar manual tells you you must not use shims to take up wear in the joint

In which case the shims are just to set it up originally then due to manufacturing tollerances.

So I turned up at 9am today as had agreed to do another day's work with the Gaffer but the minute I saw him I knew it was a non-starter. He'd had a few yesterday afternoon, when we planned it, and looked rather fragile.

We decided to do a half day in afternoon so I got into the barn and started sorting/sifting thru all my storage tubs. It's great to get organised

I also dug out the bits from last night in electrolysis tank and was surprised that they were (nearly) all ready for paint. The ARB link-bracket wasn't really clean at all and the washers were now (mostly) clean but still one or two not touched. I decided to do them again wired separately, rather than sitting on another component. I prob won't even re-use them but it's good to see the process working.

The last time I painted any of the suspension parts I used my (expensive ) Glasurit epoxy primer and I don't think it's a good idea to mix this in tiny amounts as the hardener is dark red and I see it showing in some of the paint which means I've not mixed it right or put too much in.

I felt it was a better idea to wait till everything is ready then do the lot in one go but that means leaving bare-metal bits all over the place so I decided to shoot up to Halfords for some etch-primer. Their brand was £9.99 and was next to their normal grey primer for exact same price so being a cynic I was wary thinking it's probably no different. I therefore went for the dearer (£14) Upol version in a slightly smaller can. it said 'acid' on it so it must be super-duper acid etching stuff that will dig into the metal and protect it forever

Anyway after cleaning the de-rusted parts I sprayed them all with the etch primer and am quite pleased about this. Looking fwd to finishing all the bits, getting the epoxy on top and then some topcoat - hopefully black 2K I bought a while back.

You might ask why do you need to clean the de-rusted parts. Well when you remove them from the tub they look sort of black but as soon as you dry them they go a horrible orange/brown powdery way but this brushes off very easily leaving the bare/etched surface behind. It's amazing how easily the stuff brushes off.

So with that done I wired some more bits together to put in tank for tomorrow or Monday.



parts after removing from electrolysis and drying. one part has been brushed clean



two other brake shields brushed clean. bracket needs to go back in tub



difference on washers shows how getting good electrical connection is important



ARB links etched clean



spring-pan also ready for paint




Upol etch primer on various parts



track rod arms L&R. part numbers are not the ones in parts list. arrows must indicate direction of travel



more pieces for cleaning

Interresting to see this electrolysis derusting. I tried it myself some years ago and it worked ok but a bit slowly. I found that small items like bolts, nuts and washers could be derusted with good result in 35% vinegar.It is smelly and you need to wash everything in warm water and dry it to prevent rust, but it works.

I've been using citric acid recently (bought from ebay for around £15 for a 5kg tub). I'm not sure how strong its meant to be but i've been using three paint can lids (used as a scoop) to roughly one bucket of water and you can do a lot in it before it need changing.

It seems to work really well for cleaning things, especially if the water is warm.