The weather being on the up I took a couple of days off work top see what I could get done. I’d put an order in the CBS Online for some nyloc and standard nuts, longer bolts and tube (for spacers) which I would need for the seat mounts. The Honda seats are great but the rail mounts need moving inward to fit in to the tub. Previously I’d taken the rails to my Dad’s workshop and with his help drilled out the rivets. Now with the delivery I can re-assemble the rails. I cut the tube in to 25mm sleeves all 24 of them. I then mounted the two main pieces offset with long bolts and spacers. Now here’s where it got interesting. When I put it together on the seat the slide lock fouled the seat base. I referred back to the CKC build manual and spotted a few modifications that aren’t mentioned. The slide lock has been moved forward and some welding has been done on the cable holder. So I moved the slide lock which solved the passenger seat with some gentle persuasion (a rubber mallet to slightly reshape seat pan) managed to fit the rails. But the driver’s seat needs the cable holders. One side I discovered could be sorted by bending the fixing end of the bracket 180 degrees and fixing it to one of the bolts- just need to apply a little heat. The other side bracket is not so easy but with a little help. I’ve never done any welding, but I know a man who can. There is one thing that concerns me the relocated slide lock is now only fixed by one bolt. So I plan to make a piece that fastens the second fixing back on to the rail.
Now, at last, my Non-ABS brake master cylinder has arrived so I swapped it out and then look at the connections. I spent a while looking at the best way to configure the pipes. The two stainless flexes for the rear to the balance valve, the two pipes for the front brakes directly to the master cylinder. Then the two pipes from the rear to the balance valve. The balance valve mounts on a bracket taken from the donor Subaru. I tried a number of different ways to get the lot together. Now I know the ABS balance valve is different to the original non ABS version but they perform the same function (within tolerance) but the pipe fitting orientation is different. This doesn’t make it impossible just awkward.
A sweeter solution would be if the rear pipes were banjo fittings and the stainless flexes from the master had straight fittings. The balance valve could then be mounted flush to the steelwork and the connections would...flow easier and no donor bracket required. The photo below might explain better.
After mounting the balance valve I tried fitting the rear pipes. One went in fine but the second I wasn’t happy both pipe fittings are straight thread but there have a slight bent in the fitting. This makes things easier with the old Non-ABS valve, but in this case the bend presses the pipe on to the steelwork. The only way I was able to correct this was to unfasten the whole pipe length to turn the pipe through 180 degrees. Which was a long job but the P-clips don’t allow the remaining slack to move through them at all so I was going to have to undo them all anyhow.
It took me a while to get everything back in place but eventually it all looked good and I put the rear brake callipers in place and the rear wheels to see how to route the pipes to the callipers. I wasn’t happy for some reason the pipes were too close to the wheels until I realised I’d put the callipers on the wrong wheels. With the correct calliper now in place, I thought back to graham’s advice which was to put a P-clip behind the shock and feed it back. But I had an alternative idea which was to fasten the brake pipe to the shock and then transfer to the tub in line with the trailing arm. Then follow the hand brake cable back to the tunnel. I must confess I’m struggling to see how I will fasten the pipe every eight inches around the diff nose bracket and trailing arm.
With two wheels on my wagon I thought I’d test the hand brake. I pulled the lever and grabbed the wheel turning it forward I got nothing it wouldn’t budge - so far so good. But turning it backwards I was able to move it. I suspect the brakes need some bedding in the drum, whilst I had removed the coating of rust that had built up from 12 months on the garage floor had built up it would still need working in – that’ll be fun down the ten foot.
I can’t get proper access to finish the handbrake cable mountings because the wooden frame the tub is sat on. I suspect something similar for the brake lines around the Diff nose mounting. So I called it a night.
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