John's Tiger Avon: November 2009

It's been a long time since my last post, months in fact. Playing cricket once again took over my summer and not much has been down to the car. Now that winters here I have plenty of spare time to get back on track. So far since my last post here's whats happened:

Front wishbones fitted
Front springs and shocks fitted
Steering rack and shaft fitted
Rear wishbones fitted
Rear springs and shocks fitted
Rear hub carriers fitted
Diff fitted

The front uprights I sent away with a mate to be blasted and sprayed come back untouched as the blast was too 'industrial' for the uprights and hubs. So I soaked the uprights in two gallons of vinegar for two weeks. The results were perfect. The photo below shows just how good they come up. I managed to get some paint on them this afternoon and should get them finished next week. I have decided to buy new ally hubs from rally design instead of tarting up the old ones. Also got the back plates of the drums in vinegar now ready to paint them.

The front suspension went together with no problems, the rear on the other hand was a nightmare. The hub carriers were no lining up witht the wishbones at all and the shocks seemed twisted compared to the brackets they were meant to fit in. I found out this is a usual Tiger problem. With plenty of fairy washing up liquid and brute force they went together. Really hope I dont have to take them apart again. No doubt I will though.

Next steps will be to order the wilwood front brake kit, get the drum back plates painted and fitted so I can get the driveshafts in and then maybe get the chassis on some wheels!!!

Here's a few photo's of the build so far

The vinegar