Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

After leaving the farm sale, we went for a drive to Maryborough, and made a visit to the Military Museum there. Quite a good attraction. Small in size, but large in exhibits.
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I drooled over this Ferret last time I visited, and today just increased my desire to buy one some day. This one is in very good condition, inside & out.
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Nice motorcycle!
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I want to borrow this setup for my front yard.
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These are the medals of Keith Payne, VC.
How that poor man must suffer on ANZAC Day, with all those to wear on his jacket. I assume the ones on display here are copies.

[Private_collector]

This wooden bust has the most amazing detail. You can't help but admire the craftsmanship of the carver.
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The closer you look, the more incredible it gets!
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Look at all the edges and seams on the tunic. See the collar pin behind the tie?
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How's the realism of the pocket flap! Even the button under the sam browne has the appearance of being pushed into the tunic by the leather strap.
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[Private_collector]

I finally got back to disassembling the front end. Driver side steering end is off the axle/diff, but I have failed to pull the upper pivot pin out. Bottom one came away OK, but despite a number of approaches, top one wont budge. There is evidence of corrosion around the edge, so no secret why its firm. May call on the bearing shop in town. If I can lift the bloody thing into the car first! Both hubs are off. The wheel hub nuts were in perfect condition, not butchered by the dreaded cold chisel removal in past. So far, the bearings and cups I can see look to be in good shape. They will get replaced regardless, so long as replacements can be found. One part that I am worried about is the large grease seal that sits inside wheel hubs. Its about the biggest seal I have come across thus far. They are worn and cannot be trusted to do their job.

Driver side brake backing plate is welded, as I think I had previously stated. If I fail to remove the upper pivot pin, I may consider total replacement ot the entire assembly on that side. That will save me ages of work grinding ofr the backing plate.

Passenger side backing plate thankfully NOT welded, but I found something very interesting when I had gone over it with a bit of steel wool & petrol. One one side was stamped RF. I gather they are 'sided', so this should really say LF. Curious! The hub had the L stamped wheel nuts and bolts. Thought I had got the whole thing Bass Ackwards for a little while. Petrol fumes must have dulled the brain a bit.

Was informed of two sources for replacement felt seals for steering knuckle. Will order these on Tuesday. All going well, the sandblaster will be doing alright during next week too.

New wheel cylinders are sitting on my parts shelves. New front wheel brake hoses should arive in coming days. The brake shoes I have should be OK to use as is, but I recently bought a second set to send away for relining, in case I get picky. Probably will.

Transmission is now finished, with the exception of new grease hose for throwout shaft. I had enquired to Ajays in New Zealand, and they were out of stock at the time, but said they would contact their supplier and let me know if they could get any more. I was expecting an email by start of last week...............not heard from them yet, so I will continue to search until I get impatient and contact them myself. The new clutch shaft bushes were a super tight fit and driving them in caused slight deforming of one edge which was remedied with a slight honing. Clutch shaft is a perfect fit now. To think I nearly tried to get away with the original, sloppy ones.

The following is a list of replacement parts used on the trans rebuild:

Input bearing, MDG shaft
Output bearing, MDG shaft
Rear oil seal, main shaft
Throwout bearing
Throwout return spring
Pilot bearing
Clutch shaft bushes
Oil fill plug
Oil drain plug (magnetic)
1x selector rod detent spring
2x selector rod detent balls
Full set of gaskets
Gear lever lock pin
Reverse gear, lockout latch
Reverse gear lockout return spring
Gear knob
Fresh lock wire to selector forks and rear mount bolts.
New bolts, selector housing cover to gearbox
Grease delivery container, throwout assembly

And hopefully soon; new grease hose, throwout assembly

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Tony

Enjoy following your restoration.

ON the front pins that are hard to remove.... if memory serves me right there is fine thread hole on the centre..... find a suitable....odd size something like 7/16 fine thread and build yourself a puller using the other four bolt holes on the cap...... may need some heat to free it up.... but it will come out.

On the large front hub seal.... there are still being made for commercial application...... do not bother reading the part numbers.... a good bearing/seal shop will have access to a search engine on their computer and they will match dimension ID/OD. Last time I got some the part guy was apologetic for only having one in stock... the second one was there in 48 hours....... all for $19.95 each..... but will be more down under with shipping. Too bad they welded that backing plate... ridiculous really and will give you a headache.
Wonder if you will find stripped bolt holes to account to the welding.

Good luck.

Bob

[Cameron Reed]

Hi Tony
The seal I used in mine was a Chicago Rawhide no 58741, it was the closest my bearing man could come up with only difference was it is a little thinner,
I think it is 3/8" wide as against 1/2". Probaly worked better for me because the spindle was worn quite wide where the old leather seal ran and i could put the new one in a little deeper to be back on the good part on the spindle. They are a modern type twin lip rubber seal.

As for pulling the swivel housing pins out I just used a 1/2" socket with the id bigger than the pin dia and a 1/2" unf bolt (mine were tapped 1/2"nf, had to run a tap down them to clean them up) place socket over and screw bolt down into pin and continue to tighten. The thread is only short so with an assortment of washers and spacers you'll get there works well up until the pin starts to turn, but then you should be able to get it out

[Bob Carriere]

We built ours out of flat plate stock using the existing holes with bolts.... but could not find a picture of it.

Re-installing the NEW Departure bearings we used a large threaded rod and large washers..... worked very easy.....

Bob C.

[Private_collector]

Hello Cameron & Bob.

I had the pivot pin problem again today, on the passenger side. With this one, I think I see what the cause of both sides sticking actually is. I thought it strange that both of the upper pins have played up and not the bottom. Simple answer when I took a close look (with my spectacles on). Both of the caps had been loosened off as if about to pull the pins out, then left loose so water could get under and sieze the pins in place. I had no luck with this one today either. Had made a puller from a chunk of pipe with a nice thick bit of steel across the top. I keep all bolts I replace with new, so there is always something around to fit most sizes. In this attempt the steel puller didnt deform like last weekends thinner steel did, BUT what I thought was the strain on the pin itself, was actually the bolt I inserted hitting bottom of the pin and starting to strip thread from the pin as well as the bolt. Job well done! This is turning into a trilogy in four parts! I'll let this little debarcle sit dormant for a while, and do other axle/diff stuff.

Regarding the welded brake backing plate, negative on the stripped threads! They are all good. I made a point of looking at each one today. Its gonna have to come off one way or another, and I dont have the patience (or steadyness) to sit and whittle away at the weld lines with a die grinder. My big angle grinder is too big to get into that space, and my small one is too small to reach in there. Unlike Goldie Locks, I dont have one that is Juuuust right. On the other hand, if I have a replacement plate, then I can afford to butcher this one from the wheel hub side and cut it away. Earlier in the week I started making enquiries to buy a replacement plate. No luck so far, but not given up hope yet. I forgot to check the welded plate to see if it is stamped RF or LF. The left side one was stamped RF.

I have an ever growing list of bearings, cups, and seals that I want to replace. With removal of the passenger side steering assembly today, I can now see another seal in the distal end of that axle tube. And it looks totally u/s. What a surprise!

Cameron, I'll take down that seal number and see the bearing shop guys on Tuesday........with a fair old list! Thanks for the heads-up. That seal should suit me well also. Same problem as you, maybe a little less severe.