And so the work continues on the little Rapier. With the axle out, I was able to get a better look at the underside of the rear pan. Unfortunately, I was disapointed with what I found…

 SPRAY FOAM!!!!

That’s right, Spray foam! Seems that a previous owner had some rust issues and felt that this was the most econonical way to resolve it. A little spray foam, a little fiberglass, with a quick coat of paint… perfect! (well, maybe not so perfect) Unfortunately, the foam trapped additional moisture in the panel and the rust only accelerated. After pulling out the foam and trimming back the rotten panel, there wasnt much of the rear quarter left to “repair”.
Things arent looking good for the Rapier…

Tags: body
Categories: body

I received some goodies today from Brian at The Sunbeam Spares Company in the UK. Brian was super helpful in locating an oil pump to distributor drive gear for an early iron head 1494 engine, a water pump and oil pump rebuild kit. Love getting mail from England.

Tags: oil pump,water pump
Categories: oil pump, water pump

While preparing the engine tin for paint, I noticed that the windage tray on the oil pan had a broken seam. A quick ZAP with the mig and it was good to go.

Tags: engine tin
Categories: engine

I spent the morning removing and dismantling the third member from the rear axle. All in all, everything looked ok. The pinion height shims were a little mangled, but the carrier, pinion and ringgear were in great shape. I pulled off the bearings and races and cleaned the remaining bits. Now to start looking for some axle bearings and seals.

Tags: axle
Categories: axle

Miles and I pulled the rear axle our of the Rapier today.

Man there’s a lot of rust on that little car, it’s really quite depressing. We made pretty quick work of it, considering all the bolts were rusted solid. Like a good little boy, for the past 3 days, I’ve been soaking all the fasteners with Kroil. That stuff is the best!

Afterwards, Miles quickly grew tired of playing the xylophone game with my wrenches and turned his attention to the complex workings of the floor jack.
uuuuUUUUP, DDDOOowwn, uuuuUUUUP, DDDOOowwn, good times!

Tags: axle
Categories: axle