Ford GP (series 1) slow build

[Mike Cecil]

The chassis is now back in the workshop, and the first part assembled to it was the suspension pin bushes. The originals were a typical Ford steel-rubber-central pin arrangement, which don't survive well. So I purchased a set of MD-Nylon bushes and steel pins from Australia, which were supposed to fit the GP. How wrong I was! They turned out to be about 1/6 inch oversize in the OD and the pins were far too sloppy in the ID, so I had a new set made to far tighter tolerance, as well as an 'installing button' tool.

The image shows the gear puller - turned bush-pusher inserting the first bush into the suspension hanger. Sitting on the chassis is, left to right, an MD-Nylon bush, another 'button tool' and the suspension pin. They are a force-fit and slide smoothly into place using the gear puller.

These should last a long time.

Progress, already slow, will be even slower over the next few months as we add a 14 x 32 foot area, 11 foot ceiling heated workshop to the back of the garage, with a 12 foot wide x 9 foot high entryway from the current 3-car heated garage. Should be able to pick up the pace next winter.

Mike