Front hubs / steering rack

Now the Gaz shocks are in position on the front suspension, the front hubs can be positioned and connected to the upper and lower wishbones.

In turn the steering rack can also be connected to the hubs and as demonstrated by the video below, I now have steering!

Front suspension initial fit

So, earlier posts highlighted the build and fitment of the front wishbones followed by hub cleanup and prep. Now the hubs have had a good coating of black hammerite paint they have come up quite well - I'm pleased with the finish which will be more than adequate considering how exposed they will be to the elements on the road.

I've still got the front hub nuts to replace but felt it better to do that job whilst the hubs are in situ to give me some support and leverage in releasing them. Realising how tight they were on the rear hubs, the solution I have works (using the ball joint splitter) but it does need alot of brute force and WD40.

So time to see how it all comes together.

The front hub is held in place by top and bottom ball joints. the top however has the cycle wing stays attached which will need some of the powder coating removed to fit into the top of the hub. that in turn is gripped by an M10 x 70mm bolt and nyloc nut.

fitting the upper ball joint through the cycle wing is a fiddle, you need a short socket extension bar plus a lot of patience to locate the nut onto the thread - or I am not doing it right and there is a more obvious way which has not registered with me!

So initial fit all good, just waiting on front shocks to be ordered.

I fitted some IVA cover over the top ball joint thread nut whilst further IVA trim / nut covers need to be applied to the exposed nuts and steering rack extensions.

Front hubs

Now the front wishbones are hanging in position, the front hubs need some attention before fitment.

These were sourced early in the build from Ebay and were in need of a good clean before being re-painted with some black hammerite,

Out with the wire brush attachments on the electric drill and away we go cleaning up the hubs and removing general grim, dirt, surface rust which had accumulated over the years.

The wheel studs will need replacing with longer versions so I intend to apply the same methodology of removal that I did with the rear drive shafts and use a ball joint splitter and liberal doses of WD40 to break the seal between wheel stud and hub.